Table tennis: The system of conduct in the European Pre-Olympic singles tournament

The European Table Tennis Union announced the system of conduct for the European Pre-Olympic singles tournament, which will take place in Sarajevo from Wednesday 15 to Sunday 19 May 2024. The format foresees three stages and at the end of them five (5) qualifiers for Paris 2024 in men and women. The championship, which is certainly a challenge for Greece as well, will take place at Arena Hotel Hills and is organized by the table tennis federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina under the auspices of the European Union (ETTU) and the International Sports Federation (ITTF). Each National Olympic Committee can enter up to 4 athletes (up to 2 men and 2 women) with the exception of NOCs, which have already qualified a national team for the Olympic Games. Registrations started last Friday 15/03 and will end on Monday 15/04. E.F.O.E.P.A. will definitely declare Panagiotis Gionis and Katerina Toliou and for the next place the main criterion is which athlete and which athlete will be the second Greeks in the world ranking of the last week before the deadline.

The draws will be held on the eve of the start of the Pre-Olympic Games, on Tuesday 14/05, and the athletes will be placed according to the World Rank of those days. From the allocation of qualification places for six continents, Europe will have at least one more place from the world ranking of 11 in addition to the five “tickets” through the Olympic Singles Qualification Tournament^her June 2024. All matches of the Pre-Olympic will be played under the best of seven (7) sets system, therefore they can go up to a score of 4-3.

The ETTU announcement highlights that Russian and Belarusian passport holders can register with the ITTF individually as neutral athletes and enter for Sarajevo (2 athletes per gender for Russian passport holders and 2 athletes per gender for Belarusian passport holders).

THE ETTU for playing system announced what he has predicted according to the number of sportsmen and women who will take part. Analytically:

NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS FROM 27 TO 32:

Stage 1: With 8 groups, each of which will have 3 or 4 athletes

The first two athletes from each group will qualify to stage 2 (16 athletes). The matches will take place on the two days of 15 and 16/05.

Stage 2: Round of 16 with single knockout. The first two will qualify for the Olympic Games (the final will not be played). The matches on 17 and 18/05.

Stage 3: Knockout table of all male and female athletes who did not qualify for Paris from stage 2

In the Olympic singles tournaments, the top two on the scoreboard qualify, as does the winner of the match for places 3-4 of stage 3, which will follow among the losers of the semifinals. The matches here will be held on 18 and 19/05.

NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS FROM 33 TO 40:

Stage 1: With 10 groups, each of which will have 3 or 4 athletes

The first two athletes from each group will qualify to stage 2 (20 athletes). The matches will take place on the two days of 15 and 16/05.

Stage 2: Single knockout board. The first two will qualify for the Olympic Games (the final will not be played). The matches on 16, 17 and 18/05.

Stage 3: New knockout table with all male and female athletes who did not qualify for Paris from stage 2

In the Olympic singles tournaments, the top two on the scoreboard qualify, as does the winner of the match for places 3-4 of stage 3, which will follow among the losers of the semifinals. The matches will be held on 18 and 19/05.

NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS FROM 41 TO 48:

Stage 1: With 12 groups, each of which will have 3 or 4 athletes

The first two athletes from each group will qualify to stage 2 (24 athletes). The matches will take place on the two days of 15 and 16/05.

Stage 2: Single knockout board. The first two will qualify for the Olympic Games (the final will not be played). The matches will be held on 16, 17 and 18/05.

Stage 3: Knockout table with the remaining 22 men and women who did not qualify for Paris from stage 2

In the Olympic singles tournaments, the top two on the scoreboard qualify, as does the winner of the match for places 3-4 of stage 3, which will follow among the losers of the semifinals. The matches here will be held on 18 and 19/05.

NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS FROM 49 TO 64:

Stage 1: With 16 groups, each of which will have 3 or 4 athletes

The first two athletes from each group will qualify to stage 2 (32 athletes). The matches will take place on the two days of 15 and 16/05.

Stage 2: Table of 32 with single knockout. The first two will qualify for the Olympic Games (the final will not be played). The matches will be held on 16, 17 and 18/05.

Stage 3: Knockout table of athletes who did not qualify for Paris from stage 2

In the Olympic singles tournaments, the top two on the scoreboard qualify, as does the winner of the match for places 3-4 of stage 3, which will follow among the losers of the semifinals. The matches here will be held on 18 and 19/05.

ETTU notes at the end that for declarations of participation 25 and under or 64 and over the Executive Council will determine the manner of conduct. The final format will be announced within 72 hours of the entry deadline and will be based on Stage 1 Groups, Stage 2 Knockouts and Stage 3 Knockouts.