Last season, the Table Tennis Champions League suffered in the coronavirus pandemic. – The last edition was discontinued when we were already in the top four. The semi-finals with Berlin did not take place – reminds Kinga Stefańska, a player of the club from Tarnobrzeg.
The previous season – 2018/2019 – KTS won. Why doesn’t one of the favorites play now?
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“We don’t want to endorse pseudo-games”
– The European Table Tennis Union has decided to bring the entire season to one tournament in Linz. The plan was that 16 teams divided into four groups would play there from December 3rd to December 8th. Two best teams were supposed to come out of the groups until the quarter-finals – says Stefańska.
So many plans. The realities are that together with Siarkopol games in Linz five clubs refused.
– We really wanted to start in the Champions League, but not on the terms as offered to us. Anyway, only 11 clubs out of 16 applied for membership, and the games were to start with a minimum number of 12 teams. Additionally, some of them applied in very weak teams. We do not want to endorse such pseudo-games. We very much regret that ETTU is striving at all costs to conduct the Champions League in such circumstances when Austria is at the peak of disease, lockdown and curfew until December 6th. We insisted, along with other clubs, which also withdrew their participation at the last minute, to reschedule in the spring. Unfortunately, to no avail – this is the position of Zbigniew Nęcek’s coach.
– Some walk on brittle ice and others do not. We are not going in. We are disappointed that the games were not postponed to a quieter time. There would be a deadline in spring – adds the trainer in an interview with Sport.pl
“We know these organizers. It is impossible to be safe”
“The decision was made after a long and deep analysis and consultations with the medical staff, the coach as well as the first team players. The organizers of the Champions League tournament in Linz, Austria, according to our knowledge and beliefs, are not able to organize and conduct the competition in the” bubble sanitary “formula In the Olympic season, the safety of our club’s representatives, who are to fight for the highest goals in Tokyo, is a priority, so we want to avoid a situation like after the Europa Top 10 in Germany, when many participants, including players and coaches, returned to their countries infected with the coronavirus. ; some of them were hospitalized “ – we read in a special announcement issued by the club.
Why is Linz a location that is so controversial? Austria appears to be past its peak in the second wave of the pandemic. A record 9 586 new COVID infections were recorded there on November 13, but on November 30 only 2,748 new infections were added.
– The point is that we know these organizers. In Linz, in the hotel, all the reception, kitchen and cleaning staff are not constantly in the hotel, but return to their homes after work. It is the same with the drivers who take the competitors from the hotel to the hall. It is the same with the hall service. Since all these people do not isolate themselves, it cannot be said that there is a real anti-Covid bubble, says Stefańska. – Our players were very concerned when they heard that the Champions League is in Linz. We know that it is not possible to be safe there – he adds.
The coach fought for his life, the player would not take the risk
Fear for health is not surprising, since the players have already had difficult experiences. – Elizabeta Samara [rumuńska gwiazda KTS-u] she was very afraid, because she was already in quarantine and her coach was fighting for his life after the Europa Top 10 tournament. He stayed in the hospital for a long time. I understand that Eliza and those around her were very skeptical about the idea of our playing in Linz. It is really impossible to create a sanitary bubble there. If the Champions League were organized in a safe place, for example in Duesseldorf, we would have decided to perform. And so we give up – sums up Stefańska.
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