September 2, 2010
A Delighted German National Coach at End of Opening Day in Madeira
 Germany united, three quarter-finalists with proud coach Georg Imhof Photo By: Cirlio Borges |
Courtesy of ITTF He had incurred the wrath of the umpire. |
Germany had beaten the impressive Korean outfit in the Boys’ Team event to book their place in the final against China.
Just over nine months later, the coach for the German Junior Boys’ Team was smiling again.
Three Quarter-Finalists
At the end of the first day of play, Wednesday September 1, 2010, at the Funchal Junior Open, the face of Georg Imhof was once again bathed in smiles.
He brought three boys to Funchal and all three have quarter-final places in the Junior Boys’ Singles event.
Fifteen year old Florian Shreiner, plus the two 16 year olds, Bendeikt Duda and Niklas Matthias have reached the round of the last eight.
Most Satisfied
"I’m satisfied with the performance of my players, although this year the opposition in this tournament is weaker than last year; it is a pity that Poland and Hungary have not participated”, said Georg Imhof. “Therefore, my players are the favorites, it is a new situation for them and with which they must learn to cope with that situation."
No doubt Georg Imhof would have preferred that his players had been tested to a greater extent but he was delighted to be in Madeira.
Quarter-Finals
At the quarter-final stage Niklas Matthias meets Spain's Carlos Franco in the top half of the draw; while in the lower half Florian Schreiner confronts the host nation's Tiago Duarte and Benedikt Duda faces Spain's Alejandro Calvo.
In the one remaining quarter-final duel, Portugal's João Geraldo opposes Russia's Andrey Tsybin.
Pleased to Return
The conditions presented by the local table tennis Association have made Georg Imhof returned to Madeira.
"The hotel is great, the food too, the island is very beautiful, I have already suggested to coaches from other countries to come here", said the German coach. "These are the players that will succeed Patrick Franziska, they work hard and they are improving game by game; these players love table tennis, love sports and that's the main thing, it is what makes them work harder and when you work hard, the results eventually emerge.”
Very true, very true indeed.
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