Portuguese table tennis star back in the Portuguese capital after 10 years abroad

Sporting CP secured the services of the Portuguese table tennis star João Monteiro this week, with the national team legend making his return to Alvalade after an extensive period abroad. 

"Of course it is nice to be back home, where I played from 1996 to 2004. After that I decided to move abroad. The club had a great project, particularly internationally, and we want to hit at a European level", said Monteiro after penning his new contract, adding: "The time abroad has made me a better player. I am much better than I was, I have three European titles and a 5th place at the Olympics. I think I can bring quality and experience. With the help of my colleagues hopefully I can get Sporting CP to the top of the European stage."

Alvalade table tennis sensation looking to renew his 2014 title

The Sporting table tennis star Aruna Quadri is once again in the running for the International Table Tennis Federation's Player of the Year award, after scooping the prize in 2014.

The nomination, in recognition of his brilliant performances this year, comes on the back of a quarter-final finish at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, where he was stopped by the world number 1, Ma Long.

The winners (male and female) will be announced in Doha on the 8th of December.

Alvalade athlete claims table tennis pairs podium finish

João Soldado racked up yet another international medal this week, this time claiming bronze in the table tennis pairs event at the Trisome Games 2016.

The Alvalade athlete, who was crowned World Champion in South Africa last November, finished third on the podium with his English teammate, Harry Fairchild.

Alvalade table tennis star shines in both singles and doubles

The Sporting table tennis star Patrícia Santos won the individual competition in the Malacky Open this weekend, on top of a bronze medal finish in the doubles event.

Individually, Patrícia Santos beat Lila Kovac Katona (3-0), Lucia López (3-2), Anna Kubiak (3-1) and Klara Witoszova (3-0).

In the doubles, Patrícia Santos and Bruna Marcelino beat Barry/Scott (3-2) and Zaleskaya/Kubiac (3-1), before missing out to Kovac/Dujmovic (3-0).

National table tennis team eliminated by South Korea

The national table tennis team's World Team Championship run came to an end against South Korea this weekend, after a 3-1 loss in the quarter-finals. Diogo Chen was part of the squad, but did not feature.

Of the four matches played, only Tiago Apolónia was able to come away with the win, beating Jung Yongsik 3-1. In the other encounters, João Monteiro missed out 3-1 to Lee Sangsu and Marcos Freitas lost 3-1 to Joo Saehyuk.

Nigeria beat Turkey 3-0 in World Team Championships

Nigeria made a great start to the Table Tennis World Team Championships this Monday, beating Turkey 3-0 in Group F. Alvalade stars Aruna Quadri and Bode Abiodun both featured and both won their matches.

Segun Toriola opened with a win against Gencay Menge by a margin of 3-0 (12-10, 11-5 and 11-9), before Aruna Quadri got the better of Ibrahim Gunduz with a 3-0 win (12-10, 12-10 and 11-5). Bode Abiodun finished the encounter off with a 3-0 win against Batuhan Ulucak (12-10, 11-7 and 11-8).

National team open in good form in World Team Championships

The Portuguese national team got their table tennis World Team Championships off to the best possible start this weekend with an opening day win in Group C in against Ukraine. Although at the competition, Alvalade star Diogo Chen did not take part.

In the first match, Marcos Freitas beat Kou Lei 3-1 (11-2, 11-5, 6-11 and 11-6), before João Monteiro missed out to Yaroslav Zhmudenko 3-0 (11-8, 11-7 and 11-4). Tiago Apolónia put the Portuguese ahead again with a 3-1 win against Yevhen Pryshchepa (11-3, 11-2, 11-6 and 11-6), before Marcos Freitas got the better of Zhmudenko by a difference of 3-0 (11-8, 11-7 and 11-4)

Portugal will next be in action on Monday against Belarus and Singapore.

Alvalade table tennis star reaches quarter-finals

Aruna Quadri's charge in the Hungarian Open was finally brought to a close by the Frenchman Simon Gauzy this weekend. However, the loss did nothing to overshadow a superb showing from the Nigerian, who also reached the quarters in the pairs event with fellow Sporting athlete Bode.

Aruna Quadri and Bode Abiodun also in action in the doubles

Aruna Quadri, Bode Abiodun and Diogo Chen were back in action in the Hungarian Table Tennis Open this Friday.

Quadri and Abiodun are having a great tournament, having eliminated the Danish pair of Claus Nielsen and Tobias Rasmussen by a margin of 3-0 (11-9, 11-7 and 11-9), followed by a win against the Egyptians Khalid Assar and Mohamed El-Beiali (11-5, 11-9 and 11-8).

Diogo Chen is also on the charge in the individual event, after winning his group against the Dutch man Martin Khatchanov (4-1) and the Iranian Afshin Noroozi (4-1). The Alvalade starlet then beat the Serbian Zsolt Peto an will now face the Turk, Ahmet Li.

Alvalade table tennis star in European Championship action

Diogo Chen brought his showing in the European Table Tennis Championships singles competition with a win over Michael De Doer this week.

After slipping up against the Serbian Darko Jorgic, Chen recovered to beat the Dutchman Michel De Boer 3-2 (8-11, 11-6, 6-11, 11-6 and 12-10), before losing to the the French competitor Antoine Hachard.