by Simon Daish
Belgium’s Cedric Nuytinck is his country’s highest ranked table tennis player at senior level, and made a name for himself on European soil last year at the 2016 Belgium Open where he achieved a silver medal finish in the Men’s Singles tournament.
Fast forward a year Cedric Nuytinck is making the trip to Panagyurishte as a seeded player and the Belgian is feeling confident ahead of play.
“Well I’m very excited because it’s the first tournament of the season and the first time I will play at the Bulgaria Open… I’m definitely prepared for this tournament and the whole season. I’ve had a nice preparation this summer therefore I’m feeling confident of showing my best play this early on in the season”, Cedric Nuytinck.
The 2017 Bulgaria Open marks Cedric Nuytinck’s fifth appearance on this year’s ITTF World Tour having featured in Hungary, Qatar, Japan and China providing the Belgian with plenty of exposure to the international scene so far this year.
However, with the likes of Dimitrij Ovtcharov and Kenta Matsudaira competing in the Men’s Singles category in Panagyurishte it’s important for the World number 81 to get off to a strong start.
“The training has been going very very well. I’ve had quite a long time practicing and the most important thing is that I have no injuries so that is always very nice. But of course it’s not a guarantee of playing well at the tournament or going far, that’s always the difference between practice and tournaments I guess. I hope to play well in this tournament and if I do, I think I can make it quite far”, Cedric Nuytinck.
Nuytinck enjoyed his personal best ITTF World Tour Men’s Singles performance of the year at the 2017 China Open in June where he secured a Round of 32 finish and while tough opposition awaits, the Belgian is keen to put in a good showing in Bulgaria.
“We will see how the tournament starts but I’m aiming to win at least 2 matches, which is not easy but I like to challenge myself”, Cedric Nuytinck.
