Shanghai Is The National Men’S Team Champion at Chinese National Championships

Zhang Jike managed to adhere with the competition in this week’s Chinese National Championships. He even contributed to the victory of Shandong in the semifinals. However, in the ultimate final stage, he was absent and Shandong played without the Grand Slam champion. With this, Shanghai took advantage and swept Shandong for the title. 

Following his participation in the Singles, Zhang Jike continued to adhere with the competition in the Chinese National Championships. He also played in the team event for Shandong. 

Sina Sports. The 2015 Chinese National Championships ended with the team competition. In the men’s division, Shandong faced Shanghai in the finals. 

In the semifinals, Shandong faced PLA, which didn’t have the 18-year old Fan Zhendong in the lineup. Fang Bo started with a 3-1 score against Xu Chenhao but PLA managed to overtake to a 2-1 lead after Zhou Kai defeated Zhang Jike (10-12, 11-7, 11-9, 11-6) and Zhou Yu sweeping Kong Lingxuan. 

Fang Bo returned into the arena and won 3-1 over Zhou Kai. Zhang Jike played in the decider and this time, posted a victory over Xu Chenhao. He scored 8-11, 11-6, 4-11, 11-6, 11-4. 

In the other part of the draw, Shanghai battled against Guangdong. Xu Xin scored two points after winning over Zhang Chao and Lin Gaoyuan. Shang Kun sealed the victory for Shanghai after surviving Zhang Chao in the decider (11-7, 7-11, 11-8, 4-11, 11-8). 

Today, Shandong and Shanghai fought the ultimate prize, the championship title. In the lineup of the Shandong Team, Zhang Jike was not included. 

Fang Bo and Shang Kun were the first players into the arena. Both players were fierce and levelled in 2-2. However in the decider, Shang Kun had better control over the table and eventually won in 3-2 (8-11, 11-6, 7-11, 11-8, 11-7). 

Xu Xin was the second player and faced Shandong’s young player Quan Kaiyuan. As a more experienced player, Xu Xin displayed good authority and sealed the match with 11-5, 11-7, 11-3. 

At this point, Shanghai was one match away to victory and their player, Zhao Zihao ended it. He survived Shandong’s Kong Lingxuan in 3-2. Shanghai won the match in 3-0 and is the men’s team champion. 

Shanghai Is The National Men’S Team Champion at Chinese National Championships

There is a good number of strong teams in the women’s division and the strongest were Shanxi and the hosting team, Heilongjiang. Both reached the finals and fought today. In just four matches, Wu Yang and company got the championship title to the Shanxi Team. Wu Yang continued her wonderful performance from the Super League to the National Championships. 

The Women’s Team competition of the Chinese National Championships ended today and Shanxi defeated the hosting team for the crown. 

After playing in the individual competition, the Grand Slam champion Li Xioxia eventually retired in the team competition. Last weekend, the event has decided there finalists. 

In the semifinals, Shandong was defeated by the hosting team, Heilongjiang who fought hard in a full-stretch battle. In the other part of the draw, Shanxi also survived a difficult challenge. They had to go through the decider against PLA before sealing their seats in the finals. 

Today, the victors fought for the ultimate challenge to win the championship title. Last year, Shanxi and Heilongjiang met in the quarterfinals. Heilongjiang won at that time. 

Heilongjiang had a good start with Wang Manyu sweeping Li Xiaodan. Wu Yang led Shanxi to level in 1-1 after she scored 3-1 against Che Xiaoxi. Shanxi gained their momentum when they also won the third match. Lyu Tingting swept Heilongjiang’s Wang Xuan. 

Wu Yang returned into the arena and faced Wang Manyu. Wu Yang ended the match to her favour in 11-4, 9-11, 11-4, 11-6. 

With this, Shanxi is the Women’s Team National Champion. This is the team’s first title in history of the competition. 

Ma Long Aiming to Create More History at Liebherr 2015 Men's World Cup

World Champion MA Long is aiming to etch his name in table tennis history by winning the Liebherr 2015 ITTF Men's World Cup, which starts tomorrow 16 October in Halmstad, Sweden.

The 27 year old Chinese needs to win the second ITTF world title event of the year, in order to keep his hopes of becoming a table tennis grand slam alive. The table tennis grand slam consists of winning the World Championships, the World Cup and the Olympic Games.

The last man to achieve this was his team mate ZHANG Jike, who complete the feat by becoming the 2011 World Champion, 2011 Men's World Cup Champion and the 2012 Olympic Champion.

MA who has been struggling with a back injury recently stated: "Of course it is my goal to complete the prestigious grand slam. But right now I am focusing on winning this event after losing a tight final last year to ZHANG (who did not qualify for the event this year). My back is feeling much better and I can't wait to get started!"

The Liebherr 2015 ITTF Men's World Cup only consists of 20 of the world's best players. 17 of the players competing here had to qualify through their respective Continental Cups, which means only the best of the best can compete.

The only three other players to receive the golden ticket to play in the 2015 ITTF Men's World Cup are the current World Champion MA Long (CHN), one host country representative Kristian KARLSSON (SWE), and 18 year old Anton KALLBERG (SWE) who received a wildcard into the event.

Kicking off the event are seeds nine to 20, playing round robin in four groups of three players (two matches each). 

In the first stage, all eyes will be on Jimmy BUTLER (USA), who is returning to the Men's World Cup for the first time since 1992! The 44 year old came out of his 11-year retirement through injury only last year to get back to the top of international table tennis.

After his final training session before the action begins tomorrow, the American stated: "I am overwhelmed being back. It is amazing to be amongst the world's elite again. When I started my comeback I did not think this would be possible. I will do my best tomorrow to cause some upsets!"

The second round, which starts on Saturday, is a straight knockout with the eight players that progressed from the first round, facing off against the top eight seeded players. The players play the round-of-16 and quarterfinals on Saturday, with the semifinals and final on Sunday.

Ovtcharov: There Is Pressure In Playing In The Super League

The German star Dimitrij Ovtcharov is not a new figure in the Chinese Super League. In fact, last season, he contributed greatly to the wonderful record of Jiangsu. However, this season, he was not able to repeat such success and he is not satisfied. According to him, there is always pressure when he played in China compared to in Germany. 

PingPang World. Dimitrij Ovtcharov is not satisfied with his performance in this season’s Super League. He said that there is always pressur

Dimitrij Ovtcharov played for the Jiangsu Club for the second time this season. Compared to his performance last year where he led the team into the playoffs, this season’s performance was far from that. 

“I suffered some injury problems this season. I was not in the best condition. Aside from that, my tight schedule made me really tired and resulted to a lot of defeats.” He said, saying that there was pressure playing in the Super League. 

Jiangsu finished in the ninth place with 4 wins and 14 losses while Ovtcharov’s personal record had 4 wins and 9 losses. He was ranked at 27th place. With this, Ovtcharov was not that satisfied. 

“In Germany, I basically don’t lose but in China, I need to have a very high degree of focus every match in order to play out my best level. Some Chinese player that I don’t know are also very good, not to mention the world best players like Fan Zhendong, Ma Long, Xu Xin among others.” Dimitrij Ovtcharov concluded.  

Jang Woojin In The Top-25!

Jang Woojin was rewarded for his victory over Zhang Jike at the 2015 Asian Championships. The South Korean player got into the top-25 for first time. Although Ma Long didn't compete in the singles event, he remained at the top of the ranking. Dimitrij Ovtcharov won the 2015 European Championships, but it wasn't enough to replace Zhang Jike in the fourth place. 

Jang Woojin reached new heights after the 2015 Asian Championships held in Pattaya, Thailand. The South Korean player was rewarded after his victories over Zhang Jike in the team and singles events. Jang jumped from the 41st to 24th spot. 

On the contrary, Fan Zhendong won the singles event but he didn't see improvements in this month. He stays in the third place after Ma Long and Xu Xin. Although Zhang Jike suffered an early elimination, he remains in the 4th place. 

 Dimitrij Ovtcharovdidn't move in Oct ober either. The German player defended the title at the 2015 European Championships, but he didn't get enough points to replace Zhang Jike. Marcos Freitas, runer-up in the European Championships, went up from 9th to 8th spot. Chuang Chih-Yuan went back to the top-10 after reaching semifinals of the 2015 Asian Championships. 

[[Ruwen Filus was also rewarded for his performance at the 2015 European Championships. The German player moved from 48th to 33rd place. Alexander Shibaev is in the 33rd as well after claiming from the 58th place. Mattias Karlsonreached the top-100 for first time. The Swedish player went up from 106th to 74th place

Indian Table Tennis to Have Professional League From 2016

New Delhi: The Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) became the latest to climb on to the professional league bandwagon, announcing the launch of its own franchise-based tournament on Thursday.

The league, scheduled to be held from May 28 to June 12, will see eight teams fighting for top honours. The teams will have a foreign male and female player each as well as an Indian in both categories.

According to TTFI, it will be the first ever league to get a dedicated window by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).

The financial aspect of the event will be looked after by a company called 11EVEN Sports, while the TTFI will provide the technical expertise.

The TTFI and 11EVEN Sports also signed a 10-year agreement for the promotion of the sport in the country.

Reigning national champion Soumyajit Ghosh said the league will help to improve the standard of table tennis in the country.

"We will get to play against the best in our own country. Most of the top Indian players train overseas right now. But with the arrival of the league, we will get to spend a lot of time with some of the best players in the world," Ghosh, who was also present at the launch here, told media persons.

"We will get valuable glimpses into how they train and how they prepare. It will also help Indian players to prepare ahead of international tournaments," he added.

Dimitrij OVTCHAROV and Elizabeta SAMARA are the 2015 European Champions after winning dramatic finals on the final day of the Liebherr 2015 European Table Tennis Championships in Ekaterinburg, Russia.

Germany's OVTCHAROV defended his title from two years ago with a near faultless display against Portugal's Marcos FREITAS 14-12, 9-11, 11-9, 11-4, 11-6 to add a second European title to his growing list of titles.

To celebrate time, the world number 5 took off his German National Team shirt, raced to the medal podium and placed the garment on the top step of the podium and raised his hands.

"It was wonderful tournament, one of the best in which I have ever played; I want to express my gratitude to the organisers, to the sponsor and all the volunteers who made this tournament run smoothly", said the 27 year old German. "Marcos pushed me to the limits, it brought the best out of me; the final was an epic battle with the fantastic service, return, a powerful match, I am proud I was part of it."

Romania's SAMARA snatched the biggest win of her career in life in the women's singles. The 2007 European Youth champion had to go the full distance with LI Jie in an entertaining final showdown, finally prevailing 11-6, 9-11, 3-11, 11-7, 12-14, 11-4, 11-4 to give her coach Viorel FILIMON the perfect birthday present.

"My dream and it came true", said SAMARA who jumped on the table once she secured victory. "I cannot possibly be happier than I am right now."

Outsiders for gold, together for the very first time, the combination of Austria's Stefan FEGERL andPortugal's Joao MONTEIRO won the Men's Doubles.

The no.11 seeds, they accounted for the top seeded duo comprising Stefan FEGERL's gold medal winning team mates in the team event Robert GARDOS and Daniel HABESOHN in a thrilling full distance seven games encounter. In an electric atmosphere with the tiered seating full to capacity, some 3,000 spectators, they saved one match point before securing victory: 11-9, 14-12, 6-11, 8-11. 13-15, 11-8, 12-10.

The Quarter-finalists at the Qoros 2015 World Championships in Suzhou earlier in the year, which the only previous occasion when they played together, Turkey's HU Melek and Spain's SHEN Yanfei combined to win the Women's Doubles title.

Number 4 seeds at the tournament, they beat the pairing formed by Hungary's Georgina POTA and singles champion Romania's Elizabeta SAMARA, the no.5 seeds, at the final hurdle, to become the champions: 11-4, 11-7, 11-9, 11-13, 11-4.

Earlier in the week Austria became the European Men's Team champions for the first time and Germany won their third Women's team title in a row

18 year old Fan Zhendong Dominates Asian Table Tennis Championship

18 year old FAN Zhendong is the king of Asian table tennis, winning every possible title on offer at the Suzuki 2015 Asian Table Tennis Championships, which concluded today in Pattaya, Thailand.

The 2014 Youth Olympic Games champion beat world number two XU Xin in an epic men's singles final to add to his men's doubles, mixed doubles and men's team gold medals that he won earlier in the event.

FAN looked to be cruising to his fourth Asian title, as he jumped to a 3-0 lead against his close friend XU. XU responded with some breathtaking shots to level the match at 3-3, before FAN proved to be too strong, clinching the title 12-10, 11-2, 12-10,7-11, 9-11, 11-13, 11-9 in front of the capacity crowd.

After becoming only the second man ever to complete the gold medal sweep at the Asian Championships, after his team mate MA Long, FAN stated: "Playing in 4 events has been a great challenge for myself, it has been tiring, but also very rewarding!"

"Of course I'm very excited to win 4 medals here at the Asian Championships, especially in the men's singles! I have lost to XU Xin several times after playing full 7-games matches in international tournaments, so I had a lot of desire to win this match against him."

"It was a difficult match, even though I was well prepared and was able to carry out my strategies. I had the chance to end the match in the fourth, fifth and even sixth game, because I was leading, but I guess I became more reserved when I was close to winning, and that caused me those three games."

The Women's Singles final was as dramatic as they come. CHEN Meng was started to mount a comeback against ZHU Yuling, who led 2-1, until injury stuck the 2011 Junior World Champion.

CHEN collapsed to the ground grasping her upper leg in agony and was unable to continue the match, which made ZHU Yuling the 2015 Asian Champion! The 21 year old needed to be stretchered off the court and taken to hospital, which also ruled out of the women's doubles semi final the following day.

"When I was leading 3-1 in the fourth game, she suddenly couldn't stand properly when trying to get the ball back, I didn't know what happened", said ZHU Yuling. "Initially I thought it was a muscle strain but she just squatted there and couldn't get up. When I went over to her, she told me she pulled her muscle on her upper leg, it was numb and she couldn't even move or stand up", added the newly crowned champion.

The finalists from the men's singles final, XU Xin and FAN Zhendong joined forces to win the men's doubles crown, defeating the Korean duo of JUNG Youngsik &LEE Sangsu 11-8, 11-7, 11-8, 11-7, 11-7.

DPR Korea won only their third ever Asian Championships gold medal, as KIM Hye Song & RI Mi Gyong become the women's doubles champions. The DPR Korea pair defeated the dynamic 14 year old duo of Miu HIRANO & Mima ITO 11-3, 12-10, 11-5, 11-7 to win an emotional title.

CHEN Meng will be heading back to China on crutches, but also with the mixed doubles gold medal, which she won with the man of the tournament FAN Zhendong. The Chinese pair were too good for Singapore's YANG Zi & YU Mengyu, winning the final 11-8, 11-3, 11-5, 11-9.

China dominates Suzuki 2015 ITTF-Asian Table Tennis Championships in Pattaya, Thailand.

In both the finals, China met a young spirited Japanese team, but the reigning World and Asian Champions were too fast and too strong, and defended their titles in style.

The Chinese men's team was without the world champion and their team captain MA Long who was ruled out with a back injury. This did not stop the powerful Chinese team represented by XU Xin, FAN Zhendong and ZHANG Jike beating Japan. The trio faced off Japanese rising stars, Maharu YOSHIMURA, Koki NIWA, and Yuya OSHIMA, and eventually prevailed 3-0 to win their ninth consecutive Asian Championships team gold.

After the victory, XU who gave the Chinese team the initial lead in the final by beating YOSHIMURA 3-0 stated: "The Japanese are no strangers to us, so we came well prepared. I think it's the mental strength that aided the victory, it's important to put world rankings and past results aside and fight for every point!"

Reigning Olympics Champion ZHANG Jike, who dropped his match in the semifinals against Korea's JANG Woojin, recovered tonight to beat OSHIMA 3-1 to claim China's victory. After his match, the 27 year old shared: "I have not been in good shape lately. Even though I won the match against OSHIMA eventually, my overall performance is still not satisfactory (losing the second game 1-11)."

The Chinese team, led by singles World Champion and world number one DING Ning, played without world number two LIU Shiwen, who missed the entire teams event through illness. However the depth of the Chinese team is so strong that even without LIU, they fielded world number three ZHU Yuling and world number eight CHEN Meng who have both won World Tour titles in 2015.

The Chinese team proved too good for the young Japanese team of Ai FUKUHARA and the 14 year old duo of Mima ITO and Miu HIRANO, winning 3-0 to claim their fifth consecutive title.

DING Ning who was playing the past few days with the flu stated after receiving her gold medal: "We are very happy that our efforts paid off to win the gold medal against Japan despite the difficulties we faced along the way (meaning her and LIU Shiwen's illness)."

"The Japanese lineup is also very young and strong. They are only going to get stronger and become great rivals for China."

The 2015 ITTF-Asian Table Tennis Championships continues tomorrow, with there being still five titles (men's & women's singles, men's & women's doubles, and mixed doubles) up for grabs before the event finishes on 3 October 2015.

Asia's top table tennis players have gathered in Pattaya, Thailand for their quest for gold at the Suzuki 2015 ITTF-Asian Championships, which starts from today, 26 September, till 3 October 2015.

The eight-days biennial event will have seven gold medals on offer: men's singles, women's singles, men's team, women's team, men's double, women's doubles and mixed doubles.

Currently the most successful men's singles player in Asian Championships history with 3 victories, China's MA Long will be on full power to fight for his unprecedented fourth consecutive win.

The newly crowned 2015 World Champion stated "2015 has been a good year for me so far and I hope this will continue and win me another title in Thailand this time round. It won't be easy with all the top players from Asia here, but I will definitely be giving in my 100%!"

It will be no easy task for MA as his compatriot, reigning Olympics Champion ZHANG Jike, will be equally eager to pocket his first Asian Championships singles title in Pattaya to add on to his elaborated collection of trophies.

Korea's JUNG Youngsik as well as Japan's Maharu YOSHIMURA who both have had a successful run in the 2015 ITTF World Tour, will be seeking to continue their strong form to eye for the crown as well.

In the Women's singles, defending champion LIU Shiwen (CHN) will be looking to avenge her 2015 World Championships loss against top seeded DING Ning. DING was able to beat LIU in an epic final battle despite badly injuring her ankle in the 7^th game of the Women's Singles gold medal match.

Singapore's FENG Tianwei who defeated LIU and her teammate ZHU Yuling at the ITTF-Asian Cup in India earlier this year, will hope to repeat her success to take the crown.

Ai FUKUHARA and Mima ITO will carry on Japan's dream for gold after their top player Kasumi ISHIKAWA withdrew from the tournament yesterday with a leg injury. Both players are in their career best form to aim for gold in Pattaya, with FUKUHARA winning 3 titles on the 2015 ITTF World Tour, and ITO posing great threats to the Chinese at the 2015 World Championships in Suzhou.

The best table tennis players in Europe have arrived in Ekaterinburg, Russia for the Liebherr 2015 ITTF-European Table Tennis Championships, which begins today 25 September, and runs until 4 October 2015.

Europe's best will be on show for 10 days in Ekaterinburg, Russia.

The 10 days table tennis fiesta will crown European Champions in six events: men's & women's teams, men's & women's singles, as well as men's & women's doubles. In the men's team event, all eyes will be on Portugal to see if they can repeat their historic gold from 2014. Portugal's chances of winning their second European Championships were given a boost, as their fierce rival Germany's lynchpin Timo BOLL has pulled out with a knee injury. Portugal's leading player Marcos FREITAS stated: "First we need to get to the quarter final, and then we need to show everything we are capable of. Of course, we would like to win as we did it a year ago in Portugal, but it will be difficult. There are very strong teams here, so we need to be at our best to be the champions." As the German men's team tries to regain the title they lost last year, the German women's team will be looking to win their third title in a row and again stamp themselves as the unbeatable force in Europe.Their biggest threat for gold will be the Netherlands, who they beat in the final of the European Games earlier this year. Over the past few years, Dimitrij OVTCHAROV (GER) has established himself as the top table tennis male player in Europe, and currently holds all the European singles titles on offer:European Championships, European Cup and European Champions. After recovering from a back injury which resulted in a loss of form mid way through 2015, the world number five is ready to create more history in Russia: "I myself won all the top events in Europe. I am the hunted one, everyone wants to beat me. I'm not in the same shape as I was in 2013 when I played tremendously strong. But already at the European Games in Baku, I have won the singles competition without being in top shape." Romania's Elizabeta SAMARA is pushing to win her first European title in Russia. She will head into the event as the number three seed behind the two strong Germany's HAN Ying and SHAN Xiaona who have both shown strong form in this year's ITTF World Tour. "I am feeling in good shape," stated the world number 21. "If I can bring my best game here in Russia, I believe I have a good chance of winning my first European singles title which has always been a dream for me."