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.
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