Six cities that have won the right to host a 2017 ITTF World Tour Platinum events along with regular ITTF World Tour events

ITTF Announces 12 Host Cities for New & Improved 2017 World Tour

The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) is excited to announce the 12 cities that will host the new and improved 2017 ITTF World Tour events.

The revamped ITTF World Tour will have a new logo, new branding and a new structure to better promote table tennis globally.

On the announcement, ITTF Marketing Director Steve DAINTON stated: "In 2016, we have worked hard to look at ways to push the World Tour product forward, with new partners and new conditions, the desire to host events has dramatically increased and we are so pleased to see conditions such as prize money increasing as well. We will now push forward to ensure events can grow both in terms of popularity and commercially so that over time we can showcase international table tennis more regularly throughout the year."

The 2017 World Tour will be split into two tiers, six ITTF World Tour Platinum events, which is the new top tier of the World Tour, and six regular ITTF World Tour events.

There was an unprecedented amount of bids to be a part of the new ITTF World Tour, with the result being a higher prize money pool for all players.

The six ITTF World Tour Platinum events will have higher prize money, and be of a higher level organisation, which will ensure the attendance of the world's best players, resulting in more international exposure for the hosts.

The six cities that have won the right to host a 2017 ITTF World Tour Platinum event are:

• Doha, Qatar: 23-26 February 2017
• Tokyo, Japan: 16-18 June 2017
• Chengdu, China: 22-25 June 2017
• Gold Coast, Australia: 29 June - 2 July 2017
• Linz, Austria: 1- 3 September 2017
• Magdeburg, Germany 10-12 November 2017

The regular ITTF World Tour events are:

• Budapest, Hungary: 19-22 January 2017
• New Delhi, India: 16-19 February 2017
• Incheon, Korea: 20-23 April 2017
• Olomouc, Czech Republic: 24-27 August 2017
• Panagyurishte, Bulgaria: 7-10 September 2017
• Stockholm, Sweden: 16-19 November 2017

Australia & Austria move up to the top World Tour tier for the first time, after successfully hosting regular lower-tiered World Tour events. India joins the ITTF World Tour for the first time, with New Delhi hosting the breakthrough event in February next year.

The 12 events all offer World Tour Standings points, which will be used to determine the top 16 players that qualify for the World Tour Grand Finals, to be held from 14-17 December 2017 in a location to be determined.

Bidding for the 2018 ITTF World Tour will open in November.

Women's Team Semifinal Places Determined at Rio 2016

Semifinals places for the Rio 2016 Olympic Table Tennis Women's Team has been finalized today, 13 August 2016 at Riocentro Pavilion 3, with all going according to the team seeding.

Singapore overcame Korea Republic 3-2 in an enthralling Quarterfinals encounter to move on and face off the defending Olympic Champions, China in the Women's Team Semifinals.

Coming back from 1-2 matches down, 22-year-old ZHOU Yihan saved the day for the Singaporean team, upsetting world number eighteen SUH, pushing the encounter into the fifth match where word number four FENG took on 2015 World Mixed Doubles Champion YANG Haeun.

YANG continued her strong form in the doubles match, which she won with world number eleven JEON Jihee, to challenge FENG into a 5 games duel, but It was the more experienced FENG who stood up to the test and seal the victory in front of a cheering Singaporean contingent led by the Republic's President.

Winning two points for the team, FENG shared "It was an intense and tough match. I played the first and last match, so both are very crucial. It's good that we didn't come into the match with too much pressure, and all three of us fought hard for every point."

Singapore will now meet top seeded China in the Semifinals, and will be looking to repeat their heroics at the 2010 World Team Championships, where they upset China to claim the first World Championships Gold for Singapore.

In a repeat of the 2015 World Team Cup Final, China defeated DPR Korea in three straight matches.

Women's Singles Finalists LI Xiaoxia (CHN) and DING Ning (CHN) teamed with world number one LIU Shiwen in hope of claiming a third consecutive Team Gold since the team event was incorporated into the Olympic Games in 2008.

All attention was on KIM Song I (PRK), who was the surprise Bronze medalist in the Women's Single event after shocking several top ranked players including world number six Kasumi ISHIKAWA and world number eight Ai FUKUHARA to claim the first ever Olympic Table Tennis medal for DPR Korea.

Meeting KIM for the first time, LIU stated "KIM Song I is very smart with her strategy, kept varying her playing style to create more challenges for me. I'm happy that I came through to win against her."

Japan, who won silver at the London 2012 Women's Team event, face the tough challenge of the Austrian women's team, who were looking to repeat the success of their mens team earlier in the day. The Japanese women, having their eyes set on the Olympic team medal after missing out on an Olympic Singles medal, gave the Austrians no chance of recovery, winning 3-0 to make their third consecutive Semifinals appearance.

Japan will play Germany in the second Semifinal match. Fourth seeded in the Team event, the German trio of HAN Ying, Petrissa SOLJA and SHAN Xiaona had knocked out a spirited Hong Kong team 3-1 to make it to their first Olympic Team Semifinals.

In addition to the Women's Quarterfinal matches, the second half of the men's Round of 16 matches were played today.

The blockbuster tie was between Austria and Portugal, who are respectively the 2015 and 2014 European Team champions. Every match was extremely close, but it was Austria who prevailed 3-1 to book their ticket in the Quarterfinals.

Austria will face the London 2012 silver medalists Germany, who survived a scare to beat Chinese Taipei 3-1. Both of Germany's top players Timo BOLL and Dimitrij OVTCHAROV had a point to prove after their earlier than expected exits from the Singles event. They both bounced back brilliantly to win their singles matches and secure the win for the number two seeds, despite losing the doubles tie.

Japan were expected to beat Portugal easily to move to the next round, but they were pushed much more than expected. It was up to the singles bronze medalist Jun MIZUTANI to save Japan by winning both his singles matches to help Japan win 3-2 a place in the Quarterfinals against Hong Kong China, who defeated Australia 3-0.

These four teams join China, Great Britain, Korea Republic and Sweden in tomorrow's Quarterfinal.

MA Long Completes Golden Grand Slam with Rio 2016 Gold

Reigning World Champion and Men's World Cup Champion MA Long (CHN) has become the Rio 2016 Olympic Games champion after beating defending Champion ZHANG Jike (CHN) and achieve his first Golden Grand Slam title.

In a highly anticipated final that the world was waiting for, MA was clearly showed his dominance throughout the match to sweep the second seed 4-0 (14-12, 11-5, 11-4, 11-4) to deny ZHANG of his second career Grand Slam.

The newly crowned Olympic Champion shared "I played well throughout the match, the title is only possible with that high level of play."

MA added that "We both know each other very well, so it's not a competition of skills, but more of mentality and psychology. For me, I'm not defending any title here, so I have less pressure on court. After winning, I'm still feeling calm. This moment, I think I have improved."

Currently ranked first in the world, MA was in unbeatable form in 2015, claiming all major men's singles world titles - World Championships, Men's World Cup, ITTF World Tour Grand Finals.

Failing to defend his title against MA, ZHANG reflected "The crucial part of the game lies in the first game, I was still slow in my reacting and weaker in rallies with my backhand. If I had won the first game, the whole match might have turned a different way."

"MA Long's skills are better than mine, no matter is it in his first three strokes, or changing between attacking and blocking. Congratulations to him!" added the two-time World Champion.

Jun MIZUTANI (JPN) took home the Bronze medal with a 4-1 victory over Vladimir SAMSONOV (BLR).

The 8-time Japanese National Champion started by dominating the first game 11-4, and winning the second 11-9. Despite SAMSONOV recovering to take the third game, MIZUTANI was determined not to follow the footsteps of compatriot Ai FUKUHARA (JPN) who crumpled 4-1 to KIM Song I (PRK) yesterday in the battle for Women's Singles Bronze.

MIZUTANI returned to the table strong after losing the third game, and ended matters 4-1 (11-4, 11-9, 6-11, 14-12, 11-8) to win a first Olympic table tennis singles medal for Japan.

"I feel very happy! This is the best feeling ever!" stated the world number six after his historic victory.

"SAMSONOV was not an easy opponent to play as we know each other very well. Although he came back and won a game, and was close to winning the fourth, I did not give up until the end."

Competing in his sixth Olympic Games, SAMSONOV was disappointed for missing an Olympic medal again this time in Rio, stating "It is definitely not a very good feeling to lose the bronze medal match. This is probably my last chance to get an Olympic medal, as I don't know if I will be at Tokyo."

The 40-year-old table tennis legend suffered a rib injury after sustaining a fall during his quarterfinals match against London 2012 Bronze medalist, Dimitrij OVTCHAROV.

"After my match with OVTCHAROV, I was injured and probably did not really get into the game in this match. I also didn't want to push my injury too hard. Although I missed the chance to win the fourth game, the adrenaline made me just move on and forget.

The Rio 2016 Olympic table tennis event continues tomorrow, 12 August 2016 with the commencement of the Men's and Women's Team events in Riocentro Pavilion 3.

In a rematch of the London 2012 Olympic Games Women's Singles Final, reigning World Champion DING Ning avenged her London 2012 loss to take the Gold medal from the defending Champion LI Xiaoxia (CHN) to become the Olympic Champion.

An emotional Ding Ning is the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Champion.

In a rematch of the London 2012 Olympic Games Women's Singles Final, reigning World Champion DING Ning avenged her London 2012 loss to take the Gold medal from the defending Champion LI Xiaoxia (CHN) to become the Olympic Champion. The duo met four years ago at the London 2012 Olympic Games Women's Singles Final, with LI taking down DING 4-1 to win the Olympic Gold. Today at Riocentro Pavilion 3, where all the Olympic table tennis actions went on, both players pushed each other to the full limit in the final showdown, but this time the result was reversed. With the support of her fans who flew all the way from China, DING was not going to let history repeat itself, fighting back from two to three games down to take her revenge 4-3 (11-9, 5-11, 14-12, 9-11, 8-11, 11-7, 11-7) against LI. "This is unbelievable! I can't believe that I am Olympic champion. I have waited so long for this, it is a dream come true!" shared the top seed who broke down into tears after her victory, and ran to hug her coach seated in the spectator zone. DING added "I think it was difficult for both my Coach, CHEN Bin. I have so many titles, but I have never hugged him after my victories. Tonight, it's all beyond words. At that last moment, it was a contest of determination." "London made me more experienced. I was able to forget the sad memory of the defeat and focus on the match. Going into the Final, I told myself just to fight for my dream." With the Olympic Singles Gold in bag, the world number two is only the fifth female athlete to achieve the table tennis Grand Slam. Already crowned the Grand Slam Champion in 2013 when she won the World Table Tennis Championships, LI remained calm and shared that Rio will be her last Olympic Games: "I can't keep up this high level training. My body is not getting any younger. I tried to retire at the start of the year but they asked me back because they needed me. I will come back again if they need me but the current team is very strong so I think they will be ok." "This was a great opportunity for me to return to the Olympic Games. I had a lot of injuries at the start of the year physically and internally. In 2015 I was hospitalized for ammonia. I had a lot of thigh troubles. For me right now, the training is too much to handle. I did fulfill my task and defended against the international player and made the final." LI also commented on their rematch, "Four years ago, I had no burden and no expectations going into the Games. Now I have more burden as there are more requirements of me from the leader. I regret that I didn't have more time to practice as the result might have been different. I did not have enough practice so I could not control the pace of the game. Congratulations to Ding Ning." Determined not to go home empty handed on her birthday, KIM was all pumped against Ai FUKUHARA in the Bronze medal match to take home DPR Korea's first ever Olympic table tennis medal. The Olympic debutant raced to a 3-0 lead in just 23 minutes into the match. Despite FUKUHARA's efforts to turn the tides in her favor by taking the fourth game 14-12, the four time Olympian failed to break past the defensive blocks of KIM. KIM eventually prevailed 4-1 (11-7, 11-7, 11-5, 12-14, 11-5). "Although I only got the Bronze medal, I am still very happy," stated the 21-year-old. "I want to present this medal to our great supreme leader." More table tennis action continues tomorrow, 11 August 2016 at Riocentro Pavilion 3, with the Men's Singles Semifinals taking place from 10:00 am local time, as well as the Bronze and Gold medal matches from 20:30pm onwards.

Records smashed on Day 3 at Rio 2016

Bojan Tokic and Dimitrij Ovtcharov hits stunning 33-31 world record in their opening game! Third day of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games table tennis event concluded with several record breaking matches that rocked the arena in Riocentro Pavilion 3. 2014 ITTF Male Table Tennis Star Quadri ARUNA was in unbeatable form against former world number one, and six-times European Champion Timo BOLL (GER) in the battle for a quarterfinal spot, prevailing 12-10, 12-10, 11-5, 3-11, 5-11, 11-9 to become the first African table tennis player to make it through to the quarterfinals where he will play World Champion MA Long (CHN) for a place in the semifinals. After a tough 4-3 opening match against LI Ping (QAT) earlier today, third seeded Dimitrij OTCHAROV was put through another challenge in the Round of 16 against Slovenia’s Bojan TOKIC, especially in the first game! The first game finished 33-31 to TOKIC, which is a world record score. This insane game went for a whopping 26 minutes, which is longer than a lot of the full matches here at Rio 2016. On the game that will go down in table tennis folk law, OVTCHAROV stated: “It was very cool to be a part of this world record game, but it is a shame that I didn't get to win it.” The European champion may not have won the world record game, but he was able to win the next four to clinch the match 4-1 (31-33, 12-10, 11-5, 11-4, 11-7) to progress to the quarterfinals where he will meet his club team mate Vladimir SAMSONOV (BLR). The capacity Brazilian crowd went home disappointed, after a spirited Hugo CALDERANO (BRA), who played the tournament of his life lost against the number four seeded Jun MIZUTANI (JPN). MIZUTANI’s win sets up an intriguing clash with Marcos FREITAS (POR). 2010 Youth Olympic Games champion Koki NIWA recovered from 1-3 down to upset against world number eight WONG Chun Ting (HKG) 4-3 (6-11, 11-6, 8-11, 5-11, 12-10, 11-4, 11-8). NIWA, whom some people questioned about his selection in the Japanese team now plays defending champion ZHANG Jike (CHN) in the quarterfinals. Similarly, for NIWA’s teammate Ai FUKUHARA, who have lost several high profile matches in the last year, the table tennis community have raised much doubt with her being selected for the Women’s Singles over 15-year-old Mima ITO. Competing in her fourth Olympic Games, FUKUHARA was set on proving her critics wrong, the sixth seed was on fire to defeat DPR Korea’s top defender RI Myong Sun with a convincing 4-0 (11-5, 12-10, 11-1, 11-7) victory. “Olympic is very special, not same as other international events. It’s really not easy. I trained very hard in these months just for the Olympic game here in Rio. I'm now sure my practicing is paying off,” shared the Japanese star. “It was a big turning point when I was 10-10 score in the 2nd game. It was a big advantage for me when I got 12-10 score at that game finally.” FUKUHARA will continue her quest for an Olympic medal against the London 2012 bronze medalist FENG Tianwei (SIN) tomorrow. KIM Song I (PRK) continued shocking her opponents with her defensive style, defeatingCHEN Szu-Yu (TPE) 4-2 and will now play YU Mengyu (SIN). The final two women’s quarterfinal matches will be contested between the number one seed DING Ning (CHN) and HAN Ying (GER) and between the reigning Olympic champion LI Xiaoxia (CHN) and CHENG I-Ching (TPE).

Ishikawa & Chuang Crash out of Rio 2016 Singles Event

A devastated Ishikawa after being crashed out of the Rio 2016 Women's Singles event. The top 16 men and women seeds of the Rio 2016 Olympic table tennis event officially started their quest for the Olympic medals today, 07 August 2016, facing the challenge of the 16 players qualified from the initial rounds and it did not all go to plan. Korea DPR’s KIM Song I caused one of the biggest upsets at the Rio 2016 table tennis event by eliminating fourth seeded Kasumi ISHIKAWA (JPN) to make her way through to the top 16 of the Women’s Singles event. Facing one of the best female table tennis players in the world, the 21-year-old was fearless and stood firm on the court to challenge the world number four. Despite losing the first two games, KIM was quick to get back on her feet to gain control of the match, prevailing 4-3 (7-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-9, 9-11, 11-9). The seven games thriller that excited the local crowd in Riocentro Pavilion 3 did not went smoothly, with ISHIKAWA attempting to call for an injury time-out for a cramp which was denied as it is not considered an injury. “It was just a cramp but I never had a cramp in any matches ever, so I’m very upset. I played very well in beginning but I got so exhausted because there was too much moving around. It’s a shame thatmy physical strength couldn’t keep up,” shared the London 2012 team silver medalist who couldn’t contain her disappointment. “Today is my mom's birthday and I had wanted to celebrate her with my win today.” 2014 Male Table Tennis Star Quadri ARUNA (NGR) put the crowd into further shock as he played the match of his life to knock out world number seven CHUANG Chih-Yuan (TPE) out of the Men’s Singles event, dominating 4-0 (11-6, 12-10, 11-6, 11-7). “Last time I played Chuang Chih-Yuan was earlier this year on the ITTF World Tour in Germany, where I lost in four straight games, my goal today was to improve on that performance and fight to win one game!” stated a pleased ARUNA. “After I won the first game I became more confident. This is the best moment of my life and my career.”” Local hero Hugo CALDERANO kept the host nation’s hopes for an Olympic medal high, by defeating world number 15 TANG Peng (HKG) in front of possibly the loudest crowd that a table tennis event has ever witnessed. CALDERANO, who made history at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games to win the first Olympic table tennis medal for Latin America, overcame TANG Peng 4-2 (8-11, 14-12, 11-7, 4-11, 12-10, 11-7) in front of a sellout crowd of over 6,000 passionate fans. Whilst seeds crumbled around them, top seeds MA Long (CHN) and DING Ning (CHN) dominated the court, beating Jonathan GROTH (DEN) and Elizabeta SAMARA (ROU) 4-0 respectively. The battle for the remaining places in the Men’s and Women’s singles round of 16 continues tomorrow, 8 August at Riocentro Pavilion 3.

2016 Olympic Draws:Table Tennis

Seeding Confirmed for Rio 2016 Olympic Table Tennis Event

The seeding for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Table Tennis event has been determined after the announcement of the ITTF August 2016 World Rankings, with reigning World Champions MA Long (CHN) and DING Ning (CHN) leading the seeding in the Men’s and Women’s Singles event respectively.

World number one MA, who has swept all major Men’s Singles titles in 2015, has his eyes set on Gold on his Olympic Singles debut in Rio, to become the fifth male table tennis Grand Slam Champion in history.

The road to Gold will not be a smooth one for MA, as he will have to fend off tough challengers, including teammate, Current Olympic Champion ZHANG Jike who will be the second seed in Rio. The world number four will be aiming for a consecutive Olympic Gold to complete his second table tennis Grand Slam.

Hot contenders for the Olympic medals, Germany’s Dimitrij OVTCHAROV, Japan’s Jun MIZUTANI and Chinese Taipei’s CHUANG Chih-Yuan filled up the remaining spots in the top five seeding, and will be looking to topple the Chinese’s dominance in Rio.

In the Women’s Singles, World number two DING will look to avenge her loss in the Women’s Singles Final at the London 2012 Olympic Games against compatriot LI Xiaoxia, to earn her first Grand Slam title.

2010 World Team Champion and world number four FENG Tianwei (SIN) takes the one place ahead of the third seeded reigning Olympic Champion LI Xiaoxia (CHN).

Japan’s Kasumi ISHIKAWA and Ai FUKUHARA occupies the fourth and sixth seeding places respectively, while Germany’s HAN Ying taking the fifth seed on her first quest for an Olympic medal.

All 70 Men’s and 70 Women’s Olympians will be drawn at the Draw Ceremony set to take place on 3 August, 12:00 local time at Riocentro Pavilion 4.

A press conference will be held immediately after the draw at 14:00, with the following players attending:

• DING Ning (CHN)-2011, 2015 World Champion, 2012 Olympic Women’s Singles Silver
• ZHANG Jike (CHN) -2011, 2013 World Champion, 2011, 2014 Men’s World Cup Champion, Reigning Olympic Champion
• Ai FUKUHARA (JPN) -2012 Olympic Women’s Singles Quarterfinalist, Team Silver
• Vladimir SAMSONOV (BLR) -2000 Olympic Men’s Singles Quarterfinalist, 1997 World Championships Silver
• Hugo CALDERANO (BRA) -2014 Youth Olympic Games Bronze medallist, 2015 Pan American Champion, 2016 Latin American Champion & Latin American Cup Champion

The Rio 2016 Olympic Table Tennis event will be held from 06 – 17 August 2016 at the Riocentro Pavilion 3.