Fan Zhendong: Still Not At Par With The Other Main Players

As a young player, Fan Zhendong continues to impress everyone with his courageous performances whether domestic or international. Just this year, he has showed his potential and has also proven his strength. However, Liu Guoliang thinks that he is still not at par with Ma Long, Zhang Jike or Xu Xin. Despite that, the head coach believes that the future of Fan Zhendong is looking bright. 

Sina Sports. Fan Zhendong has showed big improvements in just a short period of time. He has won several titles but in comparison to the other main players, he still needs more. 

Fan Zhendong has showed some good performances this year. Although he did not win in the World Championships and lost in the World Cup, he was still able to win some championship titles. 

Fan Zhendong vs Xu Xin 2015 Asian Championships 
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Fan Zhendong vs Stefan Fegerl 2015 Polish Open MS Finals 
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According to Liu Guoliang, Fan Zhendong might have improved so fast but his strength is still not at par with the other main players. 

Fan Zhendong vs Ma Long 2015 WTTC MS SF 
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Fan Zhendong vs Ma Long 2015 World Cup Finals 

“Fan Zhendong as of now is still not as good as Ma Long, Zhang Jikeand Xu Xin in a lot of aspects but he is still very young and his technical strength is strong. He also has his own characteristics.” Liu Guoliang said. 

Chinese Team Declines Olympic Testing Competition

The Olympic Games is nearing and the organisers would want to conduct a testing competition and invited some of the big teams for the competition, like China. However, it was confirmed that China will not be sending any delegates to the testing competition. According to the head coach, their schedule is already tight and will be focusing their time for training for the World Team Championships. 

Sina Sports. With the upcoming important competitions, the Chinese Team is putting their priorities straight, the Olympic Testing Competition is not one of them. 

With less than a year before the 2016 Rio Olympics, the Olympic Committee has invited players from China, Japan, Korea, Germany and other teams to participate in the testing competition to be held on November 18 to 21 in Rio de Janeiro. 

In an interview with an ITTF staff, it was confirmed that the Chinese Team has refused the invitation. 

This event is aiming to test the competition system, the stadium and the environment. They even gave out 500 tickets to some local spectators for free. According to the schedule, the Singles will be tested on the 19th while the Team competition on the 21st. 

According to the head coach of the Chinese Team, Liu Guoliang, their schedule is quite tight in preparation for next year’s World Team Championships. Their winter training is said to start early than expected. 

Liu Shiwen: I Will Not Suffer For Nothing

Unlike Ding Ning and Li Xiaoxia, Liu Shiwen still hasn’t been to the Olympic Games and therefore she still would want to realise her dream to play in the Olympics. This year, Liu Shiwen had some setbacks but because she did not give up on her Olympic dream, she continued to fight and fortunately, she won the World Cup, increasing her confidence to fight. 

China News Net. Liu Shiwen had some instabilities in her performance this year but because she still has that Olympic dream, she continues to move on. 

Liu Shiwen needed to win the World Championships this year but she lost to her teammate Ding Ning in the finals and eventually settles as the runner-up. But later this year, Liu Shiwen won the World Cup and that somehow increased her chances for the Rio Olympics. 

Liu Shiwen vs Ding Ning 2015 WTTC WS Finals 
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Liu Shiwen vs K. Ishikawa 2015 World Cup Finals 

Of course, Liu Shiwen also has her hopes for next year’s Olympic Games. “My personal goal is to participate in the Olympic Games. This championship title gave me a big confidence.” Liu Shiwen said. 

Before the World Cup, Liu Shiwen’s performance was not stable enough. She admitted it but since she has a dream, she continues to move forward. “If I don’t have a dream, I would not think about playing in the Olympics. But since I continue to persist, I will certainly not allow myself to suffer for nothing.” Liu Shiwen concluded. 

Of course, the head coach of the Chinese Women’s Team was impressed. Kong Linghui even described Liu Shiwen’s performance as perfect.

Kong Linghui Not Satisfied With Mu Zi

Mu Zi had a good start of this year after she earned her spot in the Chinese lineup for the World Championships but unfortunately, it ended not so well. She failed in the first stage of the selection process of the Chinese Women’s Team held last weekend. With that, Kong Linghui was able to see some problems and was dissatisfied with the performance. 

Xinhua Net. Mu Zi failed to advance further into the second stage of the selection process for the 2016 World Championships. Kong Linghui said there were problems in the player. 

The Chinese Women’s Team has started their selection process for the 2016 World Team Championships already. After the first stage, Wang Yidi and Liu Fei will advance further into the second stage. 

For Kong Linghui, he was very impressed with the performance of the two young players. Both performed their true levels and he emphasised his high hopes to the two players. 

“The last time, Hu Limei also attended the trials and got the direct qualification for the World Championships. I hope that someone would be able to create a better record.” Kong Linghui said. 

On the other hand, the head coach also commented on the poor performance of Mu Zi. He said that there are big problems in the state of mind of Mu Zi. “She was not able to position herself well in the competition. She was leading but failed to maintain it. Eventually, she will miss the second stage of the selection process.” Kong Linghui concluded. 

Ma Long’ era has started

Ma Long has long been considered as the strongest player in the men’s table tennis. However, this time, he has something tangible to prove it. In May of this year, he won the World Championships and later, he won the World Cup. According to Liu Guoliang, these achievements have given them confidence and he is highly appreciative about it. 

Xinhua Net. Following his victory in the World Championships, Ma Long clinched the Men’s World Cup and that just declared 2015 as his year. 

Last May, Ma Long achieved his biggest breakthrough in his career after he finally clinched the World Championships Men’s Singles title, defeating Fang Bo in the finals. 

Ma Long vs Fang Bo 2015 WTTC MS Finals 
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Later this year, Ma Long participated in another important competition and againstFan Zhendong, he imposed authority and clinched the title. 

Ma Long vs Fan Zhendong 2015 World Cup Finals 

“The 2015 Men’s World Cup is the most important competition in the second half of the year 2015. Ma Long wining that title just declared that 2015 is his year. This is the start of the Ma Long dynasty. His achievements gave so much confidence not only for the team but also for himself.” Liu Guoliang said. 

As of now, Ma Long is the strongest candidate for the Rio Olympics. According to the head coach, his biggest challenge is to be the Grand Slam. 

“I believe that Ma Long’s goals is not just to participate in the Olympics. The biggest challenge is to realise his dreams in the Olympics and achieve the peak of his career.” Liu Guoliang concluded. 

One More Month Till 2015 ITTF Star Awards

One More Month Till 2015 ITTF Star Awards!

The third edition of the ITTF Star Awards, that will be held on 9 December 2015 at the Pátio da Galé in Lisbon, Portugal, is merely 1 month away!

Be ready for a night full of dazzling stars with the Table Tennis stars as they dress up in their finest to celebrate their achievements in 2015!

Titles to be crowned at the 2015 ITTF Star Awards:

• Male Table Tennis Star presented by Seamaster
• Female Table Tennis Star presented by Nittaku
• Male Para Table Tennis Star presented by Tinsue
• Female Para Table Tennis Star presented by Stag International
• Table Tennis Star Coach presented by Butterfly
• Table Tennis Star Point presented by DHS
• Table Tennis Breakthrough Star presented by TMS International
• Table Tennis Fair Play Star

Liu Regains Top Spot on ITTF World Ranking After World Cup Victory

Liu Shiwen regains top spot in the world after Women's World Cup victory

LIU Shiwen has regained the top spot on the ITTF World Rankings after her victories at the GAC Group 2015 ITTF World Tour Polish Open and ITTF Women’s World Cup in October. LIU’s 4th success in 4 attempts at the Women’s World Cup has not only put her name on par alongside the legendary ZHANG Yining, but also helped put her back to the no. 1 spot in the world. The 24 year-old Chinese shared “I’m happy to be back on the number spot. I certainly hope to maintain the current good form I am in now and continue working hard to achieve more!” LIU has replaced her compatriot, 2015 World Champion DING Ning, who had overtaken her since October, to occupy the top position for a 23rd time. Dislodged from her no. 1 spot, DING now occupies the third spot on the ranking, which is her lowest position in four years, the last time she was third in the World was in September 2011. Despite her quarterfinal defeat to Netherland’s LI Jiao at the Women’s World Cup, 20 year-old ZHU Yuling has reached her career’s highest, advancing to second in the world, with the help of her success in the doubles event at the Polish Open. Other star players at the ITTF Women’s World Cup earlier last weekend in Sendai, Japan, also saw ascending of their world rankings in November. Surprise semifinalist after upsetting 2 top 10 players in a row, Germany’s Petrissa Solja saw meteoric climb from no. 26 to no. 14 to reach her career best. Meanwhile, Egypt’s Dina MESHREF climbed to no. 100 after becoming the first African player to ever qualify for the main draw of the Women’s World Cup. Meanwhile, 2015 World Champion and Men’s World Cup Champion, MA Long continues to dominate the Men’s World Ranking for the 39th time in his career. 18 year old FAN Zhendong overtakes 2015 Mixed Double World Champion XU Xin to finish second in the world after claiming victory at the Polish Open, and taking the 2nd place on his Men’s World Cup debut in Halmstad. Runner-up at the Polish Open, Austria’s Stefan FEGERL also saw a major jump from no. 42 to no.23 after surprising reigning Olympics Champion ZHANG Jike in the semifinals to prevent an all-Chinese Final.