Ma Long Nominated For 2015 Male Star

As 2015 is winding up, ITTF released their shortlist for the annual Star Awards Night to be held during the Grand Finals next month in Portugal. In the male category, Fan Zhendong, Jun Mizutani, Dimitrij Ovtcharov and Ma Long were the nominees, while Ding Ning, Liu Shiwen, Kasumi Ishikawa and Petrissa Solja are the nominees for the women’s division. 

Sohu Sports. Yesterday, ITTF announced the list of nominees for this year’s Table Tennis Star Awards. In the male category, Ma Long and Fan Zhendong, among others were nominated. 

Winning this year’s World Championships and World Cup, Ma Long is the most successful table tennis player in the men’s division for the year 2015. This achievement is recognised by the ITTF and included Ma Long as one of the nominees for the Best Male Table Tennis Star for 2015. 

Ma Long vs Fang Bo 2015 WTTC MS Finals 
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Ma Long vs Fan Zhendong 2015 World Cup Finals 
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Other nominees are Fan Zhendong of China, Jun Mizutani of Japan, and the GermanDimitrij Ovtcharov. 

Fan Zhendong vs Xu Xin 2015 Asian Championships MS Finals 
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Jun Mizutani vs D. Ovtcharov 2014 Grand Finals MS Finals 
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Dimitrij Ovtcharov vs M. Freitas 2015 European Games MS Finals 
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Of course, Ma Long is honoured to receive such recognition and hoped that he will be able to continue his wonderful performance this year into the future. 

As for the female category, Ding Ning, Kasumi Ishikawa, Liu Shiwen and Petrissa Solja made it into the shortlist. 

The winner will be announced during the ITTF Grand Finals in Lisbon, Portugal on December 9. 

Last year’s winners were Ding Ning and Quadri Aruna.

Li Xiaoxia Eliminated In The Sweden Open First Round

The Chinese Men’s Team imposed authority over their opponents in the opening round of the main draw of the Sweden Open Men’s Singles. At the end of the round, they all remained intact. This was not the case in the women’s division after Li Xiaoxia was eliminated in the opening round. Aside from her, Feng Tianwei also bid her farewell from the competition.  

ITTF. The 2015 Sweden Open started with their main draw today, November 13. In the Singles, the Grand Slam champion Li Xiaoxia was the biggest upset. 

The Chinese Team remained intact after the opening round of the main draw. The top seed Xu Xin scored 4-1 against Robin Devos (4-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-8, 11-5), while the defending champion Fan Zhendong swept Stephane Ouaiche in 4-0.  

The Grand Slam champion Zhang Jike had a good start in the competition. He swept Li Ahmet of Turkey in 11-5, 11-7, 11-6, 11-7. Other Chinese players Fang Bo, Yan Anand Liang Jingkun all posted their own victories in the competition.  

Michael Maze who have been missing in action, lost to Jens Lundqvist in 13-11,11-6, 10-12, 8-11, 3-11, 11-9, 7-11. 

Other winners in the competition are Yuya Oshima, Jun Mizutani, Chuang Chih Yuan, Marcos Freitas, among others. 

Masato Shiono was eliminated in the opening round after losing to Eugene Wang of Canada.  

Women’s Singles 

It is a huge victory for the Japanese qualifier Misako Wakamiya after she overcame the Grand Slam champion Li Xiaoxia in a full-stretch match. Wakamiya scored 11-6, 4-11, 6-11, 11-5, 1-11, 11-8, 11-8. 

The other Chinese players, Ding Ning, Mu Zi, Zhu Yuling, Liu Shiwen and Chen Mengall achieved victory in the round. Japanese Ai Fukuhara and Kasumi Ishikawa also posted their respective wins in the opening round. 

Aside from Li Xiaoxia, the women’s division had one more upset and she is Feng Tianwei who lost to Tetyana Bilenko in 11-6, 7-11, 11-6, 6-11, 11-6, 9-11, 5-11. 

Liu Guoliang Identifies Four Players For The Olympics

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Deciding on the lineup is aways not an easy job for the coaching staff of the Chinese Team. As of now, less than a year before the Olympics, the team still hasn’t decided on their Olympic lineup yet but Liu Guoliang knows who are those that have a chance to be in the biggest stage in table tennis. According to him, there are four players.  

Xinhua Net. The Olympic lineup of the Chinese Team is one of the most anticipated news in the table tennis world and Liu Guoliang identifies who are the strongest to be in such lineup. 

2015 is about to end which means that the 2016 Rio Olympics is fast approaching. At this time, some teams have already identified their Olympic lineup, but for the Chinese Team, deciding is not an easy task. 

Currently, Ma Long has the best condition among the Chinese players. This year he has won the World Championships and the World Cup. However, he hasn’t played in the Olympic Singles. In terms of experience and past results, Zhang Jike has it, after all he is the Grand Slam champion. However, his present condition is in question. 

“As Zhang Jike is facing problems in his condition, Ma Long performed with stability and that is very important for the team.” Liu Guoliang said. 

As for Xu Xin and Fan Zhendong, both haven’t won the World Championships yet. Xu Xin has won the World Cup while Fan Zhendong settled for the runner-up this year. Both players have shown good performances but the coaching staff needs more proof from them. 

“The four of them are still the most powerful players to compete for the Rio Olympics. I hope that each one of them can perform their full potential and be able to give their best efforts in less than a year. I hope that they will be able to show their fighting spirits and eventually realise their Olympic dreams.” Liu Guoliang concluded. 

Zhang Jike In The Sweden Open

The Chinese Team is present in this week’s Sweden Open and the top seeds are Xu Xin and the defending champion Fan Zhendong. Aside from them, the Grand Slam champion Zhang Jike will also be on duty in the competition. Before leaving China, his coach gave an assurance that there is no need to worry about the condition of Zhang Jike. 

ITTF. The Sweden Open has already started with the competition but the big stars haven’t debuted yet. Grand Slam champion Zhang Jike is scheduled to play in the Singles.  

The Sweden Open started yesterday, Nov 11 with the qualifying rounds. After the initial rounds in the Men’s Singles, Tamas Lakatos, Jeremy Petiot, Yang Heng Wei, Robin Devos, Mattias Oversjo, Almaraj Anthony, David McBeath, and Brian Afandor all advanced into the second round. 

Today, the competition will have its final round before entering into the main draw which will start tomorrow, November 13. 

Top seed goes to Xu Xin while the second seed goes to Fan Zhendong who is also the defending champion in the competition. Aside from them, China has also sent Zhang Jike, Fang Bo, Liang Jingkun and Yan An. 

Fan Zhendong vs Fang Bo 2014 Sweden Open MS Finals 
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Before travelling to Stockholm, coach Xiao Zhan was asked about the condition of Zhang Jike. He said: “No problem. No need to worry.”

Zhang Jike is the third seed in the Men’s Singles. Before this, Zhang Jike played in the Polish Open and lost in the semifinals to Stefan Fegerl. This week, his fans are hoping to see a better performance from the Grand Slam champion. 

Zhang Jike vs Stefan Fegerl 2015 Polish Open MS Finals 

Timo Boll Stays With Borussia Until 2018

Borussia Dusseldorf is considered as the strongest team in the European circuit and one of the main contributors of it is Timo Boll. Recently, the team and Boll has signed a contract that allows both parties to work together until 2018. The team acknowledges the contribution of Timo Boll while the player hopes to lead the team to more victories. 

PingPang World. Timo Boll is an important figure of the Borussia Dusseldorf and he will continue to have that status for the next three years. 

“Timo Boll is the most important part of our team. He started playing with the club in 2007 and he has led the team to achieve a series of success. In our team, he is the leader, he is a good example and he is something. I’m very happy that we still get to continue fighting together for the succeeding years.” Andreas Preuss, Borussia’s Team Manager, said. 

Timo Boll has been a part of the Borussia Dusseldorf Team for about 8 years and in those times, the team has won the championship title for 17 times. 

2009 to 2011 - European Champions League Men’s Singles 

2012 - European Cup 

2008 to 2012, 2014 & 2015 - German League 

2008, 2010, 2011, 2013 to 2015 - German Cup 

“Our team is very powerful. We have received the warm welcome and support from the locals and the fans. I hope that I would be able to lead the team to more championship titles.” Timo Boll said. 

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.