Olympic Champions Ma & Ding Shocked Out of Asian Table Tennis Championships

World & Rio 2016 Olympic Champions DING Ning & MA Long were both shocked out of the Seamaster 2017 ITTF-Asian Championships in Wuxi yesterday 14 April 2017.

MA, who has been dominating the international table tennis scene since he won the 2015 World Championships, fell in the hands of Korea Republic’s JEONG Sangeun 1-3 (9-11, 8-11, 11-6, 6-11).

After winning the match that shocked the local spectators who had came to cheer for the Chinese captain, JEONG stated “Today I’m fortunate to have some lucky scores, after I won the first game I think Ma Long is a bit nervous. And then 2-0, this time my mental status has been calm and stable. The last game I lost a little bit but I came back.”

MA reflected “We had a very tight match during our last encounter as well. I lost the first game when I had the initial lead. After losing that game, I wasn’t handling the situation well, especially in a best of 5 games situation.”

“Actually in the fourth game, I started well with a 3-0 lead, but then I was penalised for a fault service and that did affected me afterwards. Jeong Sangeun was playing very aggressive and well. On the other hand, I made many errors and that gave him more chance.”

Grand Slam Champion DING was stunned by newly crowned Women’s World Cup Champion Miu HIRANO, who turned 17 on the fateful day.

After losing the first two games, the Japanese teenager was eager not to let anyone ruin her celebration plans on her birthday. HIRANO eventually staged her comeback to win the next three games to advance to the semifinals of the Women’s Singles contest for Gold (3-11, 12-14, 11-9, 16-14, 12-10).

“It’s a very memorable birthday for me today. Competing with such a high level player like Ding Ning, especially while, 0-2 down and 5-9 behind in the third game, I feel I had to give my best fight and wasn’t thinking too much at that point,” shared HIRANO who could hardly contain her excitement after her victory.

“Initially my goal was just to try and win this match against Ding Ning, but now that I have done that, I hope to aim for the Gold medal, and I hope my good form will continue into the World Championships!”

The Chinese team’s spirits were not dampened, as they claimed one more Gold to its Gold collection, with CHEN Xingtong & ZHOU Yu claiming the Mixed Doubles title on homeland to conclude the day.

The pair faced Japanese duo Mima ITO & Masataka MORIZONO, who had knocked out their teammates FANG Bo & WANG Manyu just the day earlier, in an epic mixed doubles showdown in front of a capacity crowd.

With the local spectators cheering for them, CHEN & ZHOU quickly raced to a 2-0 lead. Determined for the title, ITO & MORIZONO fought their way back into the game, forcing the match into a fourth game. The Japanese were however unable to repeat their feat, and it was the Chinese who prevailed to take the match 3-1 (11-9, 11-7, 9-11, 11-8) for their title.

“I think we came into the match with a good mindset because table tennis is firstly a combination of good skills and mindset. Although we have not paired for long, we have trust in each other,” shared ZHOU after the award ceremony.

“Yesterday when Ito and Morizono were competing with Fang Bo & Wang Manyu, we were observing at the side. They are very aggressive in their play, so we have to find problems and solutions in terms of tactics and strategies. They are a very strong and determined pair, no matter how much we are leading, their desire to come back remains strong, just like in their match against Fang Bo & Zhou Yu.”

The Seamaster 2017 ITTF-Asian Championships continues tomorrow with 4 more Gold medals for the individual events up for grabs, Women’s Singles & Men’s Doubles on 15 April, and the Men’s Singles as well as the Women’s Doubles final on 16 April 2017.

Ma Long & Timo Boll To Renew Partnership at 2017 World Championships

Current men's World one MA Long and six-time European champion Timo BOLL will join forces for the second consecutive World Championships after their pairing for the Men's Doubles event at the Liebherr 2017 World Table Tennis Championships

China's MA, the reigning Olympic champion, and BOLL of Germany will renew their partnership at this year's World Championships, to be held in Dusseldorf from May 29 to June 5, two years after they last played as a pair in 2015.

On that occasion in Suzhou, they were beaten in the second round by eventual champions XU Xin and ZHANG Jike, although the duo has tasted success before when they beat a similar Chinese-German pair of Dimitrij Ovtcharov and Yan An on the ITTF World Tour in Chengdu back in 2013.

"I'm very excited to be playing with Timo for the Men's Doubles event"said MA. "It's a pity that we lost in the second round in 2015. Actually, we played well and we had chances back then. I hope that Timo will be playing his best form on home soil and I will value this opportunity again to play well in the event."

Echoing his partner's sentiments, 26 year old BOLL explained: "I am looking forward to our second attempt at a World Championships. On one hand, I have a good contact with MA Long also away from the table. On the other hand, our performances at the China Open 2013, as well as in 2015 in Suzhou, brought great and memorable moments for both of us, even if our success had different results. Now, we have a third attempt in my home country. This is another wonderful and very fine career highlight for me to play with MA Long at home soil in Dusseldorf."

The MA-BOLL partnership is just one of several tantalising doubles pairings that were announced on Wednesday.

Also competing in the Men's Doubles are Chinese National Team colleagues Fan Zhendong and Xu Xin, who like Ma and Boll are previous champions of the China Open when they emerged triumphant in Chengdu two years ago.

Over in the Mixed Doubles category, China's FANG Bo is set to link up with German Petrissa SOLJA, while FANG's fellow compatriot FENG Yalan will find herself on the same side of the table as Jonathan GROTH of Denmark.

Both FANG and SOLJA spoke of their excitement at the prospect of pairing up in their quest for a gold medal come the end of May in Dusseldorf.

"I am very happy to play mixed doubles with SOLJA," said FANG. "I have watched her play before and know that she is a very good player. I will try my best and do the full preparation during the closed training. I hope I can pair with SOLJA to win the Mixed Doubles title in Germany."

SOLJA added: "It will be very special for me to play alongside one of the strongest players from the world's best nation. How successful this can work was shown by Xu Xin and his Korean partner Yang Haeun, who became world champions 2015 in Suzhou. We are also a left and right hander combination, so we will take XU Xin and YANG Haeun as a good example and see how far that goes."

On the topic of mixed-nationality pairings, ITTF President Thomas WEIKERT said: "Double pairs from different nations are enriching our sport and will make relationships between National Associations even stronger."

DHS Unveils Black Table Tennis Table for 2017 World Championships

Double Happiness (DHS), the official table supplier of the Liebherr 2017 World Table Tennis Championships, has unveiled the table tennis table where history will be made on at the biggest table tennis event on earth in Düsseldorf, Germany from 29 May to 5 June 2017.

Themed “Black is Bold”, the new addition to DHS’s line of “Rainbow” table tennis tables, features a stylish sleek black table top while the classic “Rainbow Arch” design which represents the connection of the continents at the World’s biggest table tennis event, as well as the graceful arcs of the table tennis ball whilst playing.

Upon the unveiling of the iconic table, DHS General Manager Mr. LOU Shihe stated “The show court table for 2017 World Table Tennis Championships is based on the design of the 2015 event Rainbow table. Its overview becomes much more stereoscopic and layered with the fusion of the German Flag element and the event logo, illuminated by the LED light system. In this case, the whole table takes on a good combination of its visual identity and color blending if it is shot at a lower angle and closer distance to bring about a fresh experience for spectators.”

“Undoubtedly, the development and application of the table cannot be successful without great support of ITTF and the Organizing Committee. ITTF always attach great importance to and give big support to its research and production.”

ITTF Marketing and Commercial Director Mr. Steve DAINTON added “DHS has been an important partner for the ITTF for many years. In 2005, they introduced the “Rainbow Table” which was a revolution in show court tables. This year they keep their icon but with a bold new table top color, black and combine it with the German national colors. A sleek look which shows how strong design mixed with amazing Colors can help showcase the sport of table tennis at the highest level. I guess we can also see with this table that the relations between China and Germany are also strong, the World Champions in the two most Global sports in the World – Table Tennis and Football.”

The Liebherr 2017 World Table Tennis Championships, to be held at the Messe Düsseldorf from 29 May to 5 June 2017, will see the world’s best table tennis players battle for honor to be crowned World Champions and make history on the historic “Black Rainbow” in the following categories:

• Men’s Singles – Title Holder: MA Long (China)
• Women’s Singles – Title Holder: DING Ning (China)
• Men’s Doubles – Title Holder: XU Xin (China) & ZHANG Jike (China)
• Women’s Doubles – Title Holder: LIU Shiwen (China) & ZHU Yuling (China)
• Mixed Doubles – Title Holder: XU Xin (China) & YANG Haeun (Korea Republic)

Reigning World & Olympic Champion MA Long One Step Closer to Setting New Records in Doha

Rio 2016 Olympic Champion MA Long (CHN) is one step closer to breaking the most number of World Tour Singles titles record, set by Belarussian legend Vladimir SAMSONOV at 26 titles, with his victory at the Seamaster 2017 ITTF World Tour Platinum Qatar Open today, 26 February 2017, in Doha.

MA defended his crown against compatriot FAN Zhendong with a 4-2 (11-8, 11-8, 11-7, 5-11, 6-11, 11-4) win to achieve his career 23rd Men's Singles World Tour title in a domineering fashion.

Amidst the cheers of "Jia you" from fans who flew in to Qatar to support their favorite table tennis stars, the Chinese duo engaged in a six-games thriller, with MA dominating the first half of the match, racing to a 3-0 lead over his opponent. FAN's attempts to turn the table in his favor were in vain, as the 20-year-old was unable to maintain his momentum to push the match into a decider after winning two games off the Olympic Champion, and lost the sixth game to surrender the match.

"Today I think the both of us performed very well. I was very proactive at the start and established a 3-0 lead. In the third and fourth game, Fan Zhendong had changed his strategy. I know the sixth game is crucial - so I changed my strategy as well," shared MA who now has a 10-1 victory record over FAN.

The Grand Slam Champion added that "I'm very happy with the title. It's my first international event of the year. I won my first title of 2016 in Qatar as well and moved on to win more and even became the Olympic Champion, so I hope that retaining this title in Qatar will be another good start into 2017 for me."

The Women's Singles final was another all-Chinese affair between 2016 World Team Champion CHEN Meng against two-time (2014 & 2015) World Junior Champion WANG Manyu.

Despite having a tough start into the match, CHEN was able to use her experience to good use to take control in the match over WANG and claimed the title 4-1 (12-10, 11-9, 11-6, 2-11, 11-6).

"We are teammates so we know each other very well, so it's a very tough match. Especially in the first two games, I only won by a narrow margin of 2 points in both games, it was tedious mentally as well to take those 2 games," stated the 23-year-old. "The first two games was crucial, so after winning those, it was easier for the remaining of the match."

Rivals in the singles competition, CHEN and WANG teamed up for the first time in Qatar to take home the Women's Doubles title from top seeded JEON Jihee and YANG Haeun with a 3-1 (11-4, 11-6, 4-11, 11-6) victory in the final.

Champions at the Seamaster 2017 ITTF World Tour India Open last week in New Delhi, Japan's Masataka MORIZONO and Yuya OSHIMA continued their winning streak to add another Men's Doubles title to their name in Doha. The duo secured a 3-1 (9-11, 11-5, 11-5, 11-9) victory against Swedish pair Kristian KARLSSON and Mattias KARLSSON who had caused a first round upset against tournament favorites MA Long and ZHANG Jike.

The next Seamaster 2017 ITTF World Tour will be held in Incheon, Korea, from 20-23 April 2017

Ma Long Finishes End of Year World #1 for Record 5th Time

ITTF Press Release: Ma Long Finishes End of Year World #1 for Record 5th Time

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Rajarshi Chakrabarty | ITTF PRESS RELEASE 01/05/2017 Ma Long Finishes End of Year World #1 for Record 5th Time Ma Long & Ding Ning are the 2016 end of year world #1's MA Long (CHN) has capped a year to remember by becoming the year end world number one for a fifth time, which equals his compatriot WANG Liqin's (CHN) record. The 28-year-old who finished 2016 as world number one also earned his 53rd month as world number one, just two months' shy of WANG Liqin's remarkable 55 months as the king of table tennis. This is an extraordinary run as the Rio 2016 Olympic champion is now top of the world for a consecutive 23 months, two months away from the 25 months record set by WANG. "2016 has been a very memorable and rewarding year for me, so I'm thankful to all who have helped me this year, and to myself. Thanks also to everyone in the table tennis family who has worked hard to contribute to the sport. I will continue to work hard in the new year" stated the best table tennis player on earth. 2016 Men's World Cup champion 19-year-old FAN Zhendong (CHN) finished the year second in the rankings, ahead of his team mates XU Xin and ZHANG Jike, who are third and fourth respectively. Rio 2016 bronze medalist Jun MIZUTANI (JPN) finished the year in the fifth position, with Dimitrij OVTCHAROV (GER) trailing closely behind. Fellow Olympic Champion DING Ning (CHN) topped the women's end of year ranking for a fourth time, just one year short from the women's record by her idol ZHANG Yining. DING, who had another dominant year, finished ahead of team mates LIU Shiwen and ZHU Yuling, as well as Japan's Kasumi ISHIKAWA and Singapore's FENG Tianwei. 16-year-old Japanese sensations Mima ITO & Women's World Cup Champion Miu HIRANO who claimed the team title at the 2016 World Junior Championships, capped off a dream year by finishing the year at eight and nine respectively to show that the new generation is now here.

Injured Zhang Jike Withdraws from ITTF World Tour Grand Finals

Chinese superstar ZHANG Jike has withdrawn from the Seamaster Qatar 2016 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals with an ankle injury.

The injury is the same one that forced the world number four to pull out from the recent Austrian and Swedish ITTF World Tour events last month.

The news has left the London 2012 Olympic Champion's 7.6 million weibo fans devastated, as they were looking forward to seeing their hero in action for the first time since September's China Open.

The reports coming out of China state that the injury occurredwhen the double World Champion was filming for a reality show where he was eventually chased after by his fans who couldn't contain their excitement upon seeing him. This caused ZHANG to sprain his ankle and was not able to recoverin time for the ITTF World Tour Grand Finals.

The injury means that the Rio 2016 Olympic Games silver medalist will have to wait another 12 months for the chance to win the ITTF World Tour Grand Finals title, the one major table tennis title eluding him in his decorated career.

Japan's Koki NIWA is the the lucky player who now takes ZHANG Jike's place at the Seamaster Qatar 2016 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals which will take place 8-11 December in Doha, Qatar.

Olufunke OSHONAIKE (NGR) has become the Women's African champion an amazing 24 years after she first won the title.

The 41-year-old Nigerian veteran first won the African title in 1992 and her last triumph came in 2002 before her triumph on Sunday 30 October 2016 at the ITTF-Africa Championships in Agadir, Morocco.

OSHONAIKE faced younger opponent Dina MESHREF (EGY) who has dominated African table tennis in the previous years in the Women's Singles final. It was OSHONAIKE who made the better start, moving ahead 2-0, before MESHREF responded to bring the score level to 2-2. However, age proved to be just a number as OSHONAIKE won game five and six to clinch the title 11-7, 13-11, 5-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-7.

After winning the emotional title, OSHONAIKE stated: "This victory means a lot to me that I can still become African champion despite my age. It shows that nothing is impossible if you put your mind to it. I feel great and I am so excited that I can still do it and this is also an inspiration for girls that no matter your age, you can achieve whatever you want to in life."

In the Men's Singles, Omar ASSAR (EGY) won the African title for the second time in a row.

The Men's Singles finals matchup between Omar ASSAR (EGY) and Quadri ARUNA (NGR) was also one that many were looking forward to due to ARUNA's historic run to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games quarterfinal.

The match did not disappoint, with the African superstars producing a seven games epic thriller, where ASSAR was able to hold his nerve to win 10-12, 11-6, 11-9, 8-11, 12-10, 6-11, 11-9.

After claiming his second consecutive title, ASSAR stated: "It was really a crazy match because against Quadri, it is always very exciting. I gave my 100 percent concentration and I was listening more to my coach, AshrafHELMY. I think ARUNA played very well because he was always changing service and he was more aggressive on his forehand. I am so happy retaining the title and I hope I can play better than this in future tournaments."

ARUNA did not go home empty-handed, teaming up with Nigerian teammate Segun TORIOLA (NGR) to defeat the Egyptian pair Lashin EL-SAYED and Ahmed ALI SALEH (EGY) to clinch the Men's Doubles title.

Egypt dominated the Women's Doubles and Mixed Doubles events with Dina MESHREF partnering her cousin Yousra HELMY to win the Women's Doubles title, and also winning the Mixed Doubles event with Omar ASSAR.

Egypt completed a memorable African Championships by claiming both the Men's & Women's Team titles to add to their success in the individual events.

All attention now turned to the 2016 ITTF World Tour Hybiome Austrian Open, to be held on 9-13 November 2016 in Linz, Austria.