Liu Shiwen Equals History at 2015 ITTF Women’s World Cup

LIU Shiwen has became the equal most successful player in ITTF Women’s World Cup history by winning her fourth title in as many attempts at the 2015 ITTF Women’s World Cup, which concluded today 1 November in Sendai, Japan.

The 24 year old added the 2015 title to those that she claimed in 2009, 2012 and 2013, to be equal with the legendary ZHANG Yining with four ITTF World Cup crowns.

The world number two reached this historic feat by defeating the great Japanese hope Kasumi ISHIKAWA 14-12,11-2,11-9,11-2 in the final to silence the capacity crowd at the Xebio Arena.

After lifting the famous cup, Liu stated: “At the vital times, I really had to make sure that I was positive; certainly it is a greater honour to be named alongside ZHANG Yining winning four ITTF Women’s World Cup titles. This victory will hopefully boost my chances of being selected in the Chinese Olympic team for Rio 2016.”

ISHIKAWA was happy with her silver medal, but was disappointed she could not win a dream gold in front of her home crowd: “I led 10-9 in the first game. I had a chance, I missed the chance but Liu Shiwen is a superb player, overall I have to be pleased with my efforts in this tournament.”

The third place play off was between two women that differed in age by 21 years, but both played the tournaments of their lives here in Sendai.

21 year Petrissa SOLJA (GER), who beat world number six FENG Tianwei (SIN) and world number four Ai FUKUHARA (JPN) before her remarkable run, was finally stopped by the eventual winner, LIU Shiwen in the semi final.

42 year old LI Jiao (NED) proved that she was not slowing down with age, as she caused the biggest upset of 2015 by beating the number two seed and Asian champion ZHU Yuling (CHN) in the quarter finals before coming up short against ISHIKAWA in the final four showdown.

Liu Shiwen claims 4th gold at 2015 ITTF Women’s World Cup to be named alongside legends

SOLJA proved to be too strong in the bronze medal decider, winning 7-11, 6-11, 11-2, 11-8, 12-10, 11-8 against the tiring LI to become the first ever German to win an ITTF Women’s World Cup bronze medal.

The world’s best table tennis players now head to GAC Group 2015 World Tour Swedish Open which begins on 11 December. This is the final chance for players to collect priceless Race to Lisbon points to qualify for the prestigious GAC Group 2015 World Tour Grand Finals to be held in Lisbon, Portugal on 10-13 December 2015.

Local Hero Fukuhara Playing for Tsunami Victims at Women’s World Cup

World number five Ai FUKUHARA has stated that she is playing for the tsunami victims from her home town of Sendai at the 2015 ITTF Women’s World Cup, which starts tomorrow 30 October 2015 in Sendai, Japan.

The host city, where FUKUHARA grew up in, was devastated by a tsunami in 2011 which affected over 200 people.

“As a sportsperson, I would live to dedicate my performance here at the Women’s World Cup to everyone who were affected by the devastating tsunami in my beautiful hometown of Sendai,” said FUKUHARA.

“Earlier today, I got to go to a primary school with my Olympic silver medal, which the kids were able to touch and put around their neck. They told me this gave them strength and hope, which made me very happy and proud,”concluded the 27 year old.

Here in Sendai, world number two, LIU Shiwen is aiming for her fourth ITTF Women’s World Cup title, which would equal the all time record.

The 24 year old has already won three Women’s World Cup’s from three attempts and her fourth will bring her World Cup medal count on par with the legendary ZHANG Yining.

“Of course it is my goal to equal the record. I feel some pressure to do it, but I am still young and I have time on my hands. It would be a great honour to equal this record, and I will be doing my best here in Japan to do so.”

The 2015 ITTF Women’s World Cup only consists of 20 of the world’s best players. 19 of the players competing here had to qualify through their respective Continental Cups, which means only the best of the best can compete.

Can Fukuhara win gold to inspire her home town of Sendai?

The only other player to receive the golden ticket to play in the 2015 ITTF Women’s World Cup was the 2015 Mixed Doubles World Champion YANG Haeun (KOR), who received the wildcard for the event.

Kicking off the event are seeds nine to 20, playing round robin in four groups of three players (two matches each). The top two players from each group will then progress to the second round of the competition. This first round draw can be found here: http://bit.ly/1kUKOTI.

The second round, which starts on Saturday, is a straight knockout with the eight players who 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.

50 Day Countdown Until 2015 ITTF Women’s World Cup Begins

One of the marque events on the ITTF calendar,the 2015 ITTF Women’s World Cup, is just 50 days away!

The 2015 Women’s World Cup will take place from 30 October to 1 November 2015 in Sendai, Japan, the same city that was devastated by a tsunami in 2011.

Only 20 of the world’s best women’s table tennis players are invited to play in the Women’s World Cup. 17 of them have qualified through their respective Continental Cups, plus the current World Champion, a host country player, and a wildcard.

Current world champion DING Ning will miss the event to finally get over the ankle sprain she sustained in the dramatic World Championships final this year. This means that the woman she defeated in that historic final, LIU Shiwen, will be the favorite to win a remarkable fourth Women’s World Cup, which would equal the record currently held by ZHANG Yining.

Ai Fukuhara will be hoping her 2015 form will lead her to Women’s World Cup glory at home. photo credit ITTFMedia

The sold-out crowd will be fully behind the local Japanese due of Kasumi ISHIKAWA and Ai FUKUHARA who are world ranked number four and five respectively, and will be expected to be pushing for the title on 1 November 2015. Both of the Japanese stars have been the stand out performers on the GAC Group 2015 World Tour, so this will give them the confidence to lift the cup in front of their home crowd.

The full list of 20 players that have qualified for one of the biggest shows in table tennis are:

MESHREF Dina (EGY) – African Cup Winner
FENG Tianwei (SIN) – Asian Cup Winner
KUMAHARA Caroline (BRA) – Latin American Cup Winner
ZHANG Mo (CAN) – North American Cup Winner
LAY Jian Fang (AUS) – Oceania Cup Winner
LIU Jia (AUT) – Europe Cup Winner
LIU Shiwen (CHN) – Asian Cup 2nd place
ZHU Yuling (CHN) – Asian Cup 3rd place
SOLJA Petrissa (GER) – Europe Cup 2nd place
IVANCAN Irene (GER) – Europe Cup 3rd place
FUKUHARA Ai (JPN) – Asian Cup 4th place
ISHIKAWA Kasumi (JPN) – Asian Cup 5th place
SEO Hyowon (KOR) – Asian Cup 6th place
DOO Hoi Kem (HKG) – Asian Cup 7th place
LI Jiao (NED) – Europe Cup 4th place
HU Melek (TUR) – Europe Cup 5th place
POTA Georgina (HUN) – Europe Cup 6th place
LI Jie (NED) – Europe Cup 9th place
CHENG I-Ching (TPE) – Asian Cup 8th place
YANG Haeun (KOR) – Wild card