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

Tsuboi and Kumahara Qualify for ITTF World Cups

Brazil has once again proven itself as the table tennis powerhouse in Latin America, with its top players Gustavo TSUBOI and Caroline KUMAHARA claiming the men’s & women’s titles respectively at the 2015 ITTF-Latin America Cup that concluded in Cuba on 31 May 2015.

Their victory means that the duo qualify directly to take on the world’s best players from other continents at the prestigious ITTF World Cup’s later in the year.

Despite losing the first 2 games in the all-Brazilian finals, TSUBOI was able to turn the tide around to defeat the defending champion, Cazuo MATSUMOTO 4-2 (8-11, 6-11, 11-8, 13-11, 11-7, 11-7) to claim his second ITTF-Latin America Cup title after his first victory back in 2011.

Delighted about gold, the top seed shared, “We know each other since we are under 18. We train together and this was the most difficult match I had. Our matches were always close and this time I have to fight back. It was really hard when I am trailing behind and I had to change the rhythm to win.”

“It’s a double joy for me because it is also my birthday today. Now I will take some time to enjoy this victory and I will think of the Pan American Games next.”

Tsuboi and Kumahara celebrate their victories at the 2015 ITTF-Latin America Cup

In the women’s finals matchup, KUMAHARA successfully defended her crown to score the third continental cup title in her career. She accounted for her compatriot GUI Lin 4-0 (12-10, 12-10, 11-8, 11-2) to seal her victory.

The Sao Paulo native expressed “Although it was a 4-0 match, it was hard. I began very well in all four games but she fought back, making it difficult for me.”

“There is always high level table tennis at play at the Latin American Cups and matches are hard from the group phase. I was happy for my performance here and gained confidence for the Pan American Games. This year I haven’t been good, not very focused. I wasn’t expecting to be champion but this achievement makes me keep training harder. The Pan American Games are going to be difficult.”

The Liebherr 2015 Men’s World Cup will be held in Halmstad, Sweden on 16-18 October and the 2015 Women’s World Cup in Sendai, Japan on 30 October – 1 November.

The ITTF World Cups are amongst the most prestigious event in the world, with only the top 18 players qualifying for the event through the continental cups, plus the world champion and one wildcard.

Qualifications for the 2015 ITTF Men’s & Women’s World Cups:

Current World Champion: MA Long (CHN), DING Ning (CHN)

NN Table Tennis Club 2015 ITTF-Europe Top 16 Cup: Dimitrij OVTCHAROV (GER), Marcos FREITAS (POR),

Panagiotis GIONIS (GRE), LIU Jia (AUT), Petrissa SOLJA (GER), Irene IVANCAN (GER)

GAC Group 2015 Asian Cup: XU Xin (CHN), Jun MIZUTANI (JPN), FENG Tianwei (SIN), LIU Shiwen (CHN)

K-Sports 2015 ITTF-Oceania Cup: William HENZELL (AUS), LAY Jian Fang (AUS)

Double Fish 2015 ITTF-North America Cup: Jimmy BUTLER (USA), ZHANG Mo (CAN)

2015 Latin-America Cup: Gustavo TSUBOI (BRA), Caroline KUMAHARA (BRA)