Ma Long Becomes Most Successful World Tour Grand Finals Player Ever

After 22 World Tour events in 2015, the GAC Group 2015 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals champions are MA Long and DING Ning, after an action filled event concluded today 13 December in Lisbon, Portugal.

MA Long became the most successful ITTF World Tour Grand Finals player, winning his fourth title in dramatic circumstances in the final match of 2015.

The world champion, who has only lost one match in 2015, had a titanic battle with his team mate, 18 year old FAN Zhendong, in one of the most exciting finals in history. The world number one raced to a 2-0 lead only for FAN Zhendong to win the next three games and looked like he was going to do the unexpected of to beat the world number one. However he was left heartbroken, as MA Long closed out the match 12-10, 12-10, 11-13, 7-11, 7-11, 11-8, 11-9.

Ma Long celebrates his victory at the Liebherr 2015 ITTF Men’s World Cup

The newly crowned champion stated: “We had a tough match, the feeling wasn’t the best for both of us, and neither of us could lead in the match. I had to just stay calm, as I knew I would have a chance to win the match if I just kept my level high.”

“I am very happy to beat my ex-captain WANG Liqin’s record of World Tour Grand Finals victories. He is a well respected athlete, so I’m happy to have made this history.”

“I wasn’t thinking much about the records, but just played the best I could.”

2015 World Champion DING Ning won her first World Tour Grand Finals, after losing four of her previous finals. Despite being exhausted after a packed year, DING made it fifth time lucky and defeated her team mate CHEN Meng, who earlier beat world number one LIU Shiwen en route to the final.

The 25-year-old was pushed by her younger team mate but her experience that has lead her to two World Championships titles led to her victory: 13-11, 10-12, 11-7, 11-2, 9-11, 11-7.

A relieved DING stated after the match: “I have made it to the World Tour Grand Finals Singles final for the past 4 times, but lost all 4, this is my fifth attempt.”

“Before the match, I have a strong desire for victory, and break the ‘curse’. Since I started playing in the ITTF World Tour, every time I qualified for the Grand Finals, I could always reach the final, so I really hoped to win. Now that I have won, I feel really happy about it.”

Masataka MORIZONO & Yuya OSHIMA became the first ever Japanese pair to win the World Tour Grand Finals Men’s Doubles title. In the process, the young Japanese duo broke the hearts of the capacity Portuguese crowd, beating local favorites Tiago APOLONIA &Joao MONTEIRO 11-6, 8-11,13-11, 12-10, 11-8 in a thrilling gold medal match.

The women’s defending champions, 15-year-olds Miu HIRANO & Mima ITO could not make it two doubles victories for Japan, losing to the Chinese pair DING Ning & ZHU Yuling 11-5, 11-3, 11-9, 11-4 in a one sided final.

Yuya OSHIMA added a second gold medal to his collection, by winning the men’s under 21 title. OSHIMA, who had a breakthrough year winning two under 21 events and a senior World Tour event in 2015, beat ZHAI Yujia (DEN) 11-5, 11-4, 9-11, 11-3, 11-8 to secure the title.

Singapore’s LIN Ye won her second under 21 title by defeating Yui HAMAMOTO (JPN) 12-10, 8-11, 4-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-8 in the women’s under 21 final.

Ma Long celebrates becoming the most successful World Tour Grand Final player in history

The GAC Group 2015 ITTF World Tour was the year-ending finale to the US$3,000,000 ITTF World Tour, whereby the top 16 singles and 8 doubles pairs qualified through collecting #Race2Lisbon points throughout the 2015 ITTF World Tour.

The GAC 2015 ITTF World Tour is split into three tiers (highest first): Super (6 events), Major (6 events), Challenge (11 events). The higher the series, the more prize money, world ranking points, Race to Lisbon points and higher quality of competition on offer.

2014 Decider Kicks off 2015 World Tour Grand Finals

The world’s best table tennis stars have gathered in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon in preparation for the GAC Group 2015 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals which starts today 10 December and runs until 13 December 2015.

Finalists at the GAC Group 2014 ITTF World Tour last year in Bangkok, Europe’s top player Dimitrij OVTCHAROV (GER) and Jun MIZUTANI (JPN) are set to an early face-off in the first round of the Men’s Singles event. MIZUTANI claimed the title eventually in Bangkok, but at their latest encounter at the Liebherr 2015 ITTF Men’s World Cup, it was OVTCHAROV who prevailed.

“It’s a very hard draw for the both of us,” shared OVTCHAROV after the draw ceremony. “We have played seven times in the last 12 months, of which I won four times, but he has won three out of the four times we played at major international tournaments, so the results is going to be very open.”

The 27-year-old German added “Often the one with the better start wins, but the scores will be very close. I will of course try my very best to win this!”

Local hero Marcos FREITAS (POR) has the toughest draw out of everyone, with the European Championships runner up facing world number one and World Champion MA Long in the first round.

The fans could also expect a matchup between the reigning World Champion DING Ning and newly crowned 2015 Female Table Tennis Star LIU Shiwen in the Women’s Singles event. The duo last played internationally at the epic gold medal match at the 2015 World Championships, where DING overcame her injury in the decider to take her second World Championships title.

2014 Finallists Ovtcharov & Mizutani will face off in the first round here in Lisbon

The GAC Group 2015 ITTF World Tour is the year-ending finale to the US$3,000,000 ITTF World Tour, whereby the top 16 singles and 8 doubles pairs qualified through collecting #Race2Lisbon points throughout the 2015 ITTF World Tour.

The GAC 2015 ITTF World Tour is split into three tiers (highest first): Super (6 events), Major (6 events), Challenge (11 events). The higher the series, the more prize money, world ranking points, Race to Lisbon points and higher quality of competition on offer.

Male & Female Para Table Tennis Star Nominees Announced

The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) has announced the nominees for the 2015 Male and Female Para Table Tennis Stars for the 2015 ITTF Star Awards that will be held on 9 December 2015 in Lisbon, Portugal.

The 2015 ITTF Star Awards will be the third edition of the ITTF’s year-ending extravaganza to celebrate the achievements of athletes and coaches in 2015, this time in Lisbon’s emblematic city landmark of Patio da Gale.

Nominees in the running to be crowned the 2015 Male and Female Para Table Tennis Stars are:

Male Para Table Tennis Star presented by Tinsue:

Viktor Didukh a class 8 player from Ukraine – 2015 European Para Championships Champion

David Jacobs a class 10 player from Indonesia – 2015 Asian Para Championships Champion

Thomas Schmidberger a class 3 player from Germany – 2015 European Para Championships Runner-up

Nomination Video: https://youtu.be/0zDCRoI6Rk4

6 Para players are in the running to be the 2015 Male & Female Para Table Tennis Stars

Female Para Table Tennis Star presented by Stag International:

Bruna Costa Alexandre, a class 10 player from Brazil – 2015 Slovenian Para Open Champion

Yang Qian a class 10 player from China – 2015 Asian Para Championships Champion

Borislava Peric-Rankovic a class 4 player from Serbia – 2015 European Para Championships Champion

Nomination Video: https://youtu.be/9wqH0MGYEXM

The winners will be determined by the ITTF Para Athletes’ Commission.

More details about the other award nominees here:

Male & Female Table Tennis Stars – http://www.ittf.com/press_releases/PR/PR1.asp?id=172
Star Coach & Breakthrough Star – http://www.ittf.com/press_releases/PR/PR1.asp?id=175

Players Announced for the GAC Group 2015 World Tour Grand Finals

The qualified players for the lucrative GAC Group 2015 World Tour Grand Finals have been announced after a record-breaking end to the regular World Tour season, which consisted of 22 stops.

The final World Tour event of 2015 was played out in Sweden on the weekend, where the world’s best table tennis players fought it out for the final positions on the standing list at the GAC Group 2015 World Tour Grand Finals, which will take place on 10-13 December 2015 in Lisbon, Portugal.

Only 16 men and 16 women were able to secure their golden ticket to Lisbon, as well as eight men’s and women’s doubles pairs, and eight men’s and women’s under 21 players.

World Champion and World number one MA Long (CHN) topped the Race to Lisbon standings after another very consistent year on the tour winning two Super Series titles. Japan’s Ai FUKUHARA finished number one on the women’s charts after winning three World Tour titles in 2015.

MA, who won both the 2015 World Championships and the recent 2015 Men’s World Cup stated “Happy to have qualified after missing out last year, and I look forward to capping off a dream year with another big title!”

The pair who battled it out for gold at the end of season Swedish Open men’s singles final, XU Xin (CHN) and FAN Zhendong (CHN) were the next two on the men’s list, just ahead of JUNG Youngsik (KOR) and Maharu YOSHIMURA (JPN) who both had a breakthrough season on the GAC Group 2015 World Tour.

China Open Champion ZHU Yuling (CHN) and 15 year old Japanese sensation Mima ITO followed FUKUHARA on the women’s charts and will be heading to Lisbon looking for World Tour Grand Final glory.

The World’s best will fight for glory at the year ending ITTF World Tour Grand Finals in Lisbon!

Despite having the second half of her reason ruined by injury and sickness, World Champion DING Ning (CHN) did enough to book her place in Lisbon, as did World number one and World Cup Champion LIU Shiwen (CHN).

The local Portuguese fans will have a player in every event to cheer for in Lisbon. They will be led by World number seven Marcos FREITAS, who had a strong year on the tour to finish seventh on the Race to Lisbon standings and will be looking for glory in front of his home fans.

The US$3,000,000 GAC Group 2015 ITTF World Tour, consisted of 22 events split into three tiers based on prize money and the quality of the event: Super Series (six events), Major Series (five events) and Challenge Series (11 events).

From these events, players earned Race to Lisbon points to qualify for the prestigious GAC Group 2015 World Tour Grand Finals, will be held at the Pavilhão Multiusos De Odivelas Lisbon, Portugal on 10-13 December 2015. To qualify, players had to play in a minimum of five events.

2015 Nigerian Sports Award: Quadri Raises Stake For Sportsman Of The Year Award

One of the nominees for the Sports Man of the Year in this year’s Nigerian Sports Award, Aruna Quadri improved his chance of clinching the prestigious diadem after claiming the Portuguese Super Cup with his new club Sporting Lisbon.

QUADRI, a two-Time winner of the Ball Sports Award of the Nigerian Sports Award was in fine form when he marshaled the resurgence of the Lisbon-based team against his Former club, GD Toledos at the weekend.

For four years while at GD Toledos, Quadri single-handedly prevented Sporting from winning the Portuguese Super Cup but after pitching his tent with the Lisbon-based side, the 2014 ITTF Star Player was instrumental to the team’s reclaiming of the title at the weekend.

Aruna Quadri recieving his Nigeria Sports Awards 2014 Award

What looked like an homecoming for Quadri occurred when he led Sporting against GD Toledos in the Portuguese Super Cup.

From the five matches played, Quadri won two of them to give Sporting Lisbon a 4-1 win to reclaim the trophy to the Lisbon-based team.

According to Quadri, the win really meant a lot to Sporting as the fans celebrated throughout the night. “It was not easy playing against the team I had featured in for more than three seasons. But as a professional I must do my job to ensure that my team claims the victory. I am happy winning my first title with Sporting, which also has my compatriot, Bode Abiodun,” he said.

“We are hoping to win two more titles this season and we will continue to work harder to ensure that we claim the two titles. This victory has really increased my confidence to do more in the French league. At Toledos, I won three Super Cup titles and this is my fourth title and I hope it will gear me up for this week’s Polish Open,” he added.

Aruna Quadri

Meanwhile, Quadri will this week return to the ITTF World Tour in Warsaw, Poland after being seeded in number 25 among the 32 seeded players listed for the men singles event.

Quadri will start his campaign from the main draw of the men’s singles at the five-day tournament holding in Warsaw.

In the men’s doubles, the Nigerian will partner his continental archrival and friend, Egypt’s Omar Assar. Assar has also been seeded 21 in the men’s singles of the competition, which serves off on Wednesday October 21.

The 2015 Nigerian Sports Award event is schedule to hold on Friday, November 20, 2015 at the Marquee, Oceanview, Eko Hotel, Lagos.

2015 ITTF Star Awards To Be Held In Lisbon

The International Table Tennis Federation is excited to announce that the 2015 ITTF Star Awards will take place in Lisbon, Portugal on 9 December 2015.

The 2015 ITTF Star Awards is the third edition of the annual year-ending table tennis awards, and it promises to build on the immense success of the two previous editions.

The 2015 ITTF Star Awards will be held prior to the GAC Group 2015 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals, and will recognize and celebrate the stars of table tennis, the players and coaches.

The evening of glitz and glamour will take place in the centre of Lisbon in the historic Patio de Gale, Lisbon, as the table tennis stars dress up in their finest to attend.

Aruna Quadri during the ITTF Star Awards at the Armani Hotel at Burj Khalifa on January 7, 2015 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

ITTF Marketing Director Steve DAINTON stated: “The ITTF Star Awards has grown into a yearly event with great stature and an important date on the calendar for all of the world’s top table tennis players. This year, we head to the beautiful city of Lisbon, in conjunction with the World Tour Grand Finals, to recognize the Stars of our sport for what will be a classical and elegant evening!”

Portuguese interest in table tennis is at an all time high, on the back of their National Team’s gold medal feats at the TMS 2014 European Team Table Tennis Championships and the 2015 European Games.

A record of eight ITTF Star Awards will be handed out in Lisbon, with the ITTF Star Breakthrough being the new addition in Lisbon.

Aruna Quadri, ITTF STAR AWARDS WINNER 2014

The full list of eight ITTF Star Awards that will be on offer in Lisbon are:

Male Table Tennis Star

Female Table Tennis Star presented by Nittaku

Para Male Table Tennis Star presented by Tinsue

Para Female Table Tennis Star presented by Stag International

Table Tennis Star Point presented by DHS

Table Tennis Star Coach presented by Butterfly

Table Tennis Breakthrough Star

Fair Play Star
The nominees for the awards will be announced shortly, so make sure you keep an eye onITTFStarAwards.comand not miss out.

Lisbon Wins Bid to Host GAC Group 2015 World Tour Grand Finals

Lisbon, Portugal has won the bid to host the most lucrative table tennis event on earth, the GAC Group 2015 World Tour Grand Finals.

The year-ending finale of the 23 ITTF World Tour events will be held on 10-13 December 2015 in the Portuguese capital.

Together with the World Tour Grand Finals, Lisbon will also host the third edition of the ITTF Star Awards, which will celebrate the world’s best players for their achievements in 2015.

International Table Tennis Federation, ITTF World Tour, Lagos Open, Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos,

On the news, ITTF’s CEO Judit FARAGO stated: “ITTF is delighted to allocate the organization of the World Tour Grand Finals to Lisbon. This is the best momentum that the table tennis has had in Portugal, and the team is enjoying it’s most successful period of its history. The ITTF World Tour turns 20 years old this year and it is hard to imagine better place for the anniversary celebration than to have the Grand Finals and the ITTF Star Awards in Lisbon, a popular destination for visitors.”

Lisbon is no stranger to hosting major table tennis events, after successfully holding the TMS 2014 European Team Championships last year, where the Portuguese Men’s Team won their first European Championships title, much to the delight of the packed crowd.

The locals will be hoping for similar success in December, with world number 10 Marcos FREITAS and world number 22 Tiago APOLONIA looking to repeat their European success on home soil.

Ma Long powered his way to his 18th World Tour victory at the Kuwait Open.

An upbeat Portuguese Table Tennis President Pedro MOURA stated: “The Portuguese Table Tennis Federation is very proud and honored to be awarded by ITTF with the organization of 2015 World Tour Grand Finals. After the success of the TMS 2014 European Team Championships, we felt we should go for other important international events in order to retain the interest and attention of the Portuguese general public on our wonderful sport.”

“Being able to host the 2015 ITTF Star Awards in conjunction with the World Tour Grand Finals will turn all eyes on Lisbon as the World Table Tennis Capital in December. It’s a dream come true for us and the Portuguese Table Tennis Federation is finally matching the level of its best players. Just like when hosting the continental championships last September, we’ll do our best to turn these events truly memorable for all!”

16 men and 16 women who secured the most “Race to Lisbon” points over the 23 World Tour events qualify for the World Tour Grand Finals, as well as 8 men’s and 8 women’s doubles pairs, together with 8 men’s and 8 women’s under 21 players.

The GAC Group 2015 World Tour is split into three tiers (highest first): Super (6 events), Major (6 events), Challenge (11 events). The higher the series, the more prize money, world ranking points, “Race to Lisbon” points and higher quality of competition on offer.

The ITTF World Tour Grand Finals were held last time in Europe in 2011 when it served as test event for the London Olympic Games.

Portugal Looking To Upset Germany At The TMS 2014 European Team Table Tennis Championships

The best Table Tennis teams in Europe will begin competing to be crowned Europe’s best team at the TMS 2014 European Team Table Tennis Championships, which starts today, 24 September 2014 in Lisbon, Portugal.

37 women’s and 43 men’s team will make the trip to Lisbon, hoping to secure the prestigious European Team crowns that both the German women’s and men’s team won at the LIEBHERR 2013 European Championships in Austria.

Germany will again be the favorites, after the women finished fith and the men runner up at the ZEN-NOH 2014 ITTF World Championships held in May this year, which was the best result of any European team.

FREITAS is the key to Portugal upsetting the Germans at the European Team Championships

The German women will have to battle past a number of strong opponents, including the Netherlands and Romania, who both finished equal fith with them at the World Team Championships.

On the challenge of beating Germany, Netherland’s Britt EERLAND stated: “I am excited to again be joining up with my Dutch team mates to play in such a high level event. We exceeded all of our expectations at the World Championships, and we want to use that experience and confidence to make a run for the title here in Portugal.”

The German men are looking to continue their dominance of European table tennis, which has seen them win the past six European Team Championships, stretching back to 2007.

Despite this, 2014 could be the year the German’s winning streak is broken, as Patrick BAUM has withdrawn from the Championships after his father was tragically killed in a car crash. Star player and world number five Dimitrij OVTCHAROV is also in doubt for the event after getting his four wisdom teeth removed last week and will miss the start of the event.

Due to the late withdrawals, Germany will not be able to replace BAUM, or OVTCHAROV if he is not fit, so could be left with a threadbare team of Timo BOLL, Patrick FRANZISKA and Steffen MENGEL in Portugal.

The Portuguese team, lead by world number 12 and European Cup champion Marcos FREITAS is ready to topple the Germans on their home turf:

“If we will pass the group we will have very good chance for medal. We have a strong team and all the players are in good shape. We will play game by game without thinking that we can win the title and not worrying about other teams around us.

We really expect a lot of support from the spectators. We are a young team, so we are looking forward to playing in front of our fans at home”

The action from the MEO Arena in Lisbon today 24 September 2014, with the finals being held on Sunday 28 September 2014.