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

Assar & Meshref Heading to the ITTF World Cups

The Egyptian pair of Omar ASSAR and Dina MESHREF are the 2015 ITTF-Africa Cup Champions and in turn have qualified for the ITTF Men’s and Women’s World Cup’s later this year.

The 2015 ITTF-Africa Cup, which brings the best of the best African players together, concluded today in Yaoundé, Cameroon.

To clinch the prestigious World Cup spot for the first time, ASSAR defeated the 2014 champion and ITTF Male Table Tennis Star Quadri ARUNA (NGR) 11-4, 11-4, 11-7, 6-11, 11-7 in a very entertaining final.

“I was well prepared for this tournament and now I can play in the World Cup”, said 24 year old ASSAR. “I have been in China for one month preparing and I was focused to win this tournament.”

ASSAR will be very much at home at the Liebherr 2015 ITTF Men’s World Cup; the tournament will be staged later this year in Halmstad, Sweden where he lives.

“I only dropped two games throughout the tournament and I didn’t lose a match; I am happy with my performance overall. In the final, I was positive and I did not give Aruna the chance to attack, I put him on the defence.”

Becoming champion in Cameroon meant that MESHREF is off to her third Women’s World Cup, which will be staged in Sendai, Japan in late October.

Assar and Meshref book their places at ITTF World Cups

To clinch the title, MESHREF defeated her close friend and teammate Nadeen EL-DAWLATLY in the final 11-5, 11-7, 9-11, 12-10, 11-6.

“It is always a difficult match playing against Nadeen, my teammate, because we practise together and we know each other’s weaknesses”, stated MESHREF. “I hope to make this, my third appearance at the World Cup, a memorable one because I have yet to win a match in my two appearances.”

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

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.

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

2015 ITTF-Africa Cup: Omar ASSAR (EGY), Dina MESHREF (EGY)

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)