Despite the lack of support from the country they represent and inspired by the hard-earned money they used to sponsor themselves to the 2015 ITTF World Championships in China, Nigerian players began their campaigns in the singles events on a bright note.
While the presence of the President, Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF), Wahid Oshodi in Suzhou may have spurred the trio of Segun Toriola, Kazeem Makanjuola and Olufunke Oshonaike to give their best against their opponents in the group matches of the tournament, which has over 100 countries competing in five events at the global competition.
It was Makanjuola who opened the doors for others to follow as he wasted no time in dismissing Maldives’ Moosa Ahmed 11-2, 11-9, 15-13, 11-8 in the first group match. Toriola, who is still a delight to watch for all at the Suzhou International Expo Centre took a cue from Makanjuola when he ran riot over Algeria’s Aissa Belkadi with 11-7, 11-5, 11-3, 11-7 win.
However, Oshonaike proved that experience is still relevant as she beat Costa Rica’s Cynthia Martinez 4-0 as well as pummeling Mexico’s MADRID Mercedes with same margin to put herself in stable position to make it to the main draw.
With her last game holding on Monday April 27 against Tunisia’s SAIDANI Safa to decide the only player in the group that will progress from the group.
Makanjuola Kazeem
Also on Monday, Makanjuola will have a date with Argentina’s TABACHNIK Pablo while Toriola will battle Qatar’s ABDULHUSSEIN Mohammed for the sole spot in the group.
It was united states of Africa in the women’s doubles as Oshonaike has accepted to partner former African champion, Cameroun’s Sarah Hanffou to compete in the event.
Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri who is the second seeded African players in the main draw will begin his campaign on Tuesday April 28 against qualifiers from the group stage.
Meanwhile, Egyptian players also recorded victories in their matches with Mohammed El-Beiali and Khalid Assar winning their group matches, while Omar Assar will also compete from the main draw on Tuesday.
The countdown is finally over, the eagerly anticipated Qoros 2015 World Table Tennis Championships begins tomorrow 26 April 2015 in Suzhou, China.
The event got officially underway with a spectacular opening ceremony and draws for all the five events: Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles, Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles, and Mixed Doubles.
The draw now has everyone talking about a possibility of a repeat of the epic clash at the London 2012 Olympic in the Women’s Singles, with China’s world number 1 DING Ning and her compatriot, reigning World and Olympic champion, LI Xiaoxia, both getting drawn on different sides.
LI, who won the Olympics clash in a seven-games thriller to add on to her grand slam collection, stated “My health condition probably isn’t quite good compared to other players. Right now I’m undergoing a positive recovery. After all, I’m strong enough to take the championship. I tend to pay more attention to my health condition as oppose to other things right now.”
Japan’s table tennis prodigy who won her first World Tour Super Series title in Germany earlier last month, Mima ITO is expected to face her compatriot Ai FUKUHARA at the Round of 16 on her debut here in Suzhou. ITO will be the same age as when FUKUHARA debuted in 2003 – 14 years old.
Similarly in the Men’s Singles, fans are expected to witness another tough battle between Grand slam champion ZHANG Jike (CHN) and his team captain, World number one MA Long. ZHANG will be striving for his third consecutive world championships title, while MA aiming to claim his first here in Suzhou.
China’s Ma Long does his draw for the Men’s Singles main draw, credit ITTFMedia
The pair last met at a world title event, the LIEBHERR 2014 Men’s World Cup where ZHANG was successful in collecting his second title en route to his second career grand slam dream.
During the pre match press conference, ZHANG shared that “I definitely have some pressure defending the title and it’s my best wish to win it again. But I guess it also has to do with what other players have in their minds, especially those who are sitting here today”, hinting MA.
Meanwhile, strong challengers to take the throne from the Chinese, Germany’s Timo Boll and Dimitrij OVTCHAROV, Marcos FREITAS (POR), and Japan’s top player Jun MIZUTANI each had favorable draws, and are expected to go deep into the main draw to fight for the title as the first non-Chinese champion after Werner SCHLAGER (AUT) in 2003.
In the Men’s Doubles, mixed nation pair of MA Long and Timo BOLL will expect a face-off against China’s pair of ZHANG Jike and XU Xin early at the second round of the main draw.
Qualifications that includes players from 100 countries battling for the remaining places at the main draw will start tomorrow 26 April 2015 in front of a capacity crowd with all tickets being sold out!
As one of the experienced players in the Nigeria team, France-based Segun Toriola believes he still has the quality to cause an upset at the 2015 ITTF World Championships holding in Suzhou, China.
With more than 500 players from 100 countries competing in five events at the one-week tournament, which serves off on April 26 to May 3, Toriola, whose performance at the last Glasgow Commonwealth Games in Scotland confirmed the quality of the former African champion.
In recent times, not much has been heard about Toriola, who is one Africa’s greatest table tennis players and the Ogun State-born athletes believes he still a lot in his kitty to offer despite his age.
The six-time Olympian said he would disappoint his critics at the global tournament holding at the Suzhou International Expo Centre in China.
“I have started my preparation for the championships because it is not going to be an easy tournament for any player and my target is to play and surprise many players. Also at the world championships the fact that you are seeded means nothing because every player will be playing under pressure. Most top players know that all players that they play from the groups are good as seeded players” Toriola said.
Segun Toriola
12 countries from Africa are taking part in the tournament and the former African ping pong champion is hopeful that teams from the continent can make a lot of impact at the tournament considering the performance of players from the zone in the last two year.
“I believe African players will perform so well in China considering what they have done in the world in recent times,” he added.
As a realist, Toriola admitted that it might not be possible for any African player to win the tournament this year, but this will happen in the future.
His words: “I don’t think any African players can win the world championships for now maybe in future because we still have long way to go and we need to work hard to achieve that ahead of the Asians and the Europeans.”
He however lauded the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) for the giant stride they have made in the last few years, while urging the federation to sustain it.
“My federation is really trying their best to give me and other Nigerian players the best support and I hope this can be sustained so that other younger players can come through the ranks in the sport,” he said.
The Qoros 2015 World Table Tennis Championships to be held on 26 April – 3 May in Suzhou, China is set to be the most followed table tennis event in history.
The 53rd edition of the ITTF World Championships will be seen on TV in a record 169 countries across the globe, an increase of 53 countries from 2014.
Commenting on the record numbers, ITTF Marketing Steve DAINTON stated: “In our effort to take the top events of the ITTF to more and more people and spread our great sport around the world it’s fantastic to be able to announce at a World Championships in China that will have unprecedented numbers of TV broadcasters, improved digital media offerings and tickets are nearly sold out!”
Complementing the viewership on TV, the ITTF will be streaming eight tables LIVE on its online streaming platform ITTF.com/iTV for the first time. These eight tables of world-class table tennis expect to get over five million live and on demand views over the eight days of the Championships.
photo credit ittfworld
A record number of fans will not just be watching on their TV’s and computers, with five out of the eight days of the Championships already being sold out!
ITTF’s social media platforms will be in overdrive, with Facebook.com/ITTFWorld looking to break the 12 million impression mark and YouTube.com/ITTFChannel expecting more than 5 million views on match highlights, features and more!
This exposure, in addition to the 1000 accredited media on site, will ensure that the 53rd edition of the ITTF World Table Tennis Championships will be the most followed table tennis event in history!
It is now obvious that African players are no pushovers considering the performance of Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri at the 2014 World Cup as well as the top 32 finish achieved by Egypt’s Omar Assa at the 2013 World Championships in Paris, France. And when the 2015 ITTF World Championships serves off in Suzhou, China on April 26, these players will also be aiming for good finish on May 3.
Also, the likes of Egypt’s Dina Meshref and Nadeen El-Dawlatly are players who are capable of making the continent proud in China.
However the number one table tennis citizen in Africa, Khaled El-Salhy believes Nigeria and Egypt have the wherewithal to finish among the top 16 at the tournament scheduled to hold in China.
Khaled El-Salhy, photo credit ITTF
The African Table Tennis Federation (ATTF boss conviction was based on the performance of Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri and Egypt’s Omar Assar in recent times, which he said has made the players to be popular globally.
“We are sure that some top players like Aruna Quadri and Omar Assar are very well known now in China and Europe, and I am sure they will be supported by many spectators especially when they are playing against European players. We also hope that the performance of other African players through ITTF website will be highlighted to the continent in order to increase the support for the teams for them to finish in better position,” he said.
El-Salhy admitted that the seeding of three players from Africa in the singles event confirmed the relevance of the continent at global level.
“Actually Africa have three players seeded among all top participants and this indicates a good sign that Africa is on the map of the top 64 players in each category. We are sure that these players will try their best to represent their continent and their countries as well as going as far as possible to the top stage,” he said.
“ATTF is pushing all participating teams and also do a special follow-up on the top three like Egypt, Nigeria and Congo Brazzaville. We trust that they preparing well for the tournament in order to have their best outing either as a team or individually and we are confidence that they will finish among the top 16 this year,” El-Salhy said.
Also, Dina Meshref says her target is to make the last 16 as well as win medals in doubles events. “My Target is to enter round of 16 in singles, and win a medal in Women’s doubles and in Mixed doubles,” she said.
Meshref however admitted that being seeded has put some pressure on her.
She said: “Yes I am seeded, of course it is a little bit of pressure because there are many very good players behind me; however, I am also very motivated to play well and work hard as I am excited to be seeded at the world championships for the first time in the African history.”
Dina Meshref at the International Table Tennis Federation, ITTF World Tour, Lagos Open, Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos,
“I expect that African players would perform very well this year in the World championships and will stay in the competition till late stages. Also, I believe that nothing is impossible since Aruna Quadri and Omar Assar were able to lose so closely by 4-2 against Zhang Jike and Fen Zhendong, the chinese players who are dominating table-tennis, I believe they are close to win the World championships,” she enthused.
A confident Aruna Quadri believes he would surpass his World Cup outing in China.
“I will be going to China to enjoy myself and feel relax during my matches. I will be very happy if I can surpass my previous records of world championships because I never qualify to the main draw in any world championships before in my career. I am very happy to be seeded in the main draw this time around and I will be very happy if I can do so much better than my World Cup performance. I also think it is very possible and this will really depends on how I feel during and before the tournament. I hope and pray to feel so much better. Being one of the seeded players has really boosted my morale and I have no pressure for being one of the seeded players,” he said.
Nigeria’s Quadri is biggest mover in ITTF latest ranking, now world’s 73rd
The ITTF Star Player added: “I have total confidence in African players because we have really improved in previous years. Egypt’s Omar Assar got to round of 32 in France and I believe that any of us can emulate his performance and I seriously believe that we can shock the world in China this time around.”
Over 12 teams from Africa will be taking part in the global competition, which involves over 500players from 100 countries across the globe.
The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) has confirmed Nigeria and 99 others for the World Championships in the Chinese city of Suzhou, China, serving off on April 26 to May 3.
A total of 310 men and 238 women players will compete at the eight-day event with capacity crowd anticipated.
Also three African players have been listed among the seeded players for the tournament with Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri topping the list of players seeded from the continent and he is seeded 30.
Also seeded from Africa in the men’s singles is Egypt’s Omar Assar ranked 32 for the tournament while the only female player in Africa seeded is Egypt’s Dina Meshref listed in number 62 for the competition.
In the list of Nigerian players confirmed for the championship, Quadri will be joined in the men’s singles by Segun Toriola, Ojo Onaolapo and Kazeem Makanjuola, while in the women’s team, Edem Offiong, Janet Effiom and Germany-based Funke Oshonaike.
According to the world table tennis ruling body, the seeding is based on the World Ranking lists released on Wednesday April 1.
China’s Ma Long heads the Men’s Singles order of merit, being followed by his three compatriots Xu Xin, Zhang Jike, and Fan Zhendong. The third on the list but if one player enjoys the big stage it is Zhang Jike, the Men’s Singles winner in Rotterdam in 2011 and two years ago in Paris.
Nigerian Women’s Team, at the 2015 ITTF-Africa Senior Championships
Both Ma Long and Xu Xin have occupied the top spot on the Men’s World Rankings during the past year and more but in a World Championships Men’s Singles event, they have to rise to the levels of which they are undoubtedly capable.
The third seeded position in the Men’s Singles seeding for the reigning champion; it is the same in the Women’s Singles event for China’s Li Xiaoxia, the winner two years ago in Paris. She is named behind compatriots Ding Ning, the champion in Rotterdam in 2011 and Liu Shiwen, the player Li Xiaoxia beat two years ago in the Paris final.
In the doubles event, the draw involving the top 16 seeds will take place at 2.30pm (local time) on Saturday April 25 at the Suzhou Cultural and Art Center.
The seeding list for the Qoros 2015 World Table Tennis Championships which will be held in Suzhou, China from 26 April to 3 May 2015, has been released by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).
310 male and 238 female players from 100 National Federations will be heading to Suzhou in the hope of being crowned the World Table Tennis Champion in front of a capacity crowd.
The seeding, based on ITTF April’s world ranking, sees the Chinese duo of MA Long and DING Ning named as No.1 seeds for the men’s and women’s singles event respectively.
DING will be looking to add a second World Championship title to her already impressive medal collection, and MA will be desperately seeking his first singles World Championships crown to add to his remarkable haul of 19 ITTF World Tour titles amongst other international titles.
Defending champions from two years ago in Paris ZHANG Jike (CHN) and LI Xiaoxia (CHN) will be both seeded three behind teammates XU Xin and LIU Shiwen.
Ma Long will head into the Qoros 2015 World Table Tennis Championships as the number one seed.
Finalists from the GAC Group 2014 World Tour Grand Finals Jun MIZUTANI (JPN) and Dimitrij OVTCHAROV (GER) head to Suzhou as the number 5th and 6th seeds hoping to ruin the Chinese party and become the first non Chinese singles champion since Werner SCHLAGER (AUT) in 2003.
The challengers to China’s supremacy in the women’s side will be FENG Tianwei (SIN) and Kasumi ISHIKAWA (JPN) who will be the number 4th and 5th seed respectively.
ISHIKAWA may be the highest ranked Japanese women, but the top players will be all hoping to avoid the 14-year-old sensation Mima ITO (JPN), who will be seeded 13 in Suzhou after shocking the world by winning the German Open last month.
While most eyes will be on the top seeds at the 53rd World Table Tennis Championships, there are also some interesting stories away from the table tennis superstars. None more interesting than Jean-Michel SAIVE (BEL), who will be competing in an unmatched 24th World Championships, with his first Championships being back in 1983 as a 13-year-old.
The draw for the top 16 seeds will take place at 14:30 local time on 25 April 2015 at the Suzhou Cultural and Art Center.
Qualification to join the top 64 seeded players, plus 32 who gain direct entry in the 128 strong main draw begins the next day, 26 April, in the Suzhou International Expo Centre, with the main draw beginning on 28 April 2015.
In addition to the singles titles, the world’s best table tennis players will also be fighting for the men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles titles in China.
From Buenos Aires to Haiti, the world is celebrating World Table Tennis Day in its own unique way.
Today, 6 April 2015, marks the first ever World Table Tennis day which rejoices the sport of table tennis, a true sport for all.
Over 100 events in more than 50 countries across the world are being held today, with one common theme – Table Tennis for Everyone, Everywhere!
“The response has been amazing! Being the first year, we were expecting between 20 and 40 events but there are currently more than 100 in around 50 countries!” stated ITTF Director – Development Program, Leandro OLVECH.
The showcase event will be staged at the “Obelisco”, the most iconic monument in Argentina being located at the 9 de Julio Avenue, and considered the widest street in the world.
The street will be closed off, with a sea of tables being assembled for thousands of people to come and play table tennis, and celebrate World Table Tennis Day!
Pick up your racket and play table tennis to celebrate World Table Tennis Day!
Major cities such as Amman, Berlin, Bombay, London, Manchester, New York, Paris, Tehran and Zurich are also hosting events, as is Suzhou, the city that will host the forthcoming QOROS 2015 World Table Tennis Championships.
Notably, New York will see training for teachers in order to coach their students; in Bombay, entrepreneurs will be involved in a special event, whilst in Manchester, a gathering to integrate immigrant families from the suburbs will be staged.
Likewise in Paris, Ping Sans Frontieres, an organisation that collects equipment to donate to African countries, with organise a coach education day.
Not to be left out, San Salvador, the capital of the small Central American country of El Salvador, will continue the principles of the Nittaku Dream Building Project in an attempt to involve young people in sport as opposed to being drawn into the gang culture.
Meanwhile, in Brighton on the south coast of England, an attempt will be madeto break the current global record of 139 players competing in a table tennis rally and thus gain a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.
“The idea behind this day is to gather table tennis enthusiasts, attract people who usually don’t play table tennis, promote the love for our sport and ideally engage new players to the practice in the long term” said ITTF President Thomas WEIKERT.
So pick up your rackets, find a table, and play table tennis to celebrate World Table Tennis Day!
China’s MA Long has returned to the summit of international table tennis by becoming world number one for a 31st month.
The 26-year-old’s victory at the GAC Group 2015 World Tour Kuwait Open against then number one, XU Xin, was enough to dislodge his teammate, to return to the top position for the first time since February 2014.
MA Long will be desperate to consolidate his position as number one in the world, by becoming singles World Champion for the first time at the Qoros 2015 World Table Tennis Championships to be held in Suzhou, China on 26 April – 3 May 2015.
The Chinese pair of 18-year-old FAN Zhendong, and World & Olympic Champion ZHANG Jike remain at three and four in the world respectively. Japan’s Jun MIZUTANI and NN Table Tennis Club 2015 Europe Top 16 champion Germany’s Dimitrij OVTCHAROV rounds up the top five.
Ma Long is once again officially the best on the world.
The world ranking points from winning the GAC Group 2015 World Tour Qatar Open meant that 38-year-old Vladimir SAMSONOV (BLR) is now back into the top 10, while fellow former world number one Timo BOLL (GER) falling off the world ranking due to inactivity over the past four months.
China’s DING Ning retains the top position on the women’s side for a 19th consecutive week, with her compatriot, GAC Group 2015 World Tour Kuwait Open champion, LI Xiaoxia moving up one place to finish off number two in the March world rankings.
LIU Shiwen (CHN) moves down to number three, just ahead of Singapore’s FENG Tianwei and Japan’s Kasumi ISHIKAWA.
Romania’s Elizabeta SAMARA’s victory at the Qatar Open pushed her back up to the 14th position, just behind Austria’s LIU Jia, who like OVTCHAROV, won the NN Table Tennis Club 2015 Europe Top 16 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
The next two events offering high world ranking points are the GAC Group 2015 World Tour stops, the Nigerian Open (Challenge Series) on 10-14 March and the German Open (Super Series) on 18-22 March 2015.
The table tennis table that the world’s eyes will be on come April.
The table tennis table, where history will be made on at the Qoros 2015 World Table Tennis Championships, has been unveiled by Double Happiness (DHS) ahead of the world’s premier table tennis event starting on 26 April in Suzhou, China.
The specially designed table retains the DHS’s classic ‘Rainbow Arch’ design, which represents the connection of the five 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 table, ITTF Marketing Director Steve Dainton stated: “Double Happiness has been one of our biggest supporters over recent years and has always been working with the ITTF for the development and innovation of the sport. It’s great to see a table which takes their traditional “rainbow” design slightly modernized and incorporated with the branding of Suzhou”
The polygonal surface of undercarriage makes it different from other rainbow tables, while newly designed lighting effects make the table have a unique 3D effect.
Each surface of polygon reflecting beautiful but not harsh light, greatly improving visual effect without hampering the games, an excellent balance between beauty and practicality.
The gold undercarriage and the purple table top, which were used at the 2013 World Table Tennis Championships in Paris, has began to create a brand legacy linked with the World Championships.
ITTF World Championships, Qoros 2015 World Table Tennis Championships Table
DHS General Manager Mr Lou commented at the unveiling: “This is the fifth time China has hosted the World Table Tennis Championships. It’s a great honor for an equipment manufacturer to continue providing equipment to World Table Tennis Championships in the homeland of our company. DHS has put a lot of manpower, and material resources in developing new tables, integrating modern technology with traditional Chineseaesthetics. DHS believes the new tables for World Table Tennis Championships will be the best showcase for top players to display their talent to the world.”
The Qoros 2015 World Table Tennis Championships will be held at the Suzhou Exhibition Hall in Suzhou, China from 26 April to 3 May 2015. There will be five gold medals on offer at the world premier table tennis event:
Men’s Singles (holder: ZHANG Jike – China)
Women’s Singles (holder: LI Xiaoxia – China)
Men’s Doubles (holders: CHUANG Chih-Yuan & Chen Chien-An – Chinese Taipei)
Women’s Doubles (holders: GUO Yue & LI Xiaoxia – China)
Mixed Doubles (holders: KIM Hyok-Bong & KIM Jong – North Korea).
The Qoros 2015 World Table Tennis Championships is expected to be the most viewed table tennis event of all time, with record TV audience, online viewing, social media presence and media accreditations expected in Suzhou.
2015 is set to be a landmark year for the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), with a record amount of prize money, exposure, participation levels, as well as development and training programs reaching new heights.
The overall prize money at ITTF events in 2015 hits US$3,570,000, which is the most in the history in a calendar year for the ITTF.
The GAC Group 2015 World Tour, which will see the world’s best players travel to 22 stops around the world, including new events at North Korea and Bulgaria, will reach a record prize money pool of US$3,000,000. The rest of the massive prize pool will come from the World Team Cup held in January this year, Women’s World Cup and the LIEBHERR Men’s World Cup, which will both be held in October.
The QOROS 2015 World Table Tennis Championships, to be held in Suzhou, China on 26 April – 3 May, will be the most watched table tennis event of all time, with a record TV distribution and online streaming presence expected to see the 150 national associations compete.
The ITTF is set to become only the third International Federation to pass 1,000,000 social media fans, with only 20,000 more fans across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Weibo needed to reach the milestone.
Table tennis will be bigger and better than ever in 2015!
ITTF’s Development and Education program, which has gone from strength to strength, is set to go to new heights with the inaugural World Table Tennis Day being launched on 6 April 2015 at Mt Everest.
At the 2015 AGM, the ITTF is lined up to become the number one International Sports Federation in terms of membership reaching 221 with the addition of Sao Tome Principe. This goes a long way achieving one of the ITTF Development Program’s key guiding principles – to have table tennis played in every corner of the world.
The tension amongst the players will be high in 2015, as the road to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games starts! The first event the players can earn their golden ticket to Rio is the inaugural European Games in Baku, Azerbaijan in June.
All these exciting factors, plus many more surprises to come makes 2015 definitely a year to get excited about!
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