Table Tennis legends MA Long (CHN) and Timo BOLL (GER) aims for fifth German Open title to make history at the Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Platinum German Open from today 23 March till 25 March 2018 at the ÖVB Arena in Bremen, Germany. After three days of intense action in the qualification rounds, the […]
via Ma Long & Timo Boll Fights to Make ITTF German Open History — newfanzoneblog
Timo BOLL (GER) will become the oldest ever world number one, on 1 March when the new March 2018 ITTF World Ranking is released. BOLL, who will be 36 years, 11 months and 21 days on 1 March, easily eclipse the previous record of the legendary Jan-Ove WALDNER (SWE), who was 32 years and 28 […]
via Timo Boll Becomes the Oldest Ever Table Tennis World Number One — newfanzoneblog
Dimitrij OVTCHAROV (GER) is the Liebherr 2017 Men’s World Cup Champion after defeating the giant slayer Timo BOLL (GER) in front of a capacity crowd in Liege, Belgium, today 22 October 2017. OVTCHAROV, who became the Men’s World Cup Champion for the first time here in Liege, had to overcome Timo BOLL, who was the […]
via Ovtcharov Claims First ITTF World Cup Gold in Liège — newfanzoneblog
Tomokazu HARIMOTO (JPN) has set the new record to become the youngest ever ITTF World Tour Champion at 14 years and 61 days old today, after defeating table tennis legend Timo BOLL (GER) at the Seamaster 2017 ITTF World Tour Czech Open. The 14-year-old Japanese has broken the record previously set by China’s YU Ziyang, […]
via 14-Year-Old Harimoto Beats Legendary Boll to Break ITTF World Tour Record — newfanzoneblog
The entry list for the Liebherr 2017 World Table Tennis Championships has been announced with an impressive 613 athletes making the trip to Dusseldorf, Germany for the biggest table tennis event of the year. For the first time in history, players from Afghanistan, Oman, Palestine and Tahiti will be amongst the 108 countries fighting to […]
via 108 Countries Set to Compete at 2017 World Table Tennis Championships — newfanzoneblog
Current men’s World one MA Long and six-time European champion Timo BOLL will join forces for the second consecutive World Championships after their pairing for the Men’s Doubles event at the Liebherr 2017 World Table Tennis Championships China’s MA, the reigning Olympic champion, and BOLL of Germany will renew their partnership at this year’s World […]
via Ma Long & Timo Boll To Renew Partnership at 2017 World Championships — newfanzoneblog
2014 World Team Championships silver medalist, the German Men’s team, has sensationally crashed out of the Perfect 2016 World Team Table Tennis Championships that is running from 28 February to 6 March 2016.
The Germans, who have claimed 3 consecutive silvers from the last three editions of the World Team Championships, was in Kuala Lumpur without its star player Dimitrij OVTCHAROV who had to pull out last minute from the Championships due to a back injury.
Germany only managed to finish fourth in their group of six, with only the top team going straight to the quarterfinals, while the second and third placed teams securing a place in the final 16.
On their slump to fourth position, the second seeds had undergone bitter defeats to France and England, matches that they were expected to easily win. The surprise packet from group B, France topped the group, ahead of Sweden and England, who only gained promotion to the Championship Division in 2014.
After the conclusion of the qualification stage, a disappointed Jorg ROSSKOPF, the German National Coach stated “We were without Timo BOLL who is ill and will go home tomorrow, the other players have stepped up and responded, but we were not good enough. We beat Sweden to finish but we lost to France and England, the players had their chances, they must take the chances.”
“Disappointing, but now we look forward and prepare for the Olympic Games, let’s hope no more illnesses or injuries.”
The team that defeated Germany in the past three World Team Championships final, China had no issues progressing through to the quarter finals, topping group A. Japan produced a dominant performance over the past four days to top group C and Korea was a step above the rest in group D to book their place in the final eight.
Apart from the newly promoted England, DPR Korea men were the standout underdog performers, gaining a place in the final 16, despite being seeded a lowly 23rd.
It was a bad day for the German men, but a successful one for the German women as they upset the number two seeds Japan 3-2. Petrissa SOLJA was the hero for Germany defeating both world number four Ai FUKUHARA and world number five Kasumi ISHIKAWA to secure the upset victory.
Despite Germany’s win, their loss to DPR Korea earlier in the event meant that they finished third in group B behind Japan who secured their ticket to the quarterfinals and DPR Korea in second.
Like the men’s, the Chinese women strolled through the group stages undefeated to top group A. The 2010 World Champions Singapore showed that they are still a force to be reckoned with, topping group C, ahead of the number three seeds the Netherlands. Hong Kong won their crunch match with Korea earlier today to finish at the top of group D.
A repeat of the epic 2014 Men’s World Cup Final clash between MA Long and ZHANG Jike will not be possible at the GAC Group 2015 World Tour China Open, as they have been drawn in the same half.
Despite this, fans in Chengdu, China will be treated to one of the strongest World Tour tournaments in recent history, with nine out of the top ten men, and eight out of the top ten women all competing in the sixth and final Super Series event of the year.
Qualifications for the main draw starts today, 5 August 2015, with players battling to join the world’s best players in the main draw, which starts Friday, 7 August, with the medals being handed out on Sunday, 9 August!
If current World Champion MA Long, is to win a record fourth China Open title in a row and sixth overall, he will have to overcome players he has had tough battles with in the past. The world number one is due to play FANG Bo, whom he defeated earlier in the year in the World Championships final, and face his archrival ZHANG Jike in the semi final.
“I always enjoy playing in front of my home fans.” stated MA.”It would mean a lot to me to win my sixth China Open title. It won’t be easy as the world’s best players are here, but I will try my best to be the champion!”
It won’t be just these players threatening MA Long’s quest for a 20th World Tour title. Top stars such as XU Xin, FAN Zhendong, Dimitrij OVTCHAROV, Timo BOLL and Marcos FREITAS will also have their eye on securing the prestigious China Open title.
Anticipation is high for the women’s event as well, as a rematch of one of the most dramatic World Championships finals in history between DING Ning and LIU Shiwen is on the cards on Sunday.
After the draw, the world number one stated: “I know everyone is looking forward to watching me play LIU Shiwen again. However, this competition is very strong, with many top players, so I will have to play well just to get to the final, as will LIU.”
As stated by DING, the field here in Chengdu is very strong, with ZHU Yuling, CHEN Meng, FENG Tianwei, Ai FUKUHARA, Kasumi ISHIKAWA and Mima ITO all looking to make sure that a repeat of the 2015 World Championships final does not come to fruition.
14th stop of the US$3,000,000 GAC Group 2015 ITTF World Tour, the China Open is also the sixth and final Super Series event of the year, which is the top tier on the World Tour. The rest of the World Tour events are split into Major series (6 events) and Challenge (11 events).
All players will be pushing for Race to Lisbon points in a bid to qualify for the World Tour Grand Finals. The top 16 singles and top eight doubles pairs on the Race to Lisbon Standings will be invited to the prestigious 2015 World Tour Grand Finals to be held in Lisbon, Portugal on 10-13 December 2015.
The GAC Group 2015 World Tour is offering a record US$3,000,000 in prize money, and will also be the most viewed in history, with more events shown live throughout the world on television, and all the events being shown live on ITTF’s live streaming platform, ITTF.com/itTV
The world’s best table tennis players have arrived in Bremen, Germany for the next stop of the prestigious GAC Group 2015 World Tour Super Series, the German Open.
The German Open is traditionally one of the most popular World Tour events among the players and fans, with 301 players from 48 countries making their way to Bremen for the fourth World Tour of 2015.
As usual in Germany, all eyes will be on the local hero and former world number one Timo BOLL (GER). BOLL will be playing his first international event since his semi-final appearance at the Liebherr 2014 Men’s World Cup in October last year.
If the 34-year-old, who has won this tournament a record four times, wins two matches at the Men’s Singles main draw, he is on course to play an intriguing quarter-final match against his Qoros 2015 World Table Tennis Championships doubles partner, world number one MA Long.
On this potential match up, BOLL stated: “I always look forward to playing against top players like MA Long. Every time we play, we have amazing matches, so if we play in the quarter-finals, I hope to give the crowd a great match.”
The capacity German crowd at theOVB-Arena, will also be treated to seeing more action from the world’s best such as World and Olympic Champion ZHANG Jike (CHN), Olympic bronze medalist Dimitrij OVTCHAROV (GER) and world number five Jun MIZUTANI (JPN).
World number four FENG Tianwei (SIN) will be looking to continue her red hot form which saw her beat two top Chinese players on her way to winning the Asian Cup title last week.
The London 2012 bronze medalist was the form player of the 2014 World Tour, winning three titles, but has not yet got off the mark in 2015.
The Japanese pair of Kasumi ISHIKAWA and Ai FUKUHARA will also be confident for the German Open crown, as will the Qatar Open champion Elizabeta SAMARA (ROU) and the hometown favourite HAN Ying (GER).
Qualifications for the 16 available positions in the main draw of 32 takes place on 18-19 March, with the knockout action getting underway on 20 March, and the winners being crowned on Sunday 22 March.
The GAC Group 2015 World Tour is offering a record US$3,000,000 in prize money, and will also be the most viewed in history, with more events shown live throughout the world on television, and all the events being shown live on ITTF’s live streaming platform, itTV.
As was the case in 2014, the GAC Group 2015 ITTF World Tour will be split up into three tiers (highest first): Super (6 events), Major (6 events), Challenge (11 events).
The top 16 singles and top 8 doubles pairs on the World Tour Standings will then be invited to the prestigious World Tour Grand Finals at the end of the year, the location to be announced later.
China’s ZHANG Jike has won the LIEBHERR 2014 Men’s World Cup in the most dramatic fashion in Dusseldorf, Germany.
The World and Olympic Champion defeated his teammate and good friend MA Long 8-11, 11-4, 13-11, 7-11, 2-11, 11-5, 12-10 to clinch his second World Cup crown.
The match was of the highest quality, with ZHANG Jike fighting back from 3 games to 2 down to show the world why he is the World and Olympic champion, overcoming MA Long who has been unbeaten in 2014.
The 26-year-old has been heavily criticized for his performances on the international stage since he won the World Championships in 2013, and this was the sweetest way to prove himself:
“This was a perfect victory. I have been on a lot of pressure, with people questioning my form. I am now very satisfied and very relieved. I would like to congratulate MA Long on an amazing final. We really put on a table tennis exhibition.”
The amazing victory was overshadowed by his exuberant celebration, which he kicked through the sponsorship barriers surrounding the court. As punishment, the competition jury decided to strip him of his $45,000 prize money.
On the incident, ZHANG Zike said the following: “I am very sorry for what I did, it was not acceptable behavior and I am sorry.”
The capacity crowd at the ISS Dome was not only treated to a breathtaking master class between the Chinese champions, but also a local third place winner. Former world number one Timo BOLL (GER) defeated Jun MIZUTANI (JPN) in the battle for third position 2-11, 11-7, 11-8, 6-11, 11-2, 11-9.
After the win, the 33-year-old stated: “After the scarce and hard defeat in the semi-finals it was very hard for me to keep up the concentration for the 3rd place match. However, I was playing well and I’m glad that I’m so close to the Chinese, it only missing little things. Against Mizutani it was important that I often made the important “small points”. It was good that the crowd was behind me after the lost first set. That really motivated me again.”
The eventful final day capped off a memorable LIEBHERR 2014 Men’s World Cup, which will always be remembered for the amazing run of Nigerian Aruna QUADRI to the quarter finals (more info: http://bit.ly/10rWvHE).
The International Table Tennis focus now turns back to the GAC Group 2014 ITTF World Tour, which continues at the Russian Open on 5-9 November 2014.
Germany’s men’s team has the chance to create history at the ZEN-NOH 2014 World Team Table Tennis Championships, after setting up a mouth-watering final with the defending champions China tomorrow.
Despite Germany having a rich table tennis heritage, they have never won the Swaythling Cup, which is the trophy given to the World Team Champions.
Patrick Franziska (GER) raises his arms after securing a vital win over Kenta Matsudaira (JPN) to put Germany into the final.
To set up this dream final, Germany had to leave the capacity Japanese crowd disappointed as they took down the Japanese team 3-1.
Despite star player MIZUTANI Jun’s outstanding 3-2 win against world number four Dimitrij OVTCHAROV, Germany’s Timo BOLL and Patrick FRANZISKA held up the fort, winning two and one matches respectively to give the team that BOLL described “their best in history” a shot at the title.
On his comeback win against Kenta MATSUDAIRA, 22 year old FRANZISKA commented: “I tried not to think so much in this match, to focus on my strokes, serves and receives. I was happy I could win. You could say that it was one of the biggest (matches of my life). The spectators were really loud. I played very good table tennis.”
If Germany is to win gold, they will have to overcome their nemesis China, who have beaten them in the 2004, 2010 and 2012 World Team Championships final.
China, who contains the world’s three top ranked players overwhelmed Chinese Taipei 3-0 in their semi-final to keep their hopes of a 19th World Championships title alive.
It was better news for the Japanese women’s team who were victorious over Hong Kong, to give them a shot at winning the Corbillon Cup for the first time since 1971.
Japan’s 3-1 triumph brought the capacity crowd to its feet, as the Japanese women’s team secured an emotional victory.
Although they got off to a disappointing start with ISHIGAKI Yuka losing 0-3 to LEE Ho Ching, Japan took the next 3 matches, all in gripping 5 games each.
As she did yesterday in the semifinals against Netherlands, ISHIKAWA Kasumi clinched the deciding match for the team. On her win against LEE Ho Ching, she said: “She’s a great player, but just like my previous match I was able to maintain myself. Again I gave it my all. Yesterday ISHIGAKI helped the team to win, so today I wanted to do the same.”
They will face the toughest possible opponent, top seed China, who swept aside Singapore 3-0 in the semifinals, and who has incredibly made the finals without losing a single individual match along the way in this tournament. It is still to be seen whether their home crowd advantage can tip the odds in their favour, supported by the vocal Japanese fans that have been present all week at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium.
All the action starts at 4:30pm local time with the men’s final, with the women’s final scheduled to start at 7:30pm.
Follow all the action on ITTF.com/itTV.
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