After encountering shock defeats to Tomokazu HARIMOTO (JPN) and LEE Sangsu (KOR) respectively in the group stage, FAN & his compatriot LIN Gaoyuan were quick to recover and eventually set up an all-Chinese meeting in the men’s singles final. FAN, who had lost to LIN in the final six months prior in Ahmedabad (IND), was […]
China’s ZHU Yuling is the newly crowned Champion of the Uncle Pop 2017 ITTF Women’s World Cup presented by Polar Naturals held in Markham, Canada from 27 – 29 October 2017. The top seed claimed her career first ITTF Women’s World Cup title in a grueling 7-games thriller, and in turn stopping her teammate LIU […]
via Zhu Yuling Claims Career First ITTF Women’s World Cup Title in Markham — newfanzoneblog
Chinese superstars MA Long and LIU Shiwen have ended 2015 as the world’s top ranked table tennis players after both having an amazing 2015, which saw them both being crowned the 2015 ITTF Table Tennis Stars in December.
MA Long had the year of his career winning the Qoros World Championships, Liebherr Men’s World Cup and GAC Group 2015 World Tour Grand Finals, which made him undoubtedly the best table tennis player on the planet.
2015 marks the sixth anniversary that MA Long first ended the year as world number one back in 2010 and December was the 41st month that the 27-year-old has occupied the top position of the world ranking.
On his achievement, MA Long stated: “I am very happy to end 2015 as the World number one again! I am looking forward to showing even better performances in the 2016 Olympic year.”
Chinese teammates FAN Zhendong and XU Xin finished the year at number two and three respectively, followed by Germany’s Dimitrij OVTCHAROV. Olympics champion ZHANG Jike, also from China, is at number five just ahead of Japan’s Jun MIZUTANI.
Japan’s Yuya OSHIMA had the biggest rise in the world ranking in a breakthrough year. At the start of 2015, the now 21-year-old was listed as 71 in the world, moving on 12 months and the rising Japanese superstar is a lofty 18th in the world, and closing in fast on the world’s top 10.
LIU Shiwen managed to overcome her bitterly disappointing loss in the Qoros 2015 World Championships final to DING Ning, to finish the year as the world’s number one women’s table tennis player.
On her way to finishing world number one for the third time in her career, LIU Shiwen won a record equalling fourth Women’s World Cup in a highly successful year for the Chinese player.
World Champion DING Ning finished the year in second position on the back of her victory at the year ending GAC Group 2015 World Tour Grand Finals.
Compatriot ZHU Yuling finishes the year in third ahead of Japanese superstar Ai FUKUHARA. China’s CHEN Meng is next in line at number five, above China’s Olympic Champion LI Xiaoxia and Japan’s Kasumi ISHIKAWA.
14-year-old sensation Mima ITO finishes a remarkable year, which saw her crowned as the 2015 ITTF Breakthrough Star as the 12th best table tennis player on earth.
After a short break for the festive season, the world’s best players get back into action at the 2016 ITTF World Tour Hungarian Open, which begins on 20 January 2016 in Budapest, Hungary.
Check out the full year end world rankings here — > ITTF.com/ittf_ranking/
18 year old FAN Zhendong is the king of Asian table tennis, winning every possible title on offer at the Suzuki 2015 Asian Table Tennis Championships, which concluded today in Pattaya, Thailand.
The 2014 Youth Olympic Games champion beat world number two XU Xin in an epic men’s singles final to add to his men’s doubles, mixed doubles and men’s team gold medals that he won earlier in the event.
FAN looked to be cruising to his fourth Asian title, as he jumped to a 3-0 lead against his close friend XU. XU responded with some breathtaking shots to level the match at 3-3, before FAN proved to be too strong, clinching the title 12-10, 11-2, 12-10,7-11, 9-11, 11-13, 11-9 in front of the capacity crowd.
After becoming only the second man ever to complete the gold medal sweep at the Asian Championships, after his team mate MA Long, FAN stated: “Playing in 4 events has been a great challenge for myself, it has been tiring, but also very rewarding!”
“Of course I’m very excited to win 4 medals here at the Asian Championships, especially in the men’s singles! I have lost to XU Xin several times after playing full 7-games matches in international tournaments, so I had a lot of desire to win this match against him.”
“It was a difficult match, even though I was well prepared and was able to carry out my strategies. I had the chance to end the match in the fourth, fifth and even sixth game, because I was leading, but I guess I became more reserved when I was close to winning, and that caused me those three games.”
The Women’s Singles final was as dramatic as they come. CHEN Meng was started to mount a comeback against ZHU Yuling, who led 2-1, until injury stuck the 2011 Junior World Champion.
CHEN collapsed to the ground grasping her upper leg in agony and was unable to continue the match, which made ZHU Yuling the 2015 Asian Champion! The 21 year old needed to be stretchered off the court and taken to hospital, which also ruled out of the women’s doubles semi final the following day.
“When I was leading 3-1 in the fourth game, she suddenly couldn’t stand properly when trying to get the ball back, I didn’t know what happened”, said ZHU Yuling. “Initially I thought it was a muscle strain but she just squatted there and couldn’t get up. When I went over to her, she told me she pulled her muscle on her upper leg, it was numb and she couldn’t even move or stand up”, added the newly crowned champion.
The finalists from the men’s singles final, XU Xin and FAN Zhendong joined forces to win the men’s doubles crown, defeating the Korean duo of JUNG Youngsik &LEE Sangsu 11-8, 11-7, 11-8, 11-7, 11-7.
DPR Korea won only their third ever Asian Championships gold medal, as KIM Hye Song & RI Mi Gyong become the women’s doubles champions. The DPR Korea pair defeated the dynamic 14 year old duo of Miu HIRANO & Mima ITO 11-3, 12-10, 11-5, 11-7 to win an emotional title.
CHEN Meng will be heading back to China on crutches, but also with the mixed doubles gold medal, which she won with the man of the tournament FAN Zhendong. The Chinese pair were too good for Singapore’s YANG Zi & YU Mengyu, winning the final 11-8, 11-3, 11-5, 11-9.
China again reigned supreme in the teams event earlier in the week, defeating Japan in both the men’s and women’s team final to defend their titles
China has showed us again that they are the dominant force in table tennis by claiming both the men’s and women’s team gold at the Suzuki 2015 ITTF-Asian Table Tennis Championships in Pattaya, Thailand.
In both the finals, China met a young spirited Japanese team, but the reigning World and Asian Champions were too fast and too strong, and defended their titles in style.
The Chinese men’s team was without the world champion and their team captain MA Long who was ruled out with a back injury. This did not stop the powerful Chinese team represented by XU Xin, FAN Zhendong and ZHANG Jike beating Japan. The trio faced off Japanese rising stars, Maharu YOSHIMURA, Koki NIWA, and Yuya OSHIMA, and eventually prevailed 3-0 to win their ninth consecutive Asian Championships team gold.
After the victory, XU who gave the Chinese team the initial lead in the final by beating YOSHIMURA 3-0 stated: “The Japanese are no strangers to us, so we came well prepared. I think it’s the mental strength that aided the victory, it’s important to put world rankings and past results aside and fight for every point!”
Reigning Olympics Champion ZHANG Jike, who dropped his match in the semifinals against Korea’s JANG Woojin, recovered tonight to beat OSHIMA 3-1 to claim China’s victory. After his match, the 27 year old shared: “I have not been in good shape lately. Even though I won the match against OSHIMA eventually, my overall performance is still not satisfactory (losing the second game 1-11).”
The Chinese team, led by singles World Champion and world number one DING Ning, played without world number two LIU Shiwen, who missed the entire teams event through illness. However the depth of the Chinese team is so strong that even without LIU, they fielded world number three ZHU Yuling and world number eight CHEN Meng who have both won World Tour titles in 2015.
The Chinese team proved too good for the young Japanese team of Ai FUKUHARA and the 14 year old duo of Mima ITO and Miu HIRANO, winning 3-0 to claim their fifth consecutive title.
DING Ning who was playing the past few days with the flu stated after receiving her gold medal: “We are very happy that our efforts paid off to win the gold medal against Japan despite the difficulties we faced along the way (meaning her and LIU Shiwen’s illness).”
“The Japanese lineup is also very young and strong. They are only going to get stronger and become great rivals for China.”
The 2015 ITTF-Asian Table Tennis Championships continues tomorrow, with there being still five titles (men’s & women’s singles, men’s & women’s doubles, and mixed doubles) up for grabs before the event finishes on 3 October 2015.
Asia’s top table tennis players have gathered in Pattaya, Thailand for their quest for gold at the Suzuki 2015 ITTF-Asian Championships, which starts from today, 26 September, till 3 October 2015.
The eight-days biennial event will have seven gold medals on offer: men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s team, women’s team, men’s double, women’s doubles and mixed doubles.
Currently the most successful men’s singles player in Asian Championships history with 3 victories, China’s MA Long will be on full power to fight for his unprecedented fourth consecutive win.
The newly crowned 2015 World Champion stated “2015 has been a good year for me so far and I hope this will continue and win me another title in Thailand this time round. It won’t be easy with all the top players from Asia here, but I will definitely be giving in my 100%!”
It will be no easy task for MA as his compatriot, reigning Olympics Champion ZHANG Jike, will be equally eager to pocket his first Asian Championships singles title in Pattaya to add on to his elaborated collection of trophies.
Korea’s JUNG Youngsik as well as Japan’s Maharu YOSHIMURA who both have had a successful run in the 2015 ITTF World Tour, will be seeking to continue their strong form to eye for the crown as well.
In the Women’s singles, defending champion LIU Shiwen (CHN) will be looking to avenge her 2015 World Championships loss against top seeded DING Ning. DING was able to beat LIU in an epic final battle despite badly injuring her ankle in the 7th game of the Women’s Singles gold medal match.
Singapore’s FENG Tianwei who defeated LIU and her teammate ZHU Yuling at the ITTF-Asian Cup in India earlier this year, will hope to repeat her success to take the crown.
Ai FUKUHARA and Mima ITO will carry on Japan’s dream for gold after their top player Kasumi ISHIKAWA withdrew from the tournament yesterday with a leg injury. Both players are in their career best form to aim for gold in Pattaya, with FUKUHARA winning 3 titles on the 2015 ITTF World Tour, and ITO posing great threats to the Chinese at the 2015 World Championships in Suzhou.
2015 World Champion, MA Long, has taken one more step closer to creating history by winning his 20th ITTF World Tour title today at the GAC Group 2015 ITTF World Tour China Open.
MA edged closer to the legendary Vladimir SAMSONOV’s record of 26 ITTF World Tour titles, with an impressive victory over world number two, XU Xin, in Dujiangyan, Chengdu.
The world number one, who had to come from behind in the semifinal to beat lowly ranked Yuya OSHIMA from Japan, was simply too powerful for his team mate XU in the final, prevailing 13-15, 11-4, 11-7, 12-10, 11-9.
After the match the 26 year old stated: “This is the sixth time I have won the China Open, so it is very special to me. It also takes me one step closer to SAMSOMSOV’s ITTF World Tour record. XU is always a very tough opponent. I knew I had to be in my best form to defeat him, and thankfully today I was in front this awesome crowd here.”
ZHU Yuling, who is from the Sichuan province, used her home ground advantage perfectly, as she blew the current World Champion DING Ning off the court in a ruthless display in front of the capacity crowd.
The 20 year old won her second ITTF World Tour title surprisingly easy 11-9, 11-4, 13-11, 11-8 to claim gold at the final ITTF World Tour Super Series event of the year.
“I really felt the support today from my local crowd” stated the world number three,” and I know DING Ning is an amazing player, so I needed to be at the top of my game. It was a surprise that I played so well and won 4-0. This was because I put all my heart and soul into match. I am so happy to be the champion!”
It was defeat for XU Xin in the men’s singles, but a win in the men’s doubles as he teamed up with FAN Zhendong to defeat FANG Bo & ZHU Linfeng (CHN) 10-12, 11-6, 7-11, 8-11, 9-11 in the final.
LIU Shiwen made up for her disappointing semifinal loss against ZHU Yuling by teaming up with CHEN Meng to claim the women’s doubles title. The Chinese duo defeated their teammates GU Yuting & MU Zi 11-3, 11-9, 11-8 to ensure that they both don’t go home empty handed.
In the under 21 singles, Hitomi SATO from Japan won an extraordinary fifth women’s title in 2015 and seventh overall to confirm herself as the dominant under 21 player on the planet.
The men’s under 21 title went to the 2013 Junior World Champion JANG Woojin from Korea, who is quickly establishing himself as a future star of the sport.
The world’s best players now head to Bulgaria for the GAC Group 2015 World Tour Bulgaria Open, which starts on 19 August 2015 in Panagyurishte.
Singapore’s FENG Tianwei made history on 15 March 2015, as she upset the top seed, LIU Shiwen (CHN) at the GAC Group 2015 Asian Cup held from 13 – 15 March 2015 in the Indian city of Jaipur.
The GAC Group 2015 Asian Cup is the continental qualification for the Men’s & Women’s World Cups later in the year, with the top three placed players gaining direct entry to the prestigious events.
In the Women’s Singles gold medal match, FENG overcame world number three LIU 4-2 (8-11, 11-8, 11-9, 7-11, 11-1, 12-10) to claim her first ever Asian Cup gold, breaking China’s streak of eight consecutive gold in the Women’s Singles category.
Earlier in the group stage, 28 year old FENG also defeated the other Chinese female player in action, ZHU Yuling, in 3 straight games (11-7, 11-5, 11-5), which is her first win in nine encounters with ZHU on the international arena.
After her triumph against the world number three in the final hurdle, an excited FENG shared “I never thought I would win! In the sixth game I knew I had a chance, I wanted to win so much, I was so nervous!”
In a tense final against compatriot FAN Zhendong (CHN), World number 2 XU Xin (CHN) came back from 1-3 deficit to win 4-3 (11-8, 11-13, 11-13, 5-11, 11-8,11-4, 11-7, taking his third Asian Cup Men’s Singles crown.
Despite winning in the 7-games thriller against the reigning Youth Olympic Champion, XU stated, ‘I won the first game quite comfortably, and I believed that I could win. However, I made some mistakes during the match and lost the next three games. After losing the fourth game, I tried to stay calm.”
“FAN Zhendong played well, he was very positive. It was just as hard today as two years ago in Hong Kong” added the 25-year-old.
In the bronze medal match, Japan’s Jun MIZUTANI & China’s ZHU Yuling secured the third ticket to the Men’s & Women’s World Cups respectively. MIZUTANI had accounted for TANG Peng (HKG) 4-0 (11-4, 11-6, 11-9, 11-8), while ZHU defeating Ai FUKUHARA (JPN) 4-1 (11-8, 7-11, 12-10, 11-6, 11-9), to gain direct qualification from the Asian Cup.
With the conclusion of the GAC Group 2015 Asian Cup, all eyes now turn to the GAC Group 2015 ITTF World Tour German Open that starts 18 March in Bremen, Germany.
Qualifications for ITTF Men’s & Women’s World Cups:
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), FAN Zhendong (CHN), Jun MIZUTANI (JPN), FENG Tianwei (SIN), LIU Shiwen (CHN), ZHU Yuling (CHN)
China confirmed their status as the best table tennis nation on earth, after winning both the Men’s and Women’s events at the 2015 ITTF World Team Cup, which concluded today in Dubai.
North Korea put up a close battle against the defending Chinese Team in the Women’s Team event. RI Mi Gyong and RI Myong Sun pushed their opponents, LIU Shiwen and ZHU Yuling, to their limits in the both of the first 2 sets of the Teams match.
RI Mi Gyong came back from 0-2 down against LIU in the first set to tie at 2-2, but lost the 5th decider (7-11,4-11, 12-10, 11-9. 9-11) in North Korea’s first appearance in the completion since 1991. The 24 year old shared “We have great memories from here and battled hard in the final. We had chances, but we could not quite do it. We will take inspiration from this event and use it as motivation to take our team forward in the future.”
Similar for North Korean defender RI Myong Sun, who was on track to cause a major upset against world number six ZHU Yuling. However ZHU’s class told in the overcoming RI 3-2 (7-11, 11-6, 9-11, 14-12, 11-5) to the delight of the Chiin the cheers of the crowd at the Al-Nasr Sports Club.
“My match was a big battle. I had to keep my patience and take my chances. I was surprised at her level. They are now a strong challenger to China. I am very happy that I have won my first World Team Cup, and I look forward to many more titles in the future.” shared ZHU who turned 20 yesterday.
DING Ning (CHN) who was named the 2014 Female Table Tennis Star at the DUBAI 2014 ITTF Star Awards held earlier in the week added “It was a tough match, tougher than we expected. I have to congratulate my team mates for winning their crucial matches to give us a 2-0 lead before I played the doubles. It was not easy for them, so I am proud of them. This event was a good chance to give our younger players such as ZHU Yuling a chance to play on the biggest stage and they did very well. This title means a lot to us.”
Grand slam winner LI Xiaoxia (CHN) claims her 5th World Team Cup title today despite not being able to play due to her knee injury, making her by far the most successful athlete in the history of World Team Cup.
In the Men’s Finals, the Chinese Men’s Team swept Team Austria 3-0 to claim the gold medal, without dropping a single game. This is Austria’s first ever Finals appearance and the first a European team has made it to the Finals since 1995.
FAN Zhendong and ZHANG Jike overcame Daniel HABESOHN and Robert GARDOS respectively 3-0 in the opening two singles matches. FAN took the first set from HABESOHN (11-3, 11-5 , 11-8). World and Olympic Champion ZHANG Jike however, suffered a scare from Robert GARDOS when GARDOS came back from 2-8 down to level the score at 10-10 in the third game, ZHANG overcame GARDOS 11-7, 12-10, 12-10.
The dynamic duo of ZHANG Jike and XU Xin eventually ended Austria’s dream with a 3-0 (11-3, 11-7, 11-9) win over Austrian pair of Stefan FEGERL and Daniel HABESOHN.
Follow the match, a very satisfied XU Xin stated: “This victory means one more major world title for us, and of course means a lot to our team. The World Team Cup is similar to the Olympic Games in terms of the playing system, and this will probably be the last time we compete in this system before the Olympics hence this is a very valuable opportunity for us here. Austria did very well, we hope they continue to get stronger and push us harder next time.”
17 year old Youth Olympic Games Champion FAN Zhendong, who won his first World Team Cup title here added:
“We played well here in Dubai, and our results proves that our hard work and efforts have paid off well. However, we still cant let our guards down as competition is getting tougher internationally, other national teams are also training hard and getting stronger, so it’s important for us to train even harder to maintain our edge over the rest.”
The bronze medals for the Men’s Team event went to Germany and Chinese Taipei, while Singapore and Japan took home the Women’s Team bronze.
The table tennis world’s focus now turns to the start of the GAC Group 2015 World Tour, which kicks off in Hungary on 28 January 2015.
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