MEDIA GUIDE - d3mjm6zw6cr45s.cloudfront.net · 29 May - 5 June 2017, Düsseldorf, Germany | 3 ITTF...

29 May - 5 June 2017Düsseldorf (Germany)

MEDIA GUIDE#ITTFWorlds2017

29 May - 5 June 2017, Düsseldorf, Germany | 32 | #ITTFWorlds2017

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29 May - 5 June 2017, Düsseldorf, Germany | 3

ITTF Overview History of Table Tennis Basic Table Tennis Rules Host City & 2017 WTTC Venue 2017 WTTC Key Dates 2017 WTTC Time Schedule2017 WTTC Playing System Men's Singles • Players To Watch Out For• Top 64 Seeds Player InformationWomen's Singles • Players To Watch Out For• Top 64 Seeds Player InformationDoubles SeedingWTTC Trophies & History Reigning World ChampionsCurrent World and Olympic Medalists Past World Team Champions (1926 - 2015) Seamaster 2017 World Tour Winners Upcoming Major Events2017 WTTC Table2017 WTTC Interesting Facts Media Guidelines General Information Venue MapMixed Zone Detailed MapMedia AccessPhotography Positions Media Tools ITTF Media Contacts

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Check out latest event news & updates on

ITTF.comcn.ITTF.com

@ITTFWorld

@ITTFWorld2014@ITTFChannel

Join millions of fans around the world in following the best table tennis players & world class events!

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ITTF OVERVIEW

HISTORY OF TABLE TENNIS

The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) is the international governing body of Table Tennis and has 222 affiliated member associations; the most of any International Sports Federation.

The ITTF holds over 80 events a year, seen live on TV in over 110 countries and currently has over 1.8 million social media followers which makes it one of the most followed sports on the planet.

The ITTF was initiated in Berlin, Germany and became formalized in London in 1926.

Table tennis became an Olympic discipline at the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympic Games and a Paralympic Discipline in 1960 .

The current ITTF President is Mr Thomas WEIKERT (GER) who was appointed in 2014.

Table tennis started as a parlour game in Victorian England; it was after dinner entertainment for the upper class society.

Gradually, the sport grew from a parlour game to a highly competitive activity. Interest began to fade around 1904, and it was not until its revival in the early 1920s that competition resumed on an ever-growing scale.

However, for the game to advance as a serious international sport, standards had to be developed, hence the formation of the ITTF in 1926, along with the first World Championships.

The first Championships were organised, in London in 1926, originally as a European Championships. There was one problem; a group of players from India wanted to compete; hastily just before play began, the name was changed to World Championships but the poster advertising the event remain as European Championships.

The game of Table Tennis has since gone from strength to strength, first appearing in the Olympic Games and now is the second most played sport in the world.

For further history look at the table tennis historical timeline here:ITTF.com/media/History/Timeline_History.pdf.


BASIC TABLE TENNIS RULESSCORINGIn the World Championships, each singles match is best of 7 games; doubles matches are best of 5 games in the qualification, and best of 7 games in the main draw.

The first player to reach 11 points wins the game, however a game must be won by at least a two-point margin.

The edges of the table are part of the legal table surface, but not the sides.

FLOW OF THE MATCHEach player serves two points in a row; then the service changes. However, if a score of10-10 is reached in any game, then the service is alternate. After each game, the players change ends. In the final game (7th game), the players change ends when one player reaches five points.

LEGAL SERVICEThe ball must rest on an open hand palm. It must be thrown vertically at least six inches and struck as the ball falls. The ball must bounce on the server’s side and then the opponent’s side of the table.

If the serve is legal except that it touches the net, it is called a let serve and the serve is done again.

EQUIPMENTThe racket must have a red and a black side. The ball must be white and 40 mm in diameter. The table is 2.74 meters long, 1.525 m wide, and 0.76 m high.

DID YOU KNOW?• A player’s racket is tested randomly before each match, and opponents have the

right to look at each other’s rackets.

• If a game lasts for more than 10 minutes, the expedite rule comes into action. Serving is alternate, if the receiver returns the 13th stroke in the rally, the receiver has won the point.

• If a player strikes the ball below the wrist of the hand that is holding the racket, the point is legal.

• If a player hits the ball around the net and it still lands legally on the table, the shot is valid.


DÜSSELDORFDüsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the seventh most populous city in Germany. Düsseldorf is an international business and financial centre, renowned for its fashion and trade fairs.

Düsseldorf's table tennis team is Borussia Düsseldorf, the most successful team in Germany with Timo Boll, Kristian Karlsson, Anton Källberg and Stefan Fegerl.

Düsseldorf is also known for its football team Fortuna Düsseldorf, which won the 1933 German championship, the German Cup in 1979 and 1980, and were finalists in the European Cup Winners Cup in 1979. Other sports in Düsseldorf are ice hockey & American football. The Düsseldorf Panther are one of the most successful teams in Germany with six German Bowl titles and the Eurobowl victory in 1995.


Messe Düsseldorf is a trade fair ground and organizer that occupies a total exhibition area of 306,000 m2 in Düsseldorf, that will be home to the Liebherr 2017 World Table Tennis Championships.

Messe Düsseldorf organises nearly one fifth of Düsseldorf's premier trade shows.

LOCATIONMessehallen DüsseldorfMesseplatz - Entrance North40474 Düsseldorf, Germany

ACCESSTrade fair shuttle from A44 motorway, Junction 29, "Messe/Arena" or

Take an underground tram (no. U78 or U79) or bus number 722 to get from the central station (Düsseldorf Hbf) to the exhibition centre in about 20 minutes.

Messe Düsseldorf

HOST CITY & 2017 WTTC VENUE


27 May - First Initial Stage Draw

28 May 15:45

18:00

- Opening Ceremony @ ESPRIT Arena- Second Initial Stage Draw- Press Conference

31 May 09:00 - Annual General Meeting (AGM)

03 Jun 10:0012:3015:0017:30

- Mixed Doubles Semifinals- Women's Singles Semifinals- Mixed Doubles Final & Award Ceremony- Men's Doubles Semifinals

04 Jun 13:3016:30

- Women's Singles Final & Award Ceremony- Men's Doubles Final & Award Ceremony

05 Jun 10:0012:00

14:3015:3016:30

- Men's Singles Semifinals- Women's Doubles Semifinals

- Men's Singles Final - Women's Doubles Final - Men's Singles & Women's Doubles Award Ceremony

29 May(Day 1)

10:00 - Qualification

30 May(Day 2)

10:0018:3019:3020:1521:15

- Qualification- Mixed Doubles First Round- Women's Doubles First Round- Men's Doubles First Round- Mixed Doubles Second Round

31 May(Day 3)

10:0014:0018:0018:4519:30

- Women's Singles First Round- Men's Singles First Round- Women's Doubles Second Round- Men's Doubles Second Round- Women's Singles Second Round

2017 WTTC KEY DATES

2017 WTTC TIME SCHEDULE*

* All timing in local time +2 GMT


01 Jun(Day 4)

10:0011:1512:1513:1514:1516:1518:0019:30

- Mixed Doubles Third Round- Women's Doubles Third Round- Men's Doubles Third Round- Women's Singles Third Round- Men's Singles Second Round- Women's Singles Third Round- Mixed Doubles Quarterfinals- Men's Singles Second Round

02 Jun(Day 5)

10:0012:3013:3014:3015:4518:30

- Women's Singles Fourth Round- Men's Doubles Quarterfinals- Women's Doubles Quarterfinals- Men's Singles Third Round- Women's Singles Quarterfinals- Men's Singles Third Round

03 Jun(Day 6)

10:0011:1512:3015:0017:3019:15

- Mixed Doubles Semifinals- Men's Singles Fourth Round- Women's Singles Semifinals- Mixed Doubles Final & Award Ceremony- Men's Doubles Semifinals- Men's Singles Fourth Round

04 Jun(Day 7)

10:0012:1513:3015:0016:3019:00

- Men's Singles Fourth Round- Men's Singles Quarterfinals- Women's Singles Final & Award Ceremony- Men's Singles Quarterfinals- Men's Doubles Final & Award Ceremony- Men's Singles Quarterfinals

05 Jun(Day 8)

10:0012:0014:3015:3016:30

- Men's Singles Semifinals- Women's Doubles Semifinals- Men's Singles Final- Women's Doubles Final- Men's Singles & Women's Doubles Award Ceremony

2017 WTTC TIME SCHEDULE*


1. STRUCTURE1.1 There will be 5 individual events – Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles, Men’s Doubles,

Women’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles.1.2 The first round proper of Men’s Singles and Women’s Singles will have 128 places

and the first round proper of Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles will have 64 places.

1.3 Singles events will have 64 seeded players, 32 direct entries and 32 qualifiers. Doubles events will have 32 seeded pairs, 16 direct entries and 16 qualifiers.

1.4 Qualification for singles will initially comprise groups followed by one or two knockout rounds. 1.5 Qualification for doubles will be by knockout.1.6 All singles matches will be best of 7 games. Doubles matches will be best of 5 games in qualification matches and best of 7 games in the main draw.

2. DRAW2.1 Singles

2.1.1 Singles groups will comprise 3 (or 4) players with each group winner proceeding to the qualification knockout draw or first round proper. The draw for the groups will use a snake system.

2.1.2 The draw for the first round proper will have 2 stages with the first stage split. The initial first stage draw will take place on May 27 and draw the players seeded 17 – 32 and 33 - 64 into appropriate positions at random. The final first stage draw will occur on May 28 (but separately from the initial first stage draw) when seeds 1 – 16 will be drawn. Seeds 9 – 16 will be drawn first, followed by seeds 5 – 8, then seeds 3 – 4 and finally seeds 1 and 2.

2.1.3 The second stage draw of direct entries and qualifiers will be drawn following the completion of the qualification rounds and be drawn at random into the remaining 64 positions, subject to clause 2.3.

2.2 Doubles2.2.1 The initial draw for the first round proper will take place on May 27 when the

seeded pairs will be drawn at random into appropriate positions.2.2.2 The second stage draw of direct entries and qualifiers will be drawn following

the completion of the qualification rounds and be drawn at random into the remaining 32 positions, subject to clause 2.3.

2.3 Players of the same Association shall be separated according to 3.6.3.1, 3.6.3.3, 3.6.3.4 and 3.6.3.5 only in preliminary rounds and groups and in the first round of the draw but not in further rounds.

2.4 The World Ranking list which will be used for seeding and for the draw shall be the WR to be published in May 2017 (No.5).

2017 WTTC PLAYING SYSTEM


After winning the Men's Singles crown at the Qoros 2015 World Table Tennis Championships, MA Long (CHN) went on to take several more major international titles including the Olympic Gold in Rio de Janeiro.

Can the reigning World & Olympic Champion stay victorious in Düsseldorf to claim his second World Championships Singles title?


PLAYERS TO WATCH OUT FOR - MEN

#1: MA Long (CHN)WR: 1 Age: 28 Nickname: Captain LongPlaying Style: Right handed attacking shakehand Best WTTC Singles Result: Champion (2015)Interesting Story: Known as Captain Long, Ma achieved Grand Slam status in 2016 as he finally won the Olympic Games Singles title in Rio. Ma won the 2016 Best Male Athlete of the year at the CCTV Sports Personality Awards.

#4: ZHANG Jike (CHN)WR: 4 Age: 29 Nickname: Tibetan MastiffPlaying Style: Right handed attacking shakehand Best WTTC Singles Result: Champion (2011, 2013)Interesting Story: Zhang was awarded the 2016 Hottest Personality on Weibo, after his popularity surged after the 2016 Olympic Games.

#3: XU Xin (CHN)WR: 3 Age: 27 Nickname: The AnacondaPlaying Style: Left handed attacking penhold Best WTTC Singles Result: Semifinal (2013)Interesting Story: After claiming the Team title at the 2016 Olympic Games, Xu proposed to his long time girlfriend Yao Yan at a concert in Shanghai.

#2: FAN Zhendong (CHN)WR: 2 Age: 20 Nickname: Little ChubbyPlaying Style: Right handed attacking shakehand Best WTTC Singles Result: Semifinal (2015) Interesting Story: Fan won his first major singles world title at the 2016 Men's World Cup, and has set his sights to qualify for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. At the Chinese "Marvellous 12" trials, the 2014 Youth Olympic Champion qualified for the WTTC in the first round.



#5: Dimitrij OVTCHAROV (GER)WR: 5 Age: 28 Nickname: DimaPlaying Style: Right handed attacking shakehand Best WTTC Singles Result: Round of 16 (2009, 2011 & 2013)Interesting Story: Besides table tennis, Ovtcharov practises yoga & meditation to start his day. The 2012 Olympic Bronze medallist became a father last year, after his daugher Emma was born right after the Rio Olympic Games.

#7: WONG Chun Ting (HKG)WR: 7 Age: 25 Nickname: Big Ear TutuPlaying Style: Right handed attacking penhold Best WTTC Singles Result: Round of 16 (2015)Interesting Story: Wong was recognized for his outstanding achievements in 2016 at the Samsung 2016 Hong Kong Sports Star Awards, bringing home the outstanding sportsmen award.

#6: Jun MIZUTANI (JPN)WR: 6 Age: 27 Nickname: MijunPlaying Style: Left handed attacking shakehand Best WTTC Singles Result: Quarterfinal (2011, 2015) Interesting Story: Mizutani become the first Japanese table tennis player to win an Olympic singles medal when he won a bronze medal in Rio last year.

#8: Timo BOLL (GER)WR: 8 Age: 36 Nickname: Bolli, BollingerPlaying Style: Left handed attacking shakehand Best WTTC Singles Result: Semifinal (2011) Interesting Story: Boll has 19th World Tour titles under his belt, with his most recent win recorded at the Seamaster 2017 ITTF World Tour Korea Open. Boll will pair with Olympic Champion Ma Long in the Men's Doubles event.



#9: CHUANG Chih-Yuan (TPE)WR: 10 Age: 36 Nickname: ChuanyPlaying Style: Right handed attacking shakehand Best WTTC Singles Result: Round of 16 (2003, 2007, 2013)Interesting Story: Considered as the veteran player in the Chinese Taipei team, Chuang is still one of the players who posseses a threat towards the Chinese team due to his speed and agility on court.

#12: Vladimir SAMSONOV (BLR)WR: 13 Age: 41 Nickname: VladiPlaying Style: Right handed attacking shakehand Best WTTC Singles Result: Finalist (1997)Interesting Story: In end April, Samsonov was awarded the order of honour by the President of Belarus in recognition of Samsonov's achievement in sports. Samsonov is also the chairman of the ITTF Athletes' Commission and has won 26 World Tour titles.

#11: JEOUNG Youngsik (KOR)WR: 12 Age: 25 Playing Style: Right handed attacking shakehand Best WTTC Singles Result: Round of 32 (2015)Interesting Story: Jeong's strong performance at the 2016 Olympic Games gave Ma Long a run for his money, as he led 2-0 and eventually losing 2-4 to the Olympic Champion. Jeoung played in the 2016 Chinese Super League for the Shanghai Team, alongside Xu Xin.

#13: Simon GAUZY (FRA)WR: 15 Age: 22 Playing Style: Right handed attacking shakehand Best WTTC Singles Result: Round of 64 (2013, 2015)Interesting Story: Gauzy achieved his first major breakthrough when he reached the Men's Singles Final at the 2016 ITTF-European Championships for the first time. He impressed again this year at the ITTF-Europe Cup, clinching a bronze medal and qualifying for the 2017 Men's World Cup.



#14: Marcos FREITAS (POR)WR: 16 Age: 29 Playing Style: Left handed attacking shakehand Best WTTC Singles Result: Round of 16 (2013)Interesting Story: Freitas first represented Portugal when he was 11, and led the Portuguese team to Gold at the 2014 ITTF-European Team Championships. He is also in a relationship with Luxembourg player, Sarah de Nutte.

#18: Stefan FEGERL (AUT)WR: 21 Age: 28 Playing Style: Right handed attacking shakehand Best WTTC Singles Result: Round of 32 (2015)Interesting Story: Prior to 2016 Olympic Games, Fegerl's wife Li Qiangbing gave birth to a daughter. As his wife is Chinese, Fegerl is known to speak fluent Chinese. Fegerl's father-in-law is Li Xiaodong, who used to coach World Champions Wang Liqin and Ma Lin in the Chinese National Team.

#17: LEE Sangsu (KOR)WR: 20 Age: 26 Playing Style: Right handed attacking shakehand Best WTTC Singles Result: Round of 16 (2015) Interesting Story: Lee is now serving the Korean army since February, and will be serving his stint for 22 months. Alongside with Jeoung, Lee is also considered as one of the top players in the next generation of Korean players.

#19: Kristian KARLSSON (SWE)WR: 23 Age: 25 Playing Style: Left handed attacking shakehand Best WTTC Singles Result: Round of 64 (2015) Interesting Story: At the 2016 Men's World Cup, Karlsson eli-miniated home crowd favourite Dimitrij Ovtcharov and even-tually reached the semi-final for the first time.



#21: Hugo CALDERANO (BRA)WR: 25 Age: 20 Playing Style: Right handed attacking shakehand Best WTTC Singles Result: Round of 64 (2015) Interesting Story: Calderano claimed Latin America's first Olympic table tennis medal when he took bronze at the Youth Olympic Games in 2014. He is Latin America's biggest talent, sweeping several major continental titles, and can solve the Rubik's Cube within 15 seconds.

#30: Quadri ARUNA (NGR)WR: 37 Age: 28 Playing Style: Right handed attacking shakehand Best WTTC Singles Result: Round of 128 (2015) Interesting Story: Aruna shocked several big names during the 2016 Olympic Games, to become the first man from Africa to reach the Quarterfinal stage of the Men's Singles. He won the Male Table Tennis Star award at the 2014 ITTF Star Awards.

#33: LIN Gaoyuan (CHN)WR: 40 Age: 22 Playing Style: Left handed attacking shakehand Best WTTC Singles Result: Debut Interesting Story: Lin became the shock qualifier of the China Men's Team as he upset teammates Xu Xin and Zhou Yu to earned his place in the singles event at the "Marvellous 12" qualification event. He was also three time Boys’ Singles runner up at World Junior Championships.

#53: Tomokazu HARIMOTO (JPN)WR: 70 Age: 13 Playing Style: Right handed attacking shakehand Best WTTC Singles Result: Debut Interesting Story: 13 year old Harimoto has been regarded as the prodigy as he became the youngest to win the World Junior Champion title last year. Harimoto is known for his screams after he wins a point.


Hugo CALDERANO (BRA) made history at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games when he claimed bronze in the Boys' Singles event to bring home Latin America's first ever Olympic table tennis medal.

The Brazilian was also the local hero at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, eliminating several higher ranked plpayers to finish top 16!

Can the 20-year-old make more history in Düsseldorf to bring more pride to Latin America?


PLAYER INFORMATION - 64 MEN'S SEEDS

Seed Player Assoc. Age WR Playing Style

1 MA Long CHN 28 1 Right, Shakehand, Attack

2 FAN Zhendong CHN 20 2 Right, Shakehand, Attack

3 XU Xin CHN 27 3 Left, Penhold, Attack

4 ZHANG Jike CHN 29 4 Right, Shakehand, Attack

5 Dimitrij OVTCHAROV GER 28 5 Right, Shakehand, Attack

6 Jun MIZUTANI JPN 27 6 Left, Shakehand, Attack

7 WONG Chun Ting HKG 25 7 Right, Penhold, Attack

8 Timo BOLL GER 36 8 Left, Shakehand, Attack

9 CHUANG Chih-Yuan TPE 36 10 Right, Shakehand, Attack

10 Koki NIWA JPN 22 11 Left, Shakehand, Attack

11 JEOUNG Youngsik KOR 25 12 Right, Shakehand, Attack

12 Vladimir SAMSONOV BLR 41 13 Right, Shakehand, Attack

13 Simon GAUZY FRA 22 15 Right, Shakehand, Attack

14 Marcos FREITAS POR 29 16 Left, Shakehand, Attack

15 Kenta MATSUDAIRA JPN 26 18 Right, Shakehand, Attack

16 Tiago APOLONIA POR 30 19 Right, Shakehand, Attack

17 LEE Sangsu KOR 26 20 Right, Shakehand, Attack

18 Stefan FEGERL AUT 28 21 Right, Shakehand, Attack

19 Kristian KARLSSON SWE 25 23 Left, Shakehand, Attack

20 KOU Lei UKR 29 24 Right, Shakehand, Attack

21 Hugo CALDERANO BRA 20 25 Right, Shakehand, Attack

22 Bastian STEGER GER 36 25 Right, Shakehand, Attack

23 Mattias KARLSSON SWE 25 27 Right, Shakehand, Attack

24 Yuto MURAMATSU JPN 20 28 Right, Shakehand, Defense




25 CHEN Chien-An TPE 25 31 Left, Shakehand, Attack

26 Ruwen FILUS GER 29 32 Right, Shakehand, Defense

27 Alexander SHIBAEV RUS 26 34 Right, Shakehand, Attack

28 Emmanuel LEBESSON FRA 29 35 Left, Shakehand, Attack

29 Panagiotis GIONIS GRE 37 36 Right, Shakehand, Defense

30 Quadri ARUNA NGR 28 37 Right, Shakehand, Attack

31 Andrej GACINA CRO 31 38 Right, Shakehand, Attack

32 JANG Woojin KOR 21 39 Right, Shakehand, Attack

33 LIN Gaoyuan CHN 22 40 Left, Shakehand, Attack

34 Jonathan GROTH DEN 24 42 Left, Shakehand, Attack

35 GAO Ning SGP 34 43 Right, Shakehand, Attack

36 Par GERELL SWE 34 44 Left, Shakehand, Attack

37 Paul DRINKHALL ENG 27 46 Right, Shakehand, Attack

38 Patrick FRANZISKA GER 24 47 Right, Shakehand, Attack

39 Joao MONTEIRO POR 33 49 Left, Shakehand, Attack

40 Ricardo WALTHER GER 25 50 Right, Shakehand, Attack

41 Liam PITCHFORD ENG 23 51 Right, Shakehand, Attack

42 Robert GARDOS AUT 38 53 Right, Shakehand, Attack

43 Sharath Kamal ACHANTA IND 34 54 Right, Shakehand, Attack

44 JEONG Sangeun KOR 27 55 Right, Shakehand, Attack

45 Bojan TOKIC SLO 36 55 Right, Shakehand, Attack

46 Jakub DYJAS POL 21 57 Right, Shakehand, Attack

47 JIANG Tianyi HKG 29 59 Left, Shakehand, Attack

48 HO Kwan Kit HKG 20 60 Left, Shakehand, Attack




49 WANG Zengyi POL 33 61 Right, Penhold, Attack

50 Omar ASSAR EGY 25 62 Right, Shakehand, Attack

51 WANG Yang SVK 22 65 Right, Shakehand, Defense

52 Adrian CRISAN ROU 37 67 Right, Shakehand, Attack

53 Tomokazu HARIMOTO JPN 13 69 Right, Shakehand, Attack

54 Tomas KONECNY CZE 31 70 Right, Shakehand, Attack

55 CHEN Weixing AUT 35 71 Right, Shakehand, Defense

56 Ovidiu IONESCU ROU 27 74 Right, Shakehand, Attack

57 Noshad ALAMIYAN IRI 25 76 Left, Shakehand, Attack

58 Joao GERALDO POR 21 78 Left, Shakehand, Attack

59 Grigory VLASOV RUS 32 79 Right, Shakehand, Attack

60 Tomislav PUCAR CRO 21 80 Right, Shakehand, Attack

61 Hunor SZOCS HUN 25 82 Right, Shakehand, Attack

62 Soumyajit GHOSH IND 24 83 Right, Shakehand, Attack

63 Benedek OLAH FIN 26 85 Right, Shakehand, Attack

64 CHO Seungmin KOR 19 86 Left, Shakehand, Attack


World number 1 DING Ning (CHN) had to battle an ankle injury in her seven-games thriller against compatriot LIU Shiwen in the Women's Singles final to claim her second singles crown in 2015.

Can the reigning World & Olympic Champion be successful in her outing to Düsseldorf to claim her third title?


PLAYERS TO WATCH OUT FOR - WOMEN

#1: DING Ning (CHN)WR: 1 Age: 26 Nickname: Big BabyPlaying Style: Left handed attacking shakehand Best WTTC Singles Result: Champion (2011, 2015) Interesting Story: After winning the Olympic Singles title in Rio last year, Ding becomes the 5th woman to complete a Grand Slam. Ding will be attempting to win the title in Düsseldorf for the third time.

#3: ZHU Yuling (CHN)WR: 3 Age: 22 Nickname: Xiao ZhuPlaying Style: Right handed attacking shakehand Best WTTC Singles Result: Semifinal (2015) Interesting Story: Winner of the Women's Doubles in 2015, Zhu will be one of the contenders for the Women's Singles title. Zhu won the 2016 China National Championships title, which is regarded as the most difficult tournament to win.

#2: LIU Shiwen (CHN)WR: 2 Age: 26 Nickname: Little DatePlaying Style: Right handed attacking shakehand Best WTTC Singles Result: Finalist (2013, 2015) Interesting Story: Despite being 4-time Women's World Cup Champion, Liu has yet to win a World Championships Singles title. Her closest attempt was in 2015, where she lost to teammate Ding Ning in a seven games thriller. She will aim for her first World Championships singles title here in Düsseldorf.

#4: FENG Tianwei (SGP)WR: 4 Age: 30 Nickname: JoyPlaying Style: Right handed attacking shakehand Best WTTC Singles Result: Quarterfinal (2015) Interesting Story: Feng was a member of the successful Singapore team at the Liebherr 2010 World Team Championships. She proved herself to be still capable of producing results, winning the Seamaster 2017 Korea Open in April.



#5: CHEN Meng (CHN)WR: 5 Age: 23 Nickname: Da MengPlaying Style: Right handed attacking shakehand Best WTTC Singles Result: Round of 16 (2013) Interesting Story: World Junior Champion in 2011, Chen has been a regular member of the Chinese team, being part of the team that won the World Team Championships in 2016. This will be Chen's second appearance in the Singles event, after missing out a spot in 2015.

#7: CHENG I-Ching (TPE)WR: 7 Age: 25 Playing Style: Right handed attacking shakehand Best WTTC Singles Result: Round of 16 (2015) Interesting Story: Cheng is the backbone of the Chinese Taipei team, leading the team to semifinals at the 2016 WTTC, losing only 1 match against Grand Slam Champion Li Xiaoxia throughout the tournament. Cheng impressed again in October 2016, where she reached the Final of the Women's World Cup.

#6: Kasumi ISHIKAWA (JPN)WR: 6 Age: 24 Playing Style: Left handed attacking shakehand Best WTTC Singles Result: Quarter-Final (2009) Interesting Story: Ishikawa won silver in the mixed doubles event with Maharu Yoshimura in 2015, and won the silver medal at the 2012 Olympic Games in the team event when she was only 19. She was also part of the team that won the Women's Team Bronze in Rio last year.

#8: Miu HIRANO (JPN)WR: 8 Age: 17 Playing Style: Right handed attacking shakehand Best WTTC Singles Result: Round of 32 (2015) Interesting Story: Hirano made history when she won the Women's World Cup in 2016, becoming the youngest winner ever. At the 2017 Asian Championships, she shocked the world once again by defeating 3 Chinese players (including Olympic Champion Ding Ning) to win the Women's Singles title.



#9: Hitomi SATO (JPN)WR: 10 Age: 19 Playing Style: Right handed defensive shakehand Best WTTC Singles Result: Debut Interesting Story: Hitomi showed her potential in 2015 when she won 5 U21 titles, and in 2017 she has already won 3 ITTF Challenge titles (Belarus, Thailand, Slovenia). In February at the Qatar Open, Hitomi and Li Jie put together a 10 minute rally, a total of 766 shot was hit.

#11: DOO Hoi Kem (HKG)WR: 13 Age: 20 Playing Style: Right handed attacking shakehand Best WTTC Singles Result: Round of 32 (2015) Interesting Story: Doo's hobbies are singing and dancing. At the Hong Kong Table Tennis Association's 80th Aniversary Celebration Banquet last year, Doo sang to an audience of more than 200 people.

#10: Mima ITO (JPN)WR: 10 Age: 16 Playing Style: Right handed attacking shakehand Best WTTC Singles Result: Quarterfinal (2015) Interesting Story: Ito became the youngest player to ever win an Olympic medal when she won the Team Bronze medal at the Rio Olympic Games for the Japan team. She has also shown maturity beyond her age as she withstand pressure to lead Japan into the team finals at the WTTC last year.

#12: LIU Jia (AUT)WR: 15 Age: 35 Nickname: SusiPlaying Style: Left handed attacking shakehand Best WTTC Singles Result: Quarterfinal (2001) Interesting Story: Having won the European Cup on three occasions (2005, 2014, 2015), Liu is one of Austria's top athletes, she had the honour of being appointed the flag bearer of Austria at the Rio Olympic Games last year. Liu is also a mother of a daughter.



#16: YANG Haeun (KOR)WR: 24 Age: 23 Playing Style: Right handed attacking shakehand Best WTTC Singles Result: Round of 16 (2015) Interesting Story: Yang became the second Korean to win the Mixed Doubles title at the World Championships, when she won in 2015 Suzhou partnering Xu Xin.

#13: Petrissa SOLJA (GER)WR: 20 Age: 23 Nickname: PetiPlaying Style: Left handed attacking shakehand Best WTTC Singles Result: Round of 64 (2015) Interesting Story: Solja's first breakthrough at the World stage was in 2015, when she won Bronze at the Women's World Cup beating higher ranked players like Ai Fukuhara and Li Jiao.

#17: KIM Song I (PRK)WR: 26 Age: 22 Playing Style: Right handed defensive shakehand Best WTTC Singles Result: Debut Interesting Story: At the 2016 World Team Championships, Kim lead the Korea DPR team to a podium finish beating Singapore in a nail biting match which went the full distance. Kim won singles bronze at the Rio Olympic Games last year, eliminating top Japanese players Kasumi Ishikawa & Ai Fukuhara.

#18: Matilda EKHOLM (SWE)WR: 27 Age: 34 Nickname: MatiePlaying Style: Left handed attacking shakehand Best WTTC Singles Result: Round of 16 (2015)Interesting Story: Pairing with Georgina Pota, the pair is seeded no. 1 in the Women's Doubles event. Ekholm also won silver at the European Championships Mixed Doubles event in partnership with Mattias Karlsson.



#19: Georgina POTA (HUN)WR: 28 Age: 32 Nickname: GinaPlaying Style: Right handed attacking shakehand Best WTTC Singles Result: Round of 32 (2005)Interesting Story: Pota has been seamlessly integrated into the ranks of the great Hungarian Table Tennis ladies. She will play doubles with Sweden's Matilda Ekholm.

#46: Adriana DIAZ (PUR)WR: 80 Age: 16 Playing Style: Right handed attacking shakehand Best WTTC Singles Result: Round of 128 (2015) Interesting Story: Coming from a table tennis family, it is no surprise that Diaz is currently the highest ranked Latin American. Coached by her Dad, Diaz's 3 other sisters are also table tennis players. Diaz also represented Puerto Rico at the Rio Olympic Games last year.

#21: Elizabeta SAMARA (ROU)WR: 31 Age: 28 Nickname: ElizaPlaying Style: Left handed attacking shakehand Best WTTC Singles Result: Round of 32 (2015) Interesting Story: During a Champion Leagues match in January, Eliza was diagnosed with a tear in her meniscus which resulted in immediate surgery the next day. Samara's determination to recovery had her coming back to the arena in 2 months.

#52: Lily ZHANG (USA)WR: - Age: 20 Playing Style: Right handed attacking shakehand Best WTTC Singles Result: Round of 64 (2013) Interesting Story: Lily became the first US athlete to win a medal at an Olympic level when she won the bronze at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games. Early in May, Lily was invited to speak at TiEcon 2017, which is the world's largest entreprenurship conference.


2-time European Champion Dimitrij OVTCHAROV (GER) has had 2 disappointing World Championships outings in Paris 2013 & Suzhou 2015, being shocked out early in the Men's Singles event.

Can the local favourite break the curse to win Gold at home?



1 DING Ning CHN 26 1 Left, Shakehand,Attack

2 LIU Shiwen CHN 26 2 Right, Shakehand, Attack

3 ZHU Yuling CHN 22 3 Right, Shakehand, Attack

4 FENG Tianwei SGP 30 4 Right, Shakehand, Attack

5 CHEN Meng CHN 23 5 Right, Shakehand, Attack

6 Kasumi ISHIKAWA JPN 24 6 Left, Shakehand, Attack

7 CHENG I-Ching TPE 25 7 Right, Shakehand, Attack

8 Miu HIRANO JPN 17 8 Right, Shakehand, Attack

9 Hitomi SATO JPN 19 10 Right, Shakehand, Defense

10 Mima ITO JPN 16 10 Right, Shakehand, Attack

11 DOO Hoi Kem HKG 20 13 Right, Shakehand, Attack

12 LIU Jia AUT 35 15 Left, Shakehand, Attack

13 Petrissa SOLJA GER 23 20 Left, Shakehand, Attack

14 LI Jie NED 33 21 Right, Shakehand, Defense

15 YU Mengyu SGP 27 23 Right, Shakehand, Attack

16 YANG Haeun KOR 23 24 Right, Shakehand, Attack

17 KIM Song I PRK 22 26 Right, Shakehand, Defense

18 Matilda EKHOLM SWE 34 27 Left, Shakehand, Attack

19 Georgina POTA HUN 32 28 Right, Shakehand, Attack

20 SUH Hyowon KOR 30 29 Right, Shakehand, Defense

21 Elizabeta SAMARA ROU 28 31 Left, Shakehand, Attack

22 Miyu KATO JPN 18 32 Right, Shakehand, Attack

23 LEE Ho Ching HKG 24 33 Right, Shakehand, Attack

24 LI Qian POL 30 37 Right, Shakehand, Defense

PLAYER INFORMATION - 64 WOMEN'S SEEDS



25 Sabine WINTER GER 24 39 Right, Shakehand, Attack

26 CHEN Szu-Yu TPE 23 45 Right, Shakehand, Attack

27 KIM Kyungah KOR 40 46 Right, Shakehand, Defense

28 Daniela MONTEIRO DODEAN ROU 29 47 Right, Shakehand, Attack

29 SOO Wai Yam Minnie HKG 19 50 Right, Shakehand, Attack

30 Polina MIKHAILOVA RUS 30 54 Right, Shakehand, Defense

31 Sofia POLCANOVA AUT 22 55 Left, Shakehand, Attack

32 Tetyana BILENKO UKR 33 56 Right, Shakehand, Defense

33 NG Wing Nam HKG 24 57 Right, Shakehand, Attack

34 Viktoria PAVLOVICH BLR 39 58 Right, Shakehand, Defense

35 Bernadette SZOCS ROU 22 59 Right, Shakehand, Attack

36 Suthasini SAWETTABUT THA 23 60 Right, Shakehand, Attack

37 Kristin SILBEREISEN GER 32 62 Right, Shakehand, Attack

38 NI Xia Lian LUX 53 - Left, Penhold, Attack

39 Natalia PARTYKA POL 27 65 Left, Shakehand, Attack

40 Britt EERLAND NED 23 69 Right, Shakehand, Attack

41 ZHANG Mo CAN 28 73 Right, Shakehand, Attack

42 Katarzyna GRZYBOWSKA-FRANC

POL 28 76 Right, Shakehand, Attack

43 RI Mi Gyong PRK 26 77 Left, Shakehand, Attack

44 Nanthana KOMWONG THA 36 78 Right, Shakehand, Attack

45 Adriana DIAZ PUR 16 80 Right, Shakehand, Attack

46 CHENG Hsien-Tzu TPE 24 81 Right, Shakehand, Attack

47 Adina DIACONU ROU 17 82 Right, Shakehand, Attack

48 Hana MATELOVA CZE 26 83 Right, Shakehand, Attack





49 Yana NOSKOVA RUS 23 87 Right, Shakehand, Attack

50 LEE Zion KOR 21 88 Right, Shakehand, Attack

51 Lily Zhang USA 20 - Right, Shakehand, Attack

52 Dora MADARASZ HUN 23 92 Right, Shakehand, Attack

53 Ganna GAPONOVA UKR 31 95 Right, Shakehand, Defense

54 MAK Tze Wing HKG 18 98 Right, Shakehand, Attack

55 Szandra PERGEL HUN 28 99 Left, Shakehand, Attack

56 Maria XIAO ESP 23 100 Left, Shakehand, Attack

57 LAY Jian Fang AUS 44 102 Right, Penhold, Attack

58 Manika BATRA IND 21 103 Right, Shakehand, Attack

59 Galia DVORAK ESP 29 104 Right, Shakehand, Attack

60 Irina CIOBANU ROU 21 106 Right, Shakehand, Attack

61 Eva ODOROVA SVK 37 108 Right, Shakehand, Attack

62 YOO Eunchong KOR 23 108 Right, Shakehand, Attack

63 Ruta PASKAUSKIENE LTU 40 113 Right, Shakehand, Attack

64 Sarah DE NUTTE LUX 24 117 Right, Shakehand, Attack


Quadri ARUNA (NGR) become the first ever African player to reach Quarterfinals at an Olympic table tennis event, defeating top stars such as Timo BOLL (GER) at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games!

Can the 2014 ITTF Male Table Tennis Star further shock the World to make more history?


MEN'S DOUBLES SEEDING

Seed Player 1 Assoc. Player 2 Assoc.

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Masataka MorizonoPatrick FRANZISKAFAN ZhendongJEOUNG YoungsikHugo CALDERANOAlexey LIVENTSOVHO Kwan KitKristian KARLSSONKoki NIWARobin DEVOSRuwen FILUSCHEN Chien-AnJANG WoojinJakub DYJASJIANG TianyiSharath Kamal AchantaTimo BOLLNandor ECSEKIQuadri ARUNA Tristan FLORE GAO Ning Nima ALAMIAN Par GERELLGaston ALTOTomas KONECNYEl-Sayed LASHINBrian AFANADORCristian PLETEAEric JOUTIHarmeet DESAIAleksandar KARAKASEVICRobert GARDOS

JPNGERCHNKORBRARUSHKGSWEJPNBELGERTPEKORPOLHKGINDGERHUNNGRFRASGPIRI

SWEARGCZEEGYPURROUBRAINDSRBAUT

Yuya OSHIMAJonathan GROTHXU XinLEE SangsuGustavo TSUBOIMikhail PAIKOVWONG Chun TingMattias KARLSSONMaharu YOSHIMURACedric NUYTINCKRicardo WALTHERLIAO Cheng-TingJEONG SangeunDaniel GORAKLAM Siu HangSathiyan GNANASEKARANMA LongAdam SZUDISegun TORIOLA Emmanuel LEBESSON PANG Xue Jie Noshad ALAMIYANAnton KALLBERGHoracio CIFUENTESTomas POLANSKYAhmed SALEHDaniel GONZALESHunor SZOCSCazuo MATSUMOTOSoumyajit GHOSHWANG ZengyiDaniel HABESOHN

JPNDENCHNKORBRARUSHKGSWEJPNBELGERTPEKORPOLHKGINDCHNHUNNGRFRASGPIRI

SWEARGCZEEGYPURROUBRAINDPOLAUT


WOMEN'S DOUBLES SEEDING


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Matilda EKHOLMDOO Hoi KemCHEN MengDING NingLEE ZionCHEN Szu-YuLI JieHAYATA HinaPolina MIKHAILOVAPetrissa SOLJAFENG TianweiDora MADARASZManika BATRAKatarzyna GRZYBOWSKA-FRANCChantal MANTZNina MITTELHAMNG Wing NamYana NOSKOVAYousra HELMYGremlis ARVELOAlex GALICAdriana DIAZDaniela DODEAN MONTEIROKatherine LOWSarah DE NUTTECHENG Hsien-TzuHana MATELOVAMiu HIRANOKIM KyungahAdina DIACONUSarah HANFFOUGalia DVORAK

SWEHKGCHNCHNKORTPENEDJPNRUSGERSGPHUNINDPOLGERGERHKGRUSEGYVENSLOPURROUCHILUXTPECZEJPNKORROUCMRESP

Georgina POTALEE Ho ChingZHU YulingLIU ShiwenYANG HaeunCHENG I-ChingLI QianITO MimaOlga VOROBEVASabine WINTERYU MengyuSzandra PERGELMouma DASNatalia PARTYKAWAN YuanKristin SILBEREISENSOO Wai Yam MinnieMariia TAILAKOVADina MESHREFNeridee NINORachel MORETMelanie DIAZElizabeta SAMARAPaulina VEGANI Xia LianHUANG Yu-WenKaterina TOMANOVSKAKasumi ISHIKAWASUH HyowonBernadette SZOCSOlufunke OSHONAIKEXIAO Maria

HUNHKGCHNCHNKORTPEPOLJPNRusGERSGPHUNINDPOLGERGERHKGRUSEGYVENSUIPURROUCHILUXTPECZEJPNKORROUNGRESP


Home favourite Timo BOLL (GER) & World number 1 MA Long (CHN) has joined forces once again to aim for the Men's Double crown.

The legendary pair lost on their first World Championships partnership in Suzhou, after losing to eventual Champions XU Xin (CHN) & ZHANG Jike (CHN).

Will they be successful this year in front of Boll's home crowd?


MIXED DOUBLES SEEDING


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LEE SangsuWONG Chun TingMattias KARLSSONHO Kwan KitCHEN Chien-AnMaharu YOSHIMURAFANG BoJakub DYJASSteffen MENFELVitor ISHIYCHUANG Chih-YuanOmar ASSARJonathan GROTHJANG WoojinGaston ALTOGrigory VLASOVPANG Xue Jie Tomas KONECNYSegun TORIOLAOvidiu IONESCUPAK Sin HyokKrisztian NAGYMohamed EL-BEIALIBrian AFANADORSathiyan GNANASEKARANBenedikt DUDANandor ECSEKI Daniel GONZALEZAleksandar KARAKASEVICEric JOUTIPadasak TANVIRIYAVECHAKULEric GLOD

KORHKGSWEHKGTPEJPNCHNPOLGERBRATPEEGYDENKORARGRUSSGPCZENGRROUPRKHUNEGYPURINDGERHUNPURSRBBRATHALUX

YANG HaeunDOO Hoi KemMatilda EKHOLMLEE Ho ChingCHENG I-ChingKasumi ISHIKAWAPetrissa SOLJAKatarzyna GRZYBOWSKA-FRANCKristin SILBEREISENCaroline KUMAHARACHEN Szu-YuDina MESHREFFENG YalanLEE ZionAna CODINAYana NOSKOVAYU Mengyu Hana MATELOVAOlufunke OSHONAIKEBernadette SZOCSRI Hyon SimSzandra PERGELYousra HELMYAdriana DIAZManika BATRASabine WINTERDora MADARASZMelanie DIAZRuta PASKAUSKIENEGUI LinSuthasini SAWETTABUTSarah DE NUTTE

KORHKGSWEHKGTPEJPNGERPOLGERBRATPEEGYCHNKORARGRUSSGPCZENGRROUPRKHUNEGYPURINDGERHUNPURLTUBRATHALUX


WTTC TROPHIES & HISTORY

MEN’S SINGLES - ST BRIDE VASE

WOMEN’S SINGLES - GEIST PRIZE

MEN’S DOUBLES - IRAN CUP

WOMEN’S DOUBLES - W J POPE TROPHY

MIXED DOUBLES - HEYDUSEK CUP

The prestigious St. Bride Vase awarded to the Men’s Singles World Champion, was donated by C. Corti Woodcock, who was member of the St. Bride Table Tennis Club in London in 1929, in honour of Fred Perry winning the title at the 1929 World Championships in Budapest.

The Geist Prize awarded to the Women’s Singles World Championship was donated in 1931 by President of the Hungarian Table Tennis Association, Dr. Gaspar Geist.

The Iran Cup awarded to the Men’s Doubles World Champions, was donated at the 1947 World Championships by the Shah of Iran.

The W.J.Pope Trophy awarded to the Women’s Doubles World Champions, was donated in 1948 by W.J. Pope of England, who at the time was the ITTF Honorary General Secretary.

The Heydusek Cup awarded to the Mixed Doubles World Champions was donated in 1948 by the Secretary of the Czechoslovakia Association, Zdenek Heydusek.


REIGNING WORLD CHAMPIONS

Men's SinglesMA Long (CHN)

Men's DoublesZHANG Jike (CHN)/

XU Xin (CHN)

Women's DoublesZHU Yuling (CHN)/LIU Shiwen (CHN)

Mixed DoublesYANG Haeun (KOR)/

XU Xin (CHN)

Women's SinglesDING Ning (CHN)


2016 Olympic GamesRio de Janeiro / Brazil

Men's Singles

GoldSilverBronze

MA LongZHANG JikeJun MIZUTANI

CHNCHNJPN

Women's Singles

GoldSilverBronze

DING NingLI XiaoxiaKIM Song-I

CHN CHN PRK

Men's Team

GoldSilverBronze

ChinaJapanGermany

Women's Team

GoldSilverBronze

ChinaGermanyJapan

2015 World ChampionshipsSuzhou / China

Men's Singles

GoldSilverBronzeBronze

MA LongFANG BoFAN ZhendongZHANG Jike

CHNCHNCHNCHN

Women's Singles

GoldSilverBronzeBronze

DING NingLIU ShiwenLI XiaoxiaMU Zi

CHN CHN CHNCHN

Men's Doubles

GoldSilverBronze

Bronze

XU Xin / ZHANG Jike (CHN)FAN Zhendong / ZHOU Yu (CHN)LEE Sangsu / SEO Hyundeok (KOR)Kenta MATSUDAIRA / Koki NIWA (JPN)

Women's Doubles

GoldSilverBronze

Bronze

LIU Shiwen / ZHU Yuling (CHN)DING Ning / LI Xiaoxia (CHN)FENG Tianwei / YU Mengyu (SGP)LI Jie (NED) / LI Qian (POL)

Mixed Doubles

Gold

Silver

BronzeBronze

YANG Haeun (KOR) / XU Xin (CHN)Kasumi ISHIKAWA /Maharu YOSHIMURA (JPN)KIM Jong / KIM Hyok-bong (PRK)DOO Hoi Kem / WONG Chun Ting (HKG)

CURRENT WORLD & OLYMPIC MEDALLISTS


PAST WORLD CHAMPIONS (1926 - 2015)YEAR CITY MEN'S SINGLES CHAMPION ASSOC. WOMEN'S SINGLES CHAMPION ASSOC.2015 Suzhou MA Long CHN DING Ning CHN2013 Paris ZHANG Jike CHN LI Xiaoxia CHN2011 Rotterdam ZHANG Jike CHN DING Ning CHN2009 Yokohama WANG Hao CHN ZHANG Yining CHN2007 Zagreb WANG Liqin CHN GUO Yue CHN2005 Shanghai WANG Liqin CHN ZHANG Yining CHN2003 Paris SCHLAGER Werner AUT WANG Nan CHN2001 Osaka WANG Liqin CHN WANG Nan CHN1999 Eindhoven LIU Guoliang CHN WANG Nan CHN1997 Manchester WALDNER Jan-Ove SWE DENG Yaping CHN1995 Tianjin KONG Linghui CHN DENG Yaping CHN1993 Gothenburg GATIEN Jean-Philippe FRA HYUN Jung Hwa KOR1991 Chiba City PERSSON Jorgen SWE DENG Yaping CHN1989 Dortmund WALDNER Jan-Ove SWE QIAO Hong CHN1987 New Delhi JIANG Jialiang CHN HE Zhili CHN1985 Gothenburg JIANG Jialiang CHN CAO Yanhua CHN1983 Tokyo GUO Yuehua CHN CAO Yanhua CHN1981 Novi Sad GUO Yuehua CHN TONG Ling CHN1979 Pyongyang ONO Seiji JPN GE Xinai CHN1977 Birmingham KOHNO Mitsuro JPN PAK Yung Sun PRK1975 Calcutta JONYER Istvan HUN PAK Yung Sun PRK1973 Sarajevo XI Enting CHN HU Yulan CHN1971 Nagoya BENGTSSON Stellan SWE LIN Huiqing CHN1969 Munich ITOH Shigeo JPN KOWADA Toshiko JPN1967 Stockholm HASEGAWA Nobuhiko JPN MORISAWA Sachiko JPN1965 Ljubljana ZHUANG Zedong CHN FUKATSU Naoko JPN1963 Prague ZHUANG Zedong CHN MATSUZAKI Kimiyo JPN1961 Beijing ZHUANG Zedong CHN QIU Zhonghui CHN1959 Dortmund RONG Guotuan CHN MATSUZAKI Kimiyo JPN1957 Stockhom TANAKA Toshiaki JPN EGUCHI Fujie JPN1956 Tokyo OGIMURA Ichiro JPN OKADA Tomie JPN1955 Utrecht TANAKA Toshiaki JPN ROZEANU Angelica ROU1954 Wembley OGIMURA Ichiro JPN ROZEANU Angelica ROU1953 Bucharest SIDO Ferenc HUN ROZEANU Angelica ROU1952 Bombay SATOH Hiroji JPN ROZEANU Angelica ROU1951 Vienna LEACH Johnny ENG ROZEANU Angelica ROU1950 Budapest BERGMANN Richard ENG ROZEANU Angelica ROU1949 Stockholm LEACH Johnny ENG FARKAS Gizella HUN1948 Wembley BERGMANN Richard ENG FARKAS Gizella HUN1947 Paris VANA Bohumil TCH FARKAS Gizella HUN1939 Cairo BERGMANN Richard ENG PRITZI Trude AUT1938 Wembley VANA Bohumil TCH AARONS Ruth / PRITZI Trude USA / AUT1937 Baden BERGMANN Richard AUT AARONS Ruth USA1936 Prague KOLAR Stanislav CZE AARONS Ruth USA1935 Wembley BARNA Victor HUN KETTNEROVA Marie CZE1934 Paris BARNA Victor HUN KETTNEROVA Marie CZE1933 Baden BARNA Victor HUN SIPOS Anna HUN1932 Prague BARNA Victor HUN SIPOS Anna HUN1931 Budapest SZABADOS Miklos HUN MEDNYANSZKY Maria HUN1930 Berlin BARNA Victor HUN MEDNYANSZKY Maria HUN1929 Budapest PERRY Fred ENG MEDNYANSZKY Maria HUN1928 Stockholm MECHLOVITS Zoltan HUN MEDNYANSZKY Maria HUN1926 London JACOBI Roland HUN MEDNYANSZKY Maria HUN


SEAMASTER 2017 WORLD TOUR WINNERS

Hungarian OpenBudapest, HUN, 19 - 22 Jan

Men's SinglesYAN An CHN

Women's SinglesCHEN Xingtong CHN

Men's DoublesFANG Bo/ZHOU Yu CHN

Women's DoublesCHEN Xingtong/LI Jiayi CHN

Qatar Open (Platinum)Doha, QAT, 23 - 26 Feb

Men's SinglesMA Long CHN

Women's SinglesCHEN Meng CHN

Men's DoublesMasataka MORIZONO /Yuya OSHIMA

JPN

Women's DoublesCHEN Meng/WANG Manyu CHN

Korea OpenIncheon, KOR, 20 - 23 Feb

Men's SinglesTimo BOLL GER

Women's SinglesFENG Tianwei SGP

Men's DoublesJANG Woojin /JEONG Sangeun

KOR

Women's DoublesSHAN Xiaona / Petrissa SOLJA

GER

India OpenNew Delhi, IND, 16 - 19 Feb

Men's SinglesDimitrij OVTCHAROV GER

Women's SinglesMori SAKURA JPN

Men's DoublesMasataka MORIZONO /Yuya OSHIMA

JPN

Women's DoublesMatilda EKHOLM /Gerogina POTA

SWE /HUN


UPCOMING KEY EVENTS

From To Location Event

16 Jun 18 Jun Tokyo, JPN Seamaster 2017 ITTF World Tour Platinum, Japan Open

22 Jun 25 Jun Chengdu, CHN Seamaster 2017 ITTF World Tour Platinum, China Open

1 Jul 3 Jul Agadir, MAR 2017 ITTF-African Cup

4 Jul 7 Jul Gold Coast, AUS Seamaster 2017 ITTF World Tour Platinum, Australian Open

28 Jul 30 Jul San Jose, CRC 2017 ITTF-Panam Cup

17 Aug 20 Aug Panagyurishte, BUL

Seamaster 2017 ITTF World Tour Bulgaria Open

24 Aug 27 Aug Olomouc, CZE Seamaster 2017 ITTF World Tour Czech Open

11 Sep 17 Sep Cartagena de Indias, COL

2017 ITTF-Panam Championships

13 Sep 17 Sep Luxembourg, LUX

2017 ITTF-European Team Championships

15 Sep 17 Sep Ahemdabad, IND 2017 ITTF-Asian cup

21 Sep 24 Sep Linz, AUT Seamaster 2017 ITTF World Tour PlatinumAustrian Open

20 Oct 22 Oct Liege, BEL Liebherr 2017 ITTF Men’s World Cup

27 Oct 29 Oct Markham, CAN 2017 ITTF Women’s World Cup

10 Nov 12 Nov Magdeburg, GER Seamaster 2017 ITTF World Tour PlatinumGerman Open

16 Nov 19 Nov Stockholm, SWE Seamaster 2017 ITTF World Tour Swedish Open

14 Dec 17 Dec TBD Seamaster 2017 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals


World number 2 LIU Shiwen (CHN) has won the Women's World Cup title on 4 occassions to be the most successul athlete in World Cup history, but has never claimed a World Championships Singles title.

Will she succeed in Düsseldorf to take the crown?


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2017 WTTC INTERESTING FACTS• 54th edition of the World Table Tennis Championships (Individual events).

• Ninth time that a World Championships has been stage where only individual events have been contested; the first was Eindhoven in 1999.

• A total of 106 National Associations are being represented in Düsseldorf.

• 330 male & 260 female players will be competing to become World Champions in Men's Singles & Women's Singles events respectively.

• Youngest male player: Ylyas Allanazarov (TKM), who will turn 9 on 29 May 2017. Allanazarov was also part of the Turkmenistan team who competed at the World Team Championships last year in Kuala Lumpur.

• Oldest male player: Asim Qureshi (PAK), 50 years, 11 months and 12 days.

• Youngest female player: Shahd Al-Makki (QAT), 11 year, 4 months and 16 days.

• Oldest female player: Ni Xialian (LUX), 53 years, 10 months and 26 days.

• Ni Xialian (LUX) and Viktoria Pavlovich (BLR) will competing at the World Championships for a record ninteenth time this year.

• There will be 14 former Junior World Champions competing to be World Champions in Düsseldorf, out of which only Ma Long & Ding Ning has successfully claimed the Senior's World Title:• Men's: Fan Zhendong (CHN), Fang Bo (CHN), Ma Long (CHN), Kenta Matsudaira

(JPN), Koki Niwa (JPN), Tomokazu Harimoto (JPN), Chen Chien-An (TPE), Jang Woojin (KOR), Jeong Sangeun (KOR)

• Women's: Chen Meng (CHN), Ding Ning (CHN), Feng Yalan (CHN), Zhu Yuling (CHN), Li Qian (POL)

• Men's teams with 100% singles entries in top 64 seeded posisions: China, Germany, Japan, Ukraine

• Women's teams with 100% singles entries in top 64 seeded positions: Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Romania (China has 4 out of 5 players seeded, with Mu Zi being unranked)


2017 WTTC INTERESTING FACTS• Youngest Women’s Singles Champion: Deng Yaping (CHN), 18 years and 90 days old

at the 1991 WTTC.

• Youngest Women’s Doubles Champion: Deng Yaping (CHN), 16 years and 63 days old at the 1989 WTTC.

• Youngest Men’s Singles Champion: Kong Linghui (CHN), 19 years and 211 days old at the 1995 WTTC.

• Youngest Men’s Doubles Champion: Kong Linghui (CHN), 21 years and 201 days old at the 1997 WTTC.

• Youngest Mixed Doubles Champion: Guo Yue (CHN), 16 years and 294 days old at the 2005 WTTC.

• Victor Barna (HUN) holds the Men’s Singles record of winning the title five times.

• Angelica Rozeanu (ROU) holds the Women’s Singles record winning the title 6 consecutive times, (1950-1955).

• Victor Barna and Miklos Szabados (HUN) hold the Men’s Doubles record winning the title in 6 out of 7 years beginning in 1929. Barna also won in 1933 with Sandor Glancz and again in 1939 with Richard Bergmann.

• Maria Mednyanszky and Anna Sipos (HUN) hold the Women’s Doubles record winning the title at 6 consecutive World Championships (1930-1935).

• Maria Mednyanszky partnered with Mechlovits (1926,1928), Szabados (1930,1931,1933) and Kelen (1933) to win the Mixed Doubles World Title a record 6 times.

• China's Xu Xin & Korea Republic's Yang Haeun won the Mixed Doubles World Title on their first partnership in 2015 to become the first mixed associations pair mixed doubles pair to be crowned since 1966.

• China has spawned eleven Men’s Singles World Champions, all have been right handers.

• Only three lefthanded have won the World Championship in Men Singles event: Stellan Bengtsson (SWE) in 1971, Seiji Ono (JPN) in 1979 and Jean-Philippe Gatien, (FRA) in 1993.


MEDIA GUIDELINESThe media is an essential part of the success of the World Championships, so the ITTF wants to create the best possible atmosphere for the media to work.

In return, the ITTF asks the media to adhere to the below guidelines to ensure that the players, spectators, TV viewers and competition management will also have the best event possible.

PHOTOGRAPHERS• Photographers are only allowed onto the field of play (FoP) with an official bib

issued by the organizing committee.

• A bib can be obtained at the welcome desk, by leaving a piece of ID as deposit. This bib must be returned at the end of each day.

• Any photographers / accredited press on the FoP without a bib will be asked to leave immediately.

• Only a limited number of photographers will be allowed on the FoP. This will be determined by level of importance, then a first come, first served basis. If you are unable to enter the FoP, the ITTF will provide your agency with the photos that you need. Photographers will be able to take photos from the tribune.

• Only photographers with professional cameras will be given an official bib to enter the FoP.

• As photographers are seen by spectators and on television, they are required to dress presentably whilst on the FoP (collared shirt / blouse, long pants / skirts and covered shoes).

• Each day there will be a diagram indicating where photographers are allowed on the FoP. Photographers found outside this area will be asked to leave the FoP.

• Photographers are required to bring their own stool / chairs onto the FoP and are kindly asked to sit while taking photos.

• Photographers must not bring anything except their camera and one spare lens onto the FoP. No laptop and no bags are permitted.

• Photographers are not allowed to move during or in between points.

• Photographers can only move during time outs and in between games.

• Strictly no flash photography is allowed on the FoP.

• Photographers are not allowed in the mixed zone.

• Photographers are only permitted to take still pictures and not videos.

• The Organizing Committee ( OC) will provide secured, lockable storage for your equipment.


MEDIA GUIDELINESMIXED ZONEThe priority for accredited media’s access to players and officials in the mixed zone will be as follows:

• Host Broadcaster

• Television Rights Holders

• ITTF Interviews

• Television Non-rights holders TV Interviews

• Radio Interviews

• Written Press

There will be set areas for each of the above categories, withthe higher priority media getting access to the players first.

FILMING RIGHTS FOR FIELD OF PLAY AND MIXED ZONEPlease find below the explanation of the different material that ENG crews & Video Journalists can or cannot film during the World Championships:

1. All Crews Have The Right To Film:

• Press conferences following the Draw and after the main matches (note all filming must be done at the back on the room on the designated platforms).

• Interviews in the mixed zone.

• Private interviews in the interview room.

Non-rights holders may NOT film match action on the FoP. If non-TV rights holders would like to have access to match footages, they must contact ITTF’s Business Development Manager Kimberly Koh: [email protected].

2. All Crews Have The Right To Film:

• Match action on the FoP, proving they have permission from the HB that they are not disrupting the world feed.

• Presentations, training and warm up on the FoP.

• One-to-one Interviews:

• After the Draw

• After each press conference

• Training in the training hall.

Any unauthorized filming may result in the revoking of the relevant media accreditation.


MEDIA GUIDELINESMEDIA CENTRE AND PRESS TRIBUNE• Only accredited media are permitted into the media centre & press tribune and are

not allowed to bring in guests.

• As there are limited seats in the press tribune, there will be an order of priority given to media that are allowed access.

• As the media centre is a place for work, media must keep the noise to a minimum.

• There will be lockers provided for photographers to store their equipment in the media centre.

GENERAL• Television, radio, or written interviews may only take place in the mixed zone (after

matches), in the interview room and during the press conference.

• If the accredited media would like to have a one-to-one interview with a player, they must organize this through the OC press team or the ITTF Head of Communications (contact details, please see below), and should not approach the player themselves outside the mixed zone or press conference room.

• The OC Media operations staff will manage all photographers onsite and be present to assist photographers with queries, photo position placement and will enforce the guidelines stated herein.

• If the accredited media would like additional photographs, quotes, results, stats or general information, please ask the OC press team or the ITTF Head of Communications and they will be more than happy to help.

• For clarification on any items, please email ITTF’s Head of Communications Matt Pound at [email protected].


Miu HIRANO (JPN) made history when she won the Women's World Cup in 2016, becoming the youngest winner ever.

She continued to shock the World at the 2017 Asian Championships, defeating 3 Chinese stars, including Olympic Champion DING Ning, ZHU Yuling & CHEN Meng, to become the first non-Chinese Champion since 1996!

Can the 17-year-old Japanese sensation win in Düsseldorf?


GENERAL INFORMATIONACCREDITATIONAccredited media pick up their Full Accreditation directly at the Media Centre. To get there, accredited media receive a Day Pass at the main entrance and has to change the Day Pass against the full accreditation at Media Centre Accreditation-/Info Desk.

TRAINING HALLOnly the host broadcaster and TV rights holders have access to the Practice Hall. Written press and photographers do not have access.

MONEY / CURRENCYThe currency of Germany is Euro. In May 2017, 1 Euro is worth:

1 Euro = 1,09 USD

1 Euro = 124 Yen

1 Euro = 7,51 Yuan

TIME ZONEThe time zone in Düsseldorf during the World Table Tennis Championships will be European Summertime GMT/UTC +2.

CLIMATEDuring the WTTC, mild temperatures between 20 and 25 degrees are expected in Düsseldorf.

MEDIA SERVICESMEDIA CENTREA huge gallery is surrounding the whole hall 6, the main playing hall. The media area is located on the north and west part of the gallery and will provide accredited media with access to working areas, free high-speed internet access, media tools, tea, coffee and snacks.


GENERAL INFORMATIONMEDIA TRIBUNEIn the main arena, Hall 6, media tribune features a combination of working desk positions and standard observer seats for the media.

In total there will be 226 seats available for the media (184 seats with tables and fully equipped and 42 seats without table). At each table there will be power and free wi-fi access for media use.

Some of the seats will be reserved. The remaining seats will be allocated to one person per media on a first come first serve basis.

FIELD PHOTOGRAPHERTo go onto the field of play, photographers must obtain a bib from the welcome desk and have to bring it back after the end of the session. A piece of ID must be given as deposit in order to receive the bib.

Photographers are obliged to wear this bib at all times whilst on the field of play and must follow the accredited media guidelines. The number of photographers on the field either in the main hall as well as in venue 2 eventually has to be limited in each session.

MIXED ZONEAfter every match, all the players will pass through the mixed zone. This gives the accredited media the opportunity to interact one on one with the players and the teams. The first part of the mixed zone is dedicated to TV broadcasters and they have the first priority to speak to the players.

PRESS CONFERENCESThe press conference room is located within the press area on the west side of the gallery.

• After each gold medal match, there will be a press conference with the champion and runner up.

• On 31 May after the AGM there will be a press conference.

• More press conferences will be announced to the media during the competition.

TRANSPORT (MEDIA HOTEL - VENUE)The official media hotel is the Relexa Hotel, Ratingen. From 27 May to 5 June, a shuttle is arranged every hour from 7:00 to 23:30. Except the final day, the last shuttle will then go back to hotel at 22.45.

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PHOTOGRAPHY POSITIONS

29 May - 2 Jun

3 Jun

Photography positions subjected to changes.


PHOTOGRAPHY POSITIONS

4 - 5 Jun

13-year-old Tomokazu HARIMOTO became the youngest World Junior Champion in 2016 after defeating more experienced athletes in the tournament.

How will the Japanese sensation fare on his World Championships debut in in Düsseldorf?


MEDIA TOOLS

ITTF Media ToolsTo assist the world’s media coverage of the World Championships, the ITTF will provide the following to the accredited media:

• Interesting stories concerning the upcoming matches• Daily statistics and fact sheet• Daily flash quotes• Upcoming schedule• Previous days results• Official ITTF daily press release• Video interviews• Daily video highlights

If you require anything additional, please contact ITTF’s Head of Communications Matt Pound at [email protected], or +65 8654 4715.

Matt POUNDITTF Head of CommunicationsE : [email protected] : +49 151 1464 0526

Benedikt PROBSTPublic Relations, Deutscher Tischtennis-BundE : [email protected]

Manfred SCHILLINGSHead of Public Relation, Deutscher Tischtennis-BundE : [email protected]

MEDIA CONTACT


Watch the exciting action live at tv.ITTF.com and follow the live results on ITTF.com!

ITTF Marketing & Asia Pacific Office301 Lor 6 Toa Payoh #01-01 Singapore 319392T : +65 6473 8022 F : +65 6250 8692E : [email protected]

Join in the conversation at #ITTFWorlds2017

#国际乒联世乒赛＃ #世乒赛#

@ITTFWorld

@ITTFChannel

@ITTFWorld2014

MEDIA GUIDE - d3mjm6zw6cr45s.cloudfront.net · 29 May - 5 June 2017, Düsseldorf, Germany | 3 ITTF...

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