Lausanne, May 6, 2013: The World Rankings for May 2013, which determines the seeding for the upcoming LIEBHERR 2013 World Table Tennis Championships in Paris on 13-20 May 2013, has been released.
XU Xin of China regains his position at the top of the Men’s World Rankings, which he held in January and February this year, before being ousted by compatriot MA Long for March and April.
This means that the 23 year old will enter the World Championships in Paris as the top seed and favourite for the Men’s Singles crown, especially after his impressive victory at last month’s ITTF Korea Open over MA Long who will now be seeded 2nd.
On entering the World Championships as the top seed, Xu Xin said: “right now, I feel better. My state of mind is more relaxed. After we arrive in Austria, I have to adjust myself before going to Paris.”
China’s Wang Hao will be the no.3 seed ahead of defending Champion and Olympic gold medalist ZHANG Jike, who despite his poor form in the last few months will still be seeded no.4. Europe’s great hope Timo BOLL (GER) completes the top 5 seeds.
The player to make the most noticeable progress is 20 year old YAN An of China, who moved from #22 last month to a career-high #14 this month, after a successful run in April. At the 2013 ITTF World Tour Korean Air Korea Open, YAN An beat compatriot ZHANG Jike in the quarterfinals, before losing to XU Xin in the semifinals. The young Chinese will be one to look out for during the 52nd World Championships.
For the Women’s World Rankings, the top five names remain unchanged; the Chinese trio of DING Ning, LIU Shiwen and LI Xiaoxia retain their respective top 3 places with FENG Tianwei of Singapore being next in line, followed by Guo Yan of China. The pressure will be on top seed DING Ning to defend her title from 2011 Rotterdam and make up for losing the Olympic gold to fellow Chinese LI Xiaoxia in London.
25 year old SEO Hyowon of Korea achieved a career-high ranking of #21, after beating Japan’s Kasumi ISHIKAWA in a thrilling 7 games final at the Korea Open. —-
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