ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals: 24th-27th November 2011.

ITTF Press Release: Following the conclusion of the Swedish Open – ITTF Pro Tour, the qualifiers for the ITTF Pro Tour  Grand Final have been released. Ma Long and Guo Yan’s recent form would place them as clear favorites, but with a collection of the finest players in the world present the competition will be fierce (ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals).

Hosted by the English Table Tennis Association in partnership with the ITTF at the ExCel Arena, London. This year’s grand finale will also act as part of the ‘Preparation for London 2012’ series of events and provide the competitors first-hand experience of the conditions they will face at the world’s biggest quadrennial festival of sport next year.

Qualifiers – Singles:

Men     Women

01 – MA Long, CHN     01 – GUO Yan, CHN

02 – ZHANG Jike, CHN     02 – DING Ning, CHN

03 – XU Xin, CHN     03 – FENG Tianwei, SIN

04 – MA Lin, CHN     04 – LIU Shiwen, CHN

05 – WANG Hao, CHN     05 – LI Xiaoxia, CHN

06 – MIZUTANI Jun, JPN     06 – GUO Yue, CHN

07 – OVTCHAROV Dimitrij, GER     07 – WANG Yuegu, SIN

08 – LEE Sang Su, KOR     08 – ISHIKAWA Kasumi, JPN

09 – KISHIKAWA Seiya, JPN     09 – FUKUHARA Ai, JPN

10 – CHUANG Chih-Yuan, TPE     10 – HIRANO Sayaka, JPN

11 – WANG Liqin, CHN     11 – LI Jiawei, SIN

12 – OH Sang Eun, KOR     12 – SUN Beibei, SIN

13 – RYU Seung Min, KOR     13 – YANG Ha Eun, KOR

14 – JOO Se Hyuk, KOR     14 – WU Jiaduo, GER

15 – GAO Ning, SIN     15 – PARK Mi Young, KOR

16 – DRINKHALL Paul, ENG     16 – PARKER Joanna, ENG

RESERVE PLAYERS:     RESERVE PLAYERS:

17 – SAMSONOV Vladimir, BLR     17 – LEE Eun Hee, KOR

18 – SHIBAEV Alexander, RUS     18 – TIE Yana, HKG

19 – NIWA Koki, JPN     19 – YU Mengyu, SIN

20 – YANG Zi, SIN     20 – YOON Sun Ae, KOR

Note: To qualify for the Grand Finals in singles, the players have to attend at least 6 events or 3 different continents.

Qualifiers – Doubles:
Men     Women

01 – MA Lin / ZHANG Jike, CHN     GUO Yue / LI Xiaoxia, CHN

02 – MA Long / WANG Hao, CHN     FUJII Hiroko / WAKAMIYA Misako, JPN

03 – MATSUDAIRA Kenta / NIWA Koki, JPN     FUKUHARA Ai / ISHIKAWA Kasumi, JPN

04 – YANG Zi / ZHAN Jian^^, SIN     LI Jiawei / WANG Yuegu, SIN

05 – GARDOS Robert / HABESOHN Daniel, AUT     CHENG I-Ching / HUANG Yi-Hua, TPE

06 – JIANG Tianyi / TANG Peng, HKG     SEOK Ha Jung / YANG Ha Eun, KOR

07 – APOLONIA Tiago / MONTEIRO Joao, POR     JIANG Huajun / TIE Yana, HKG

08 – BAGGALEY Andrew / PITCHFORD Liam, ENG     PARKER Joanna / SIBLEY Kelly, ENG

RESERVE DOUBLES:     RESERVE DOUBLES:

09 – CHUANG Chih-Yuan / WU Chih-Chi, TPE     ISHIGAKI Yuka / YAMANASHI Yuri, JPN

10 – LEBESSON Emmanuel / MATTENET Adrien, FRA     SUN Bei Bei / YU Mengyu, SIN

11 – CHIANG Hung-Chieh / HUANG Sheng-Sheng,TPE     KANG Mi Soon / SONG Ma Eum, KOR

Note: To qualify for the Grand Finals in doubles, the same pair has to play at least 4 events.
Boys     Girls

01 – KIM Min Seok, KOR     01 – YANG Ha Eun, KOR

02 – SEO Hyun Deok, KOR     02 – KANG MI Soon^, KOR

03 – NIWA Koki, JPN     03 – ISHIKAWA Kasumi, JPN

04 – CHEN Chien-An, TPE     04 – LEE Ho Ching, HKG

05 – SHIBAEV Alexander, RUS     05 – MORIZONO Misaki, JPN

06 – LEE Sang Su, KOR     06 – SONG Ma Eum, KOR

07 – JUNG Young Sik, KOR     07 – CHENG I-Ching, TPE

08 – UEDA Jin, JPN     08 – JEON Ji Hee^, KOR

RESERVE PLAYERS:     RESERVE PLAYERS:

09 – JEONG Sang Eun, KOR     09 – PESOTSKA Margaryta, UKR

10 – CHEN Feng ^^, SIN     10 – NG Wing Nam, HKG

11 – FRANZISKA Patrick, GER     11 – TASHIRO Saki, JPN

Note: To qualify for the Grand Finals in U21, the players have to attend 4 events in at least 2 continents.

Review

Asian Player Eminent

Asia is the dominant force; of the 16 players on each of the Men’s and Women’s Singles lists, 14 are from Asia; only two are from Europe and of course in each event one player is present not by having achieved on the ITTF Pro Tour in 2011 but because they are from England.

The host nation is permitted one place in the events; 21 year old Paul Drinkhall and 24 year old Joanna Parker are the English selections for the respective Men’s and Women’s Singles competitions.

Germans Qualify

Only one other player in each of the events is not from Asia and they are both from Germany; in the Men’s Singles event it is Dimitrij Ovtcharov, in the counterpart Women’s Singles competition it is Wu Jiaduo.

Austria and Portugal

Meanwhile, in the doubles competitions the pain is slightly less for the men with two European pairs joining the English nomination of Andrew Baggaley and Liam Pitchford. Austria’s Robert Gardos and Daniel Habesohn plus the Portuguese partnership comprising Tiago Apolonia and João Monteio appear in the line-up.

Women’s Doubles

However, for the women, it is seven pairs from Asia who join England’s Joanna Parker and Kelly Sibley; whilst in the Under 21 events, where there is no place reserved for the host nation, the might of Asia is once more to the fore.

Under 21 Events

Russia’s Alexander Shibaev is the only European representative amongst the top eight names on the Under 21 Men’s Singles invitation list, for the young ladies, the Asian domination is total.

Present in Force

China, Japan, Korea, Chinese Taipei and Singapore will be on duty in force; for the European countries present gaining a place on the medal podium at the end of proceedings is daunting task.