A prize fund of US$ 1,000,000 is offer at the GAC Group 2013 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals to be staged in Dubai next January.
In order to fulfil the basic qualification requirement to compete in the Women’s Singles event at the prestigious gathering, the top three women on the current World Ranking list must all play in one more tournament in this year’s schedule.
The Chinese trio of Liu Shiwen, Ding Ning and Li Xiaoxia all appear on the entry list for the forthcoming GAC Group 2013 ITTF World Tour Koltsovo Russian Open, which starts in Ekaterinburg on Wednesday 20th November.
Minimum Number
Five is the minimum requirement; to date all three have made four appearances, by competing in Russia’s fourth largest city, they will have met the necessary requirements.
They are the top three seeds in the Women’s Singles event at the GAC Group 2013 ITTF World Tour Koltsovo Russian Open. The fourth seed is their compatriot, Zhu Yuling who stands at no.5 on the current World rankings, one place behind Singapore’s Feng Tianwei who is not listed to appear in Ekaterinburg.
In the same manner as Liu Shiwen, Ding Ning and Li Xiaoxia; by competing in Ekaterinburg, she will meet the five tournament criteria.Eyes Focused on Middle East
Wu Yang, also from China is the fifth seed with Japan’s Kasumi Ishikawa, Viktoria Pavlovich of Belarus and Hong Kong’s Lee Ho Ching completing the top eight names.
Certainly Kasumi Ishikawa, Viktoria Pavlovich and Lee Ho Ching have their eyes set on Dubai; all have met the necessary five tournament criteria, all appear amongst the leading names on the GAG Group Women’s Singles Standings. Wu Yang, having to date only participated in two tournaments in the schedule, will not be in Dubai.Busy Lady
Conversely for Lee Ho Ching, she could be a very busy young lady in Dubai; having won the Under 21 Women’s Singles title at the recent GAC Group 2013 ITTF World Tour German Open, she may well qualify for both the Women’s Singles and Under 21 Women’s Singles events at the January Grand Finals.
In Ekaterinburg, she is the top seed in the Under 21 Women’s Singles event, the second seed being Japan’s Misaki Morizono.Japan Prominent
A prominent entry from China in the Women’s Singles event, in the counterpart Men’s Singles competition Japan leads the way. They occupy the top for places in the seeding.
Koki Niwa is the top seed followed by Taku Takakiwa, Kazuhiro Chan and the man of the moment, Masato Shiono, the player who has forced his way into the Japanese Men’s Team as a result of staggering performances on the ITTF World Tour.
Incredibly he won the Men’s Singles title on home soil in Yokohama and then repeated the feat in Olomouc at the GAC Group 2013 ITTF World Tour Czech Open.Completing Top Eight Names
China’s Lin Gaoyuan, the runner up in the Boys’ Singles event at the last three World Junior Championships, is the no.5 seed, followed by the Russian duo of Alexander Shibaev and Alexey Smirnov.
Kenji Matsudaira, yet another Japanese player, completes the top eight names.Daunting Task
A tough task awaits the host nation to gain a place on the medal podium when play concludes; especially for the women with Li Xiaoxia and Zhu Yuling being the top seeds in the Women’s Doubles event followed immediately by Ding Ning and Liu Shiwen.Russian Men in Evidence
However, the men, the horizon is somewhat brighter.
Alexey Liventsov and Mikail Paikov are the Men’s Doubles top seeds ahead of Kazuhiro Chan and Kenji Matsudaira.
Prominent in the Men’s Doubles event, Russia is also prominent in the Under 21 Men’s Singles competition. Philipp Kuimov is the top; his colleague Vildan Gadiev is the second seed.
from:http://www.ittf.com/_front_page/ittf_full_story1.asp?ID=33569&Category=General&Competition_ID=&
Five is the minimum requirement; to date all three have made four appearances, by competing in Russia’s fourth largest city, they will have met the necessary requirements.
They are the top three seeds in the Women’s Singles event at the GAC Group 2013 ITTF World Tour Koltsovo Russian Open. The fourth seed is their compatriot, Zhu Yuling who stands at no.5 on the current World rankings, one place behind Singapore’s Feng Tianwei who is not listed to appear in Ekaterinburg.
In the same manner as Liu Shiwen, Ding Ning and Li Xiaoxia; by competing in Ekaterinburg, she will meet the five tournament criteria.Eyes Focused on Middle East
Wu Yang, also from China is the fifth seed with Japan’s Kasumi Ishikawa, Viktoria Pavlovich of Belarus and Hong Kong’s Lee Ho Ching completing the top eight names.
Certainly Kasumi Ishikawa, Viktoria Pavlovich and Lee Ho Ching have their eyes set on Dubai; all have met the necessary five tournament criteria, all appear amongst the leading names on the GAG Group Women’s Singles Standings. Wu Yang, having to date only participated in two tournaments in the schedule, will not be in Dubai.Busy Lady
Conversely for Lee Ho Ching, she could be a very busy young lady in Dubai; having won the Under 21 Women’s Singles title at the recent GAC Group 2013 ITTF World Tour German Open, she may well qualify for both the Women’s Singles and Under 21 Women’s Singles events at the January Grand Finals.
In Ekaterinburg, she is the top seed in the Under 21 Women’s Singles event, the second seed being Japan’s Misaki Morizono.Japan Prominent
A prominent entry from China in the Women’s Singles event, in the counterpart Men’s Singles competition Japan leads the way. They occupy the top for places in the seeding.
Koki Niwa is the top seed followed by Taku Takakiwa, Kazuhiro Chan and the man of the moment, Masato Shiono, the player who has forced his way into the Japanese Men’s Team as a result of staggering performances on the ITTF World Tour.
Incredibly he won the Men’s Singles title on home soil in Yokohama and then repeated the feat in Olomouc at the GAC Group 2013 ITTF World Tour Czech Open.Completing Top Eight Names
China’s Lin Gaoyuan, the runner up in the Boys’ Singles event at the last three World Junior Championships, is the no.5 seed, followed by the Russian duo of Alexander Shibaev and Alexey Smirnov.
Kenji Matsudaira, yet another Japanese player, completes the top eight names.Daunting Task
A tough task awaits the host nation to gain a place on the medal podium when play concludes; especially for the women with Li Xiaoxia and Zhu Yuling being the top seeds in the Women’s Doubles event followed immediately by Ding Ning and Liu Shiwen.Russian Men in Evidence
However, the men, the horizon is somewhat brighter.
Alexey Liventsov and Mikail Paikov are the Men’s Doubles top seeds ahead of Kazuhiro Chan and Kenji Matsudaira.
Prominent in the Men’s Doubles event, Russia is also prominent in the Under 21 Men’s Singles competition. Philipp Kuimov is the top; his colleague Vildan Gadiev is the second seed.
from:http://www.ittf.com/_front_page/ittf_full_story1.asp?ID=33569&Category=General&Competition_ID=&
