Probably the funniest table tennis match in history!

If you've ever seen professional table tennis — or at least "Forest Gump" — you'd know the game can get quite heated.

Well, the high-speed shots taken by Belgian competitor Jean-Michel Saive and Taiwanese competitor Chuang Chih-yuan were quite impressive at recent match, but it's the pair letting their guard down and having a little fun that's getting attention.

Saive after a good rally fell to the floor acting as if he had suffered a heart attack. Chih-yuan playing along came to his rescue. (Image source: YouTube)

Around five minutes into the video, the players start making fun of their own hits, dramatizing them in slow motion to the laughter of the crowd. Saive at one point leaped over one of the court barriers to try and make a hit.

Image source: YouTube

Saive later shifted the table and Chih-yuan chimed in, helping him move it completely, to the angst of the judges who tried to keep their smiles behind tight lips.

Image source: YouTube

After this table move, one of the judges actually had to duck to avoid being hit, while Saive took advantage of the situation to flip the score card jokingly in his favor.

Image source: YouTube

And, yes, at one point there were two balls going on the table. We highly recommend skipping to 11:30 to see the players' quick skills with the two balls and to about 0:12: 05 to see when the players start using their heads instead of paddles.

The hilarity took place a the Tai Ben Invitational, where Chih-yuan eventually won the match and went onto the finals where he lost.

2014 YOG World Qualification

The focus is on Vila Nova de Gaia, situated south of the city of Oporto across the Douro River on the west coast of Portugal; the local attention in very much on Diogo Chen.

He flies the flag for the host nation in the Boys’ Singles event at two day Youth Olympic Games World Qualification tournament which commences on Wednesday 24th January.

Currently listed at no.26 on the Under 18 Boys’ World Rankings, he is the no.8 seed and very much has eyes set on a place in the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games, where the table tennis events commence on Sunday 17th August and conclude on Saturday 23rd August.

Four Players Qualify
Four boys and four girls will qualify for Nanjing as a result of their efforts in Vila Nova de Gaia; a place in the semi-finals is therefore the goal in a competition which sees 16 boys and 16 girls in action in a two stage tournament.

Fine Form in Rio de Janeiro
Diogo Chen gained his place in Vila Nova de Gaia very much as a result of his efforts at the Brazil Junior and Cadet Open in Rio de Janiero in September 2013, one of six “Road to Nanjing Series” tournaments.

Impressively, he reached the quarter-final stage of the Junior Boys’ Singles event. In the main draw he accounted for the host nation’s Isaac Zauli and Puerto Rico’s Brian Afanador, before Chinese Taipei’s Yang Heng-Wei ended progress.

Yang Heng-Wei ended the year at the top of the Road to Nanjing Boys’ Standings.

Place Cemented in Hungary
In Rio de Janeiro, he collected 280 points for his efforts; later in the year, at the Hungarian Junior and Cadet Open in Szombathely, he advanced to the third round of the Junior Boys’ Singles competition where Germany’s Qiu Dang ended aspirations. 

The result of his efforts in the eastern European country was that he gained a further 80 points, a total of 360 points and sufficient for an invitation to the Youth Olympic Games World Qualification tournament.

ITTF Global Junior Circuit Finals
Furthermore, Diogo Chen also features in the 2013 ITTF Global Junior Circuit Finals which follows the Youth Olympic Games World Qualification tournament.

In the Boys’ Singles event he is the no.10 seed; his place in the prestigious competition being secured following a year of impressive performances.

Silver Medallist in Funchal
Additional to his efforts in Rio de Janeiro and Szombathely, he was the runner up in the Junior Boys’ Singles event in Funchal and a quarter-finalist in the Czech Republic.

Overall, including participation in Junior Boys’ Team and Junior Boys’ Singles events on the ITTF Global Junior Circuit in 2013, Diogo Chen played a total of 62 singles matches of which he won 44 and lost 18, an average of 70.97 per cent; an impressive record.

Rita Fins the Female Representative
Also on duty for Portugal in the ITTF Global Junior Circuit Finals will be Rita Finns.

She competes in the Junior Girls’ Singles event. She is the no.14 seed. 

In 2013 on the ITTF Junior Circuit, she played a total of 33 singles matches, including both team and individual, she more than held her own; she won 16 and lost 17, a record of 48.48 per cent.

Youth Olympic Games World Qualification Tournament 
The top 16 boys and top 16 girls on the Road to Nanjing Standing for 2013 qualify for the Youth Olympic Games World Qualification tournament, with the proviso that in each of the Boys’ and Girls’ Singles events there is one player from each of the six continents.

Only one boy and one girl per National Olympic Committee is eligible to compete in the Youth Olympic Games; the restrictions apply during all stages of the qualification process. In order to be eligible to compete in the Youth Olympic Games, players must be born between Monday 1st January 1996 and Thursday 31st December 1999 and receive National Olympic Committee approval.

ITTF Junior Circuit Finals Qualification Tournament 
Meanwhile for the ITTF Junior Circuit Finals, in each of the Junior Boys’ Singles and Junior Girls’ Singles events, a player must have competed in two continents, no national association may be represented by more than two players; each continent is eligible to field one representative as is the host national association.

Entries: Youth Olympic Games World Qualification Tournament 
Boys: Hugo Calderano (Brazil), Kim Minyeok (Korea), Yang Heng-Wei (Chinese Taipei), David Reitspies (Czech Republic), Hung Ka Tak (Hong Kong), Kilian Ort (Germany), Adam Szudi (Hungary), Diogo Chen (Portugal), Patryk Zatowka (Poland), Padasak Tanviriyavechakul (Thailand), Brian Afanador (Puerto Rico), Yin Jing Yuan (Singapore), Kunal Chodri (U.S.A.), Martin Khatchanov (Netherlands), Aly Ghallab (Egypt), Ivan Sulfaro (Australia)

Girls: Doo Hoi Kem (Hong Kong), Miyu Kato (Japan), Adina Diaconu (Romania), Chiu Ssu-Hua (Chinese Taipei), Tamolwan Khetkhuan (Thailand), Natalia Bajor (Poland), Charlotte Carey (Great Britain), Kristyna Stefcova (Czech Republic), Kim Vermaas (Netherlands), Anqi Luo (Canada), Tina Lin (U.S.A.), Kim Yedam (Korea), Maria Pia Lorenzotti (Uruguay), Yee Herng Hwee (Singapore), Fagr Shouman (Egypt), Sara Tan (Australia) 

Entries: Youth Olympic Games World Qualification Tournament 
Boys: Hugo Calderano (Brazil), Liao Cheng-Ting (Chinese Taipei), Kim Minhyeok (Korea), Yang Heng-Wei (Chinese Taipei), David Reitspies (Czech Republic), Hung Ka Tak (Hong Kong), Chen Hongtao (Canada), Lam Siu Hang (Hong Kong), Vitor Ishiy (Brazil), Diogo Chen (Canada), Fermin Tenti (Argentina), Padasak Tanviriyavechakul (Thailand), Miguel Vilchez (Spain), Elias Ranefur (Sweden), Shady Magdy (Egypt), Ivan Sulfaro (Australia)

Girls: Doo Hoi Kem (Hong Kong), Ariel Hsing (U.S.A.), Eka So (Japan), Manika Batra (India), Ayane Morita (Japan), Lam Yee Lok (Hong Kong), Chiu Ssu-Hua (Chinese Taipei), Sutirtha Mukherjee (India), Tamolwan Khetkhuan (Thailand), Charlotte Carey (Wales), Huang Yu-Wen (Chinese Taipei), Linda Bergström (Sweden), Maria-Pia Lorenzotti (Uruguay), Rita Fins (Portugal), Yousra Helmy (Egypt), Sarah Tan (Australia)

Call to end China’s hold on table tennis

DUBAI — China’s table tennis federation should give foreign players more access to its coaches to ease the country’s stranglehold on the sport, and to attract more television and sponsor interest, the head of the world governing body has said.

In the men’s game, Chinese players have won seven of the past eight biennial world championships, while China’s women have claimed the last 10 titles.

"It reminds me of 20 years ago when the US was dominating basketball — they (the US) were able to promote the sport elsewhere and bring the top players from other countries to the NBA (National Basketball Association)," said Adham Sharara, president of the International Table Tennis Federation.

"Today, the US is still very strong but doesn’t dominate ... (the way) China dominates our sport."

The Canadian said lesser Chinese pre-eminence would help attract greater sponsorship and television coverage of table tennis, which has been an Olympic sport since 1988.

Globally, there are 217 national federations, second only to volleyball, but the prize money on offer is a pittance compared with many sports.

The World Tour Grand Finals in Dubai this weekend — table tennis’s richest event — had a total cash pot of $878,000 for the men’s and women’s singles and doubles tournaments. Novak Djokovic, the world No 2 in men’s tennis, earned $1.92m for winning December’s ATP World Tour Finals.

"Even in China itself, the general public is getting tired of seeing China winning all the time," said Sharara. "We need more co-operation from the Chinese.

"They’re opening the door but ever so slowly. They need to sacrifice to make the others better, even to lose to the others, so the sport becomes more and more interesting. I say help us for just five years and then you can go back and close the doors."

Sharara said that this help would mainly consist of allowing young players from other countries to train with China’s elite players, not just provincial teams, plus access to China’s equipment technology, which is superior.

The top five men and top four women in the world rankings are all Chinese.

Men’s No 1 Ma Long said he would welcome foreign players to practise with him. "Chinese players dominate, so maybe the prize money is a bit low for the other players," he said.

He spoke through an interpreter and the lack of foreign language skills among China’s players has also made promoting the game more difficult.

"I’m trying to convince the Chinese federation that their top players must speak English, so now they’re giving them English courses," Sharara said.

"This generation is a little bit too shy, but the next generation, the younger ones, are speaking English already."

Ma said that this would help sell the sport to broadcasters.

Ma Long and Liu Shiwen Retain Top Places on January World Rankings

China's Ma Long and Liu Shiwen retain their top places on the respective Men's and Women's World Rankings; on the listings issued by the International Table Tennis Federation on Friday 3rd January 2014 they are once again at the very pinnacle.

It is the seventh consecutive month that Ma Long has appeared in the top spot and the 29th time during his career.

Meanwhile, for Liu Shiwen it her fifth month in succession in first place and it is the 14th time overall.

First Place Four Years Ago
Ma Long first assumed the top spot exactly four years ago in January 2010, he maintained that position throughout the year; in January 2011 he fell one place to no.2 but then regained the no.1 spot in October 2011. 

He remained at the top of the tree for eight months, being replaced by Zhang Jike in June 2012; in March 2013 he changed places with Xu Xin and held the top spot in April before again alternating with Xu Xin.

In July 2013 he returned to the top of the list and he has been there ever since.

Two Stints
A total of four stints in top place for Ma Long, it is two for Liu Shiwen; she owned first position for nine months in 2010 from January to September, before in September 2013 replacing Ding Ning in first place.

Leading Names Unchanged
Top place retained by Ma Long and on the Men's World Rankings the leading names all remained unchanged. 

Xu Xin continues in second place followed by Chinese National Team colleagues Zhang Jike, Wang Hao and Fan Zhendong. Once again Germany's Dimitrij Ovtcharov is at no.6 one place ahead of Yan An, also from China, and German compatriot, Timo Boll. 

Chinese Taipei's Chuang Chih-Yuan is stationary at no.9 with Vladimir Samsonov at no.10, followed by China's Ma Lin and Wang Liqin who complete the top 12 names.

One Change of Note
No change amongst the highest echelons of the Men's World Rankings and only one for the women. 

China's Wu Yang and Singapore's Feng Tianwei change places; Wu Yang is now at no.4 and thus enjoys the highest status of her career and the highest achieved by a defensive player since Korea's Kim Kyungah occupied the same status from August to October 2010.

Liu Shiwen remains at the top of the list for the fifth consecutive month
Photo by Ry Gros

Remain the Same
Otherwise amongst the elite there is no change; China's Ding Ning and Li Xiaoxia remain at no.2 and no.3 respectively with colleagues Chen Meng, Zhu Yuling and the now retired Guo Yan being in immediate pursuit of Feng Tianwei. 

Japan's Ai Fukuhara remains no.9 one place ahead of colleague Kasumi Ishikawa with Guo Yue, also from China and Korea's Seo Hyowon once again completing the top 12 names.

Highest Career Status
A career high for Wu Yang and lower down the order in the top 100 names there are several ladies who enjoy the most illustrious status of their careers.

In the top 50 names, Germany's Han Ying moves from a previous best of no.19 in December 2013 to no.21; likewise it is consistent progress for Hong Kong's Lee Ho Ching and Korea's Jeon Jihee. Lee Ho Ching climbs from no.23, a position she also owned in September 2013, to no. 21, whilst Jeon Jihee advances one place to no.24. 

She was listed at no.25 in December 2013, as she was in January and February 2012 and in September 2013.

Similar Scenario
Likewise, China's Hu Limei, Gu Yuting, Liu Gaoyang and Zhao Yan enjoyed the highest rankings of their young careers.

Hu Limei improves on her last December best of no.29 and is now at no.27; Gu Yuting who previously shared the no.51 spot with Liu Gaoyang is now at no.32 alongside Zhao Yan.

The previous best for Gu Yuting was no.38 in September 2010, for Liu Gaoyang no.46 in October 2013; whilst for Zhao Yan, her highest was month ago in December 2013 when she stood one place lower than at present at no.36.





It is continued progress for Lee Ho Ching, she is now at no.21 on the Women's World Rankings
Photo by Karson Chan

Also New Heights
Likewise, in the top one hundred Hong Kong's Doo Hoi Kem, Romania's Bernadette Szocs and China's Li Xi alongside the Japanese duo of Mima Ito and Miu Hirano all enjoy career high rankings.

Doo Hoi Kem moves from no.77 to no.53 and improves on her earlier best of no.75 in October 2013; whilst for the other four notable names they advance from what was their previous highest career status.

Bernadette Szocs climbs from no.71 to no.51, Mima Ito from no.63 to no.60 and Miu Hirano from no.78 to no.69; whilst Li Xi is now at no.99; prior to the January listing she was at no.99.

Similar for Men
Similarly for the men there are those amongst the top one hundred enjoying new heights and improving on their earlier best in December 2013.

Portugal's Marcos Freitas moves from no.17 to no.15, China's Zhou Yu from no.18 to no.17; whilst Japan's Masataka Morizono moves from no.92 to no.76.

Downward Trend
Progress and of course there are those who must make way and drop down the list. 

Notably for the men Japan's Yuto Muramatsu drops from no.86 to no.70 and China's Xu Chenhao from no.91 to no.99.

Meanwhile for the women, Sweden's Matilda Ekholm is now at no.51 having been at no.43; whilst China's Gu Ruochen descends from no.65 to no.71 and Japan's 14 year old Miyu Kato from no.75 to no.87, no doubt on the next World Rankings it will be a move in the opposite direction, Miyu Kato has time on her side.

Now Eight Days to Go: Fireworks for New Year, Pyrotechnics Set for Dubai

Happy New Year; pyrotechnics from east to west signalled the start of 2014 and there is no question, fireworks will light up the United Arab Emirates from Thursday 9th to Sunday 12th January 2014.

Yan An and Fan Zhendong are set to ignite the touch paper in Dubai at the US$ 1,000,000 GAC Group 2013 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals.

Exciting, dynamic, hungry young men; they have qualified to play in the Men's Singles event, Fan Zhendong is the no.2 seed, Yan An is the no.5 seed.

Blazed the Trail
One year ago we knew of Yan An and Fan Zhendong; as the old year came to close to an end and Christmas approached, they had made their presence firmly known.

They had set the GAC Group 2013 ITTF World Tour alight. In Poland, Germany and Sweden; they blazed the trail. 

Staggeringly, only 16 years of age, Fan Zhendong won the Men's Singles title in Poland and then repeated the success the following week in Germany. Could he complete the hat-trick in Sweden? The answer was to be in the negative, he was beaten by Yan An in the final.

World Junior Championships
The students had graduated, both had enjoyed success at the World Junior Championships. 

Yan An had been a member of the Chinese gold medal winning Boys' Team on three occasions; success coming in Palo Alto in 2007, the following year in Madrid and in 2009 in Cartagena de Indias. Furthermore, he had won the Boys' Doubles title with Song Shichao in 2007 and harness with Song Hongyuan in 2008.

Meanwhile, in the Boys' Singles event it was annual progress. A quarter-finalist in Palo Alto, he progressed to the semi-finals in Madrid and in Cartagena de Indias he was the runner up.

Success at First Attempt
No Boys' Singles title for Yan An; not the situation for Fan Zhendong; one appearance and a somewhat surprise winner. 

In Hyderabad in 2012, it was gold in the Boys' Team event, gold in the Mixed Doubles with Liu Gaoyang and silver in the Boys' Doubles with Fan Shengpeng. The Boys' Singles title was the icing on the cake and somewhat of a surprise.

Still in the cadet age group, he beat Lin Gaoyang in the final, the player who had been the runner up in Bratislava and Manama; it was to be a third silver medal for the quicksilver left hander. Power won the day.

Even Bigger Surprises
A somewhat surprise result but as the old year closed, Fan Zhendong caused even bigger surprises; shocks that the beginning of the year did not necessarily forecast.

He made his ITTF World Tour debut in Doha and, as status suggested, was beaten by Portugal's Marcos Freitas; then in Changchun at the GAC Group 2013 ITTF World Tour China Open he suffered defeat at hands of Yan An.

Learning the Trade
Neither defeat could have been considered a great surprise; a 16 year old was finding his feet, he was learning the trade, Marcos Freitas was far more experienced, Yan An was four years older.

Learning the trade, Fan Zhendong was learning fast and he was learning from defeat. 

At the Asian Championships in the Korean city of Busan in early July, he was beaten by Japan's Kenta Matsudaira at the quarter-final stage of the Men's Singles event; four months later at the GAC Group 2013 ITTF World Tour Polish Open, the two met again, this time in the penultimate round. Fan Zhendong won in four straight games before arresting the title by overcoming colleague, Zhou Yu, in the final.

Stunning
The success in Poland was stunning, it was even more stunning when in the latter stages of the Men's Singles event at the GAC Group 2013 ITTF World Tour German Open he beat in succession Zhang Jike, Vladimir Samsonov and Dimitrij Ovtcharov to collect his second title in consecutive weeks.

Back-to-Back titles, eyes were focused very much on the teenager when he appeared in Stockholm; he was not to make it three in a row but he underlined the fact that when facing extreme pressure he could respond. He beat colleagues Zhou Yu and Xin Xin by the minimal two point margins in the quarter and semi-finals respectively.

They were performances which underlined the fact that his success in Poland and Germany was no flash in the pan. 

Yan An beat Fan Zhendong in Sweden to colleague his first ever ITTF World Tour Men's Singles title
Photo by Irving Karlsson

Clear Signs
Fan Zhendong had made meteoric progress; the progress of Yan An was more measured but the equivalent of his teenage compatriot.

In August 2011, Yan An had given clear signs that an ITTF World Tour Men's Singles title was within his grasp; he reached the semi-final stage of the Men's Singles event at the Harmony Open in Suzhou beating Xu Xin in the quarter-finals, before losing to Zhang Jike.

Tested Ma Long
At the start of the year Yan An suffered a seven games quarter-final defeat in Kuwait against Japan's Jun Mizutani; one week later in Doha he negotiated his way past Zhang Jike, who retired injured at the end of the third game, before ousting Wang Hao to book his place in the final where he gave Ma Long a torrid time.

Yan An led by three games to two before Ma Long recovered to win by the very narrowest of margins, breathing a huge sigh of relief when victory was secured.

Notable Names
In Korea and in Changchun at the GAC Group 2013 ITTF World Tour China Open Yan An progressed to the semi-final stage of the Men's Singles losing to Xu Xin in the former, Ma Long in the latter.

Defeats against notable names and in the Middle East, the defeats had been by narrow margins; in Suzhou at the GAC Group 2013 ITTF World Tour Harmony Open it was the same scenario. In round two he was beaten by Japan's Koki Niwa in seven games, two points deciding the outcome.

Equally at the GAC Group Asian Cup in Hong Kong he reached the final losing to Xu Xin; just under three months later in July he experienced the same fate in the final of the Men's Singles event being beaten Ma Long.

Competitive
Win or lose, Yan An was competitive wherever he played; it was only a matter of time before the top step of the medal podium was attained, in Sweden the time came, the year end on a high note.

In 2013 both Fan Zhendong and Yan An have proved themselves players of the highest calibre, will 2014 be even more successful than the one that has gone before?

It is for Yan An and Fen Zhendong their first appearance in the Grand Finals; undoubtedly that will be a situation they relish, in 2013 they have rocketed to stardom, in Dubai sparks will fly.