China’s chances at the GAC Group 2011 World Table Tennis Championships
China are the favourites of the GAC Group 2011 World Table Tennis Championships going to be played in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
The mega event is going to start from May 8, but the Chinese will start their contest for the medals two days later on May 10. They are hoping to make a clean sweep this year on the medals table.
In Japan two years back at Yokohama, the Chinese won the maximum titles that were offered during the championship. They even went on winning the bronze medals of the event. This year they will be striving to repeat their success from the past.
The only two medals they failed to win were the Men’s and Women’s Doubles of the championship in 2009. The Chinese have the capability to be the all-round champions once again.
In the 2009 championships, the duo of Seiya Kishikawa and Jun Mizutani were the players who kept the hopes of the host nation alive. The duo won the Men’s Doubles title. In the Women’s Doubles, it was Kim Kyung Ah and Park Mi Young from Korea who won the
title.
The three nations Korea, Hong Kong and Japan might be giving a strong competition to the Chinese hegemony this year, but it is too early to predict anything.
The Korean men’s team features Joo Se Hyuk, Oh Sang Eun and Ryu Seung Min. The team has not been in an inspiring form against the Chinese in any of the events they have competed against them this year. Therefore, the situation is pretty much in favour of the
Chinese in contrast to the Koreans.
The Japanese have shown their ability to give the best challenge to the Chinese with their performance in the recent tournaments. Jun Mizutani from Japan gave a tough time to China’s Ma Lin at the Arab Emirates Open held earlier this year.
Similarly, the players from Hong Kong are almost on the peak of their playing careers. Tie Yana, Ko Lai Chak and Li Ching have a record to beat against low rated players of the table tennis circuit.
Things seem different in the near future. All three countries have strong talented players in their upcoming batch of players. The new breed of players from these countries is leading the International Table Tennis Federation world rankings.
The results of the ITTF Pro Tours Junior circuit suggest that in the next decade on the international table tennis circuit, the Chinese might not be able to maintain their dominancy.
The players who will be the major contenders of the titles of World Championships will be Masaki Yoshida, Maharu Yoshimura, Asuka Sakai, Yuto Muramatsu from Japan and Hung Ka Tak, Hung Wah Tak, Ng Ka Yee, Li Ching Wan from Hong Kong.
On the juniors side, prominent players have emerged from Japan, Hong Kong and Korea. The top seeded player on the junior Under-19 ITTF Girl’s circuit is Japanese Kasumi Ishikawa.
Will these players able to overcome the Chinese dominancy over the sport since the last decade? Or China will come up with fresh players who have the capability to withstand the challenge emerging from Japan, Korea and Hong Kong? Only time will tell.
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