Table Tennis World Cup 2011 -- a show of more champs
The World Cup in every sport is considered to be the most highlighted event. Much of the world awaits for the best players of the sport to spring into action in their respective game, and so is true for table tennis, the popular sport in Europe and Asia.
The next Liebherr Men’s World Cup will be held from 31 October to 11 November 2011 at Singapore. The Volkswagen Women's World Cup, which is also an ITTF-sanctioned event, will be held from 28 to 30 October 2011.
The World Cup traditionally invites top 16 players, providing them with an opportunity to compete with each other and show their best play. The strongest player from six continents, one player from the host association, the current holder of the World Cup,
top 8 players in the world ranking and two wild card entries take part in the event. The players are divided into four groups, each comprising four players. The final stage is played on a straight knockout basis.
There is, however, a slight change in the format for the 2011 event, as the number of players has been increased to 19. The ITTF Executive Committee had to revise the rules to invite more players. The new rules maintain the restriction that no more than
two players can participate from an association or a continent. The exception is only for the wild card invitees. There are two reserve players in case there is a withdrawal due to injury or other legal issues.
Earlier in 2009, a new round, known as the Intercontinental Cup, was introduced. The players who accept the invitation have to compete in the cup to qualify for the next round. This cup is played on one group under the round-robin system. Players from the
four continents -- Africa, North America, Latin America and Oceana -- participate in the tournament and the winner moves on to the next round.
The International Table Tennis Federation held the first World Cup in Hong Kong in 1980. The event was a trial, but its success made it an annual feature. Guo Yuehua form China won the first men's World Cup. China has won 16 men's titles. Wang Hue and Ma
Lin has won the title three times each.
There are separate tournaments for men and women. Women's World Cup was held in 1996 for the first time. Deng Yaping won the first title. The Chinese have been undefeated till now, winning all the 14 titles. Zhang Yining has won the title four times. China
has also won the silver and bronze in most of the matches.
The World Team Table Tennis, introduced in 1990, was cancelled in 1995 and re-launched in 2007. The first men's and women's team events were held in Chiba, Japan. The first team to win the men's team event was Sweden, whereas the first women's title went
to the Chinese. China has won five men's and six women’s events, including the last championship in Dubai in 2010.
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