The Perfect 2016 World Team Table Tennis Championships is officially underway, with the group stage of both the Men's and Women's Teams events kicking off here at the Malawati Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia today, 28 February 2016.
In total, 87 Men's and 78 Women's teams representing 94 countries are in KL, participating in 4 different divisions. The top division, Championships Division, is made up of the top 24 teams split into four groups of six teams for the first stage of the event, played in a round robin format. The winner of each of the group moves directly into the quarterfinals, the Teams placed 2nd and 3rd in their groups are drawn to play off against each other in the round of 16. From that round on, the event becomes a knockout, until the World Team Champion is decided.
2003 World Champion Werner SCHLAGER who was nominated to replace the sick Daniel HABESOHN just few days before the start of the championships, made a successful comeback for the Austrian team. The retired legend had a comfortable 3-0 win over Czech Republic's Dimitrij PROCOPCOV to secure Austria's overall 3-0 victory.
The 43-year-old Austrian shared "I came as a last minute replacement, but it was the decision that came from the all team members. You can feel in our game that special moment when we all work and support each other. I am sure that my contribution is not only as a player, but the team can benefit from my advisory skills and experience."
Seeded 23rd in the tournament, Korea DPR pulled off the biggest upset of the day to defeat Chinese Taipei 3-2. Both teams went the full distance thriller for over 4 hours in attempt for the team victory, and in the decider between CHOE Il (PRK) and CHIANG Hung-Chieh (TPE), it was the North Korean who prevailed 3-2 to seal the victory for his team.
Despite pulling through in the end, top seeds were already pushed to their limits on the first day of the championships.
Without its two leading players, Dimitrij OVTCHAROV who pulled out of the competition through injury and Timo BOLL who sat out the match through illness on the field today, the second seeded German Men's team had a tough time against the Danish team, finally winning 3-1.
In the Women's team, Ukraine posed a huge challenge to the 2010 champions Singapore. Singapore was pushed to the wire and came agonizing close to losing, but managed to prevail 3-2.
The teams group stages continue tomorrow at the biggest table tennis event on the planet!
Quick Links:
Day 1 Results: http://www.edm.ittf.com/link.php?M=38396&N=1657&L=2457&F=H
Day 2 Schedule: http://www.edm.ittf.com/link.php?M=38396&N=1657&L=2456&F=H
Day 1 Flash Quotes: http://www.edm.ittf.com/link.php?M=38396&N=1657&L=2455&F=H
Day 1 Statistics: http://www.edm.ittf.com/link.php?M=38396&N=1657&L=2454&F=H
Photos for editorial use: http://www.edm.ittf.com/link.php?M=38396&N=1657&L=2451&F=H
Event news and information: http://www.edm.ittf.com/link.php?M=38396&N=1657&L=2232&F=H
Video Match Highlights: http://www.edm.ittf.com/link.php?M=38396&N=1657&L=2456&F=H
20 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is www.aroundtherings.com, for subscribers only
Últimas Noticias
Sinner-Alcaraz, the duel that came to succeed the three phenomenons
Beyond the final result, Roland Garros left the feeling that the Italian and the Spaniard will shape the great duel that came to help us through the duel for the end of the Federer-Nadal-Djokovic era.
Table tennis: Brazil’s Bruna Costa Alexandre will be Olympic and Paralympic in Paris 2024
She is the third in her sport and the seventh athlete to achieve it in the same edition; in Santiago 2023 she was the first athlete with disabilities to compete at the Pan American level and won a medal.
Rugby 7s: the best player of 2023 would only play the medal match in Paris
Argentinian Rodrigo Isgró received a five-game suspension for an indiscipline in the circuit’s decisive clash that would exclude him until the final or the bronze match; the Federation will seek to make the appeal successful.
Rhonex Kipruto, owner of the world record for the 10000 meters on the road, was suspended for six years
The Kenyan received the maximum sanction for irregularities in his biological passport and the Court considered that he was part of a system of “deliberate and sophisticated doping” to improve his performance. He will lose his record and the bronze medal at the Doha World Cup.
Katie Ledecky spoke about doping Chinese swimmers: “It’s difficult to go to Paris knowing that we’re going to compete with some of these athletes”
The American, a seven-time Olympic champion, referred to the case of the 23 positive controls before the Tokyo Games that were announced a few weeks ago and shook the swimming world. “I think our faith in some of the systems is at an all-time low,” he said.
