The DUBAI 2014 ITTF Star Awards will take place at the Armani Hotel, at the base of the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, which is a fitting location to honor the world's best players on 7 January 2015.
There will be seven awards handed out to the world's best players:
Male Table Tennis Star presented by Ping Pong Dubai Female Table Tennis Star presented by Nittaku Male Para Table Tennis Star presented by Tinsue Female Para Table Tennis Star presented by Stag International Table Tennis Star Point presented by DHS Table Tennis Star Coach presented by Butterfly Fair Play Star
Check out the list of Male and Female Table Tennis Star nominees here: http://bit.ly/1BX1K1x and the rest of the award nominees here: http://bit.ly/1KhRXFL.
The winners, who will be announced tomorrow, are determined by the Fans' votes, combined with judging by an expert panel, including their peers and members of the media.
At the Armani Hotel, all eyes will be on who will be the Male and Female Table Tennis Stars!
As last year's winners ZHANG Jike (CHN) and LI Xiaoxia (CHN) were not nominated, two new players will definitely emerge as the 2014 Table Tennis stars.
Will the African sensation Quadri ARUNA (NGR) be able to beat the more established stars of XU Xin (CHN), FAN Zhendong (CHN) and Marcos FREITAS (POR) to make history for Africa?
Will three World Tour victories for FENG Tianwei (SIN) be enough to overcome the strong competition from the other female table tennis star nominees of Kasumi ISHIKAWA (JPN), DING Ning (CHN) and LIU Shiwen (CHN)?
The 2014 edition will include two new awards; the Table Tennis Star Coach, and the Fair Play Star, which rewards an act of Fair Play in the 2014 season.
Watch all the action LIVE on ITTF's YouTube channel here: http://www.edm.ittf.com/link.php?M=40012&N=864&L=1345&F=H and on ITTF.com/itTV.
To calm the nerves, the top Chinese table tennis players XU Xin, MA Long, ZHANG Jike, DING Ning, LIU Shiwen and LI Xiaoxia joined the huge crowds gathered at Dubai Mall today to play at the inaugural Ping Pong Dubai Festival. The Dubai-sponsored Chinese National Table Tennis Team were the star attraction of the Festival, hosting master classes and meeting fans during the one-day event at Dubai Ice Rink.
After the glitzy ITTF Star Awards and fun-filled Ping Pong Dubai Festival, it is back to competitions at the 2015 ITTF World Team Cup, where 12 top National teams will be fighting for the prestigious title of World Team Cup champions, from 8 to 11 January 2015 at the Al Nasr Sports Club in Dubai.
Videos, photos and quotes from the Dubai ITTF Star Awards can be obtained tomorrow night by contacting ITTF's Promotion Manager Matt Pound at mpound@ittfmail.com.
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