Timo Boll retains his no.4 spot, Dimitrij Ovtcharov moves from no.18
to no.14 and Christian Süss climbs 11 places; he advances from no.42 to
no.31; that is the good news for Germany’s top three male players
following the publication of the Men’s World Ranking list by the
International Table Tennis Federation on Tuesday 3rd February 2009.
The
progress of Ovtcharov and Süss is as a direct result of the splendid
efforts on the ITTF Pro Tour at the Danish Open where both excelled to
reach the final day of action.
Christian Süss beat both China’s Hao Shuai and the host nation’s
Michael Maze to reach the penultimate stage where Ma Long, the eventual
champion, ended progress whilst Dimitrij Ovtcharov went one step better.
Notable Wins
He
reached the final with notable wins over China’s Zhang Chao and Zhang
Jike at the quarter and semi-final stages respectively, the latter
having ousted Timo Boll in the round of the last eight.
Higher Places
Defeats for Zhang Chao and Zhang Jike in Denmark but both have cause to smile when they read the newly published listings.
Zhang
Jike, also a semi-finalist in Slovenia where he lost to colleague Hao
Shuai, makes a notable move from no.50 to no.33 whilst Zhang Chao, the
surprise runner up in Slovenia returns to the scene.
He enters
at no.42 having not enjoyed a world ranking since November 2006 when he
stood at no.67; the reason for the absence been no international
appearances.
European Names
Also,
there is progress for Romania’s Adrian Crisan, a quarter-finalist in
Denmark; he moves from no.28 to no.24 whilst into the top 20 comes a
very familiar name.
Sweden’s Jörgen Persson appears at no.20,
having previously occupied the no.22 spot; however, for one other
player of vast experience it is sadness. Jean-Michel Saive falls from
no.36 to no.45; the days of the great Belgian warrior who alongside
brother Philippe has done so much for table tennis in his country are
surely numbered.
Theory in Doubt
Nothing is for ever, although Chinese excellence might put that theory in doubt.
Wang
Hao, Ma Lin and Ma Long occupy the top three places as they did in
January 2009, whilst Wang Liqin moves from no.6 to no.5 changing places
with Vladimir Samsonov of Belarus.
Chen Qi retains the no.7
spot. Hao Shuai moves one place higher to no.8 with Chinese Taipei’s
Chuang Chih-Yuan now at no.9 having been at no.10 one month earlier.
Korea Suffers
Six of the top 10 men are from China with Korea the country to suffer.
Ryu
Seung Min drops from no.8 to no.11 whilst Joo Se Hyuk falls from no.11
to no. 10 and there is no progress for Oh Sang Eun; he stays at no.12.
Xu Xin
Progress
for China, no progress for Korea and if you are looking for dynamic
progress then eyes turn to China. Xu Xin, semi-finalist in the Men’s
Singles event in Slovenia, moves from no.115 to no.71.
Also, in
the Under 21 Men’s Rankings he is the notable mover; he advances from
no.10 to no. with the top three remaining the same.
Ma Long is at no.1 followed by Dimitrij Ovtcharov and Hong Kong’s Jiang Tianyi.
China Again
Meanwhile
in the Under 18 Boys’ Ranking it is a Chinese player who progresses
into the elite. Yan An moves from no.4 to no.3, he replaces Chinese
Taipei’s Chen Chien-An, the reigning World Junior champion; Japan’s
Kenta Matsudaira remains in top place with Singapore’s Ma Liang at no.2.
Similarly,
in the Under 15 Boys’ Rankings it is Chinese names that prevail. Cheng
Jingqi and Zhang Shenwunan occupy the top two places respectively with
Japan’s Koki Niwa at no.3; as in all other rankings, Asian excellence
prevails.
Source: www.ittf.com
