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  • 12Aug

    Has it ever happened before? I doubt it.

    They do say truth is stranger than fiction.

    Has there ever been an ITTF Pro Tour tournament or for that matter any open international tournament where two World champions have been required to compete in the qualification stage of the singles events?

    Well, at the China Open in Tianjin, which commences on Wednesday 12th August 2009, that is the situation. There are two World champions who are in the initial stages of proceedings of the singles events.

    Current Owner of Global Crown
    Furthermore, one is a reigning World champion!

    The reigning World champion is China’s Li Ping; he partnered Cao Zhen to Mixed Doubles gold at the H.I.S. World Championships earlier in the year in Yokohama.

    The pair beat colleagues Zhang Jike and Mu Zi at the final hurdle.

    Ranking Lapsed
    Li Ping is certainly of a standard that merits a direct entry, in June 2009 he stood at no.37 on the ITTF Men’s World Rankings but owing to a lack of international appearances in singles events, his ranking has lapsed.

    Therefore, in Tianjin he must compete in the qualification groups; he lines up alongside Russia’s Alexander Shibaev, England’s Darius Knight and Korea’s Seo Young Gyun. A tough group!

    So, who is the other World champions?

    Korean Queen
    The answer is Shim Se Rom; she has to compete in the qualification stage of the Women’s Singles event where she confronts Congo Democratic’s Lombo Muana Mbata and Russia’s Polona Mikhaylova.

    Shim Se Rom’s claim to fame; similar to Li Ping it’s Mixed Doubles.

    She won the Mixed Doubles titles at the World Junior Championships in the Austrian city of Linz in December 2005; she partnered Kang Dong Hoon to a final success against Serbia’s Zolt Pete and Gabriela Feher.

    Source: ittf.com

    Posted by ttfan @ 1:42 pm

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