Three successive Men’s Singles titles on the ITTF Pro Tour, a run of
18 matches without defeat sees Timo Boll move one place up the Men’s
World Rankings.
On the lists issued by the International Table Tennis Federation on Wednesday 3rd December 2008, Timo Boll appears at no.4.
He changes places with China’s Wang Liqin, the reigning World Champion.
It is the lowest position that Wang Liqin has occupied on the World
Rankings for over five years. In September 2003 he appeared at no.6,
the following month he was three places higher.
Top Places
The
Chinese trio of Wang Hao, Ma Lin and Ma Long occupy the respective top
three positions with Vladimir Samsonov of Belarus at no.6, China’s Chen
Qi at no.7 and Korea’s Ryu Seung Min at no.8.
One place below is
a sixth Chinese star, Hao Shuai, he moves from no.10 to no.9 whilst
Korea’s Joo Se Hyuk moves in the reverse direction.
Notable Changes
Small
changes but in the top 50 ranked players there are notable changes with
five players benefitting from their exploits on the ITTF Pro Tour at
the Erke German Open and at the Polish Open.
Denmark’s Michael
Maze, the runner up to Timo Boll in Poland moves from no.21 to no.18
whilst Jiang Tianyi, a Men’s Singles semi-finalist in both Germany and
Poland, now appears at no.21. The victory over Singapore’s Gao Ning at
the quarter-final stage in both tournaments, it is Jiang Tianyi’s
highest ever world ranking; his previous best was no.34 in September
this year.
Petr Korbel and Fedor Kuzmin
Success
in Poland was also the scenario for the Czech Republic’s Petr Korbel.
He recorded a creditable victory over Russia’s Alexei Smirnov before
losing in the quarter-finals to Timo Boll whilst Fedor Kuzmin went one
step better.
He beat Japan’s Kan Yo in the quarters before
Michael Maze ended progress. The result is that Petr Korbel advances
from no.50 to no.39 whilst Fedor Kuzmin moves from no.63 to no.47.
Wang Zeng Yi
Higher
places as a result of fine performances in Poland and there is also
progress for a player from that country. Wang Zeng Yi who excelled in
the Men’s Team event at the Erke German Open and who reached the
quarter-finals in the Men’s Singles moves from no.57 to no.48.
Little Movement
Meanwhile,
in the age group rankings, amongst the elite, there is just one change
of note. In the Under 21 Men’s Rankings, Jiang Tianyi climbs one place
to no.3 with Japan’s jun Mizutani falling one place to no.4.
Otherwise,
it is as November. Ma Long and Germany’s Dimitrij Ovtcharov occupy the
top two places in the Under 21 Men’s Rankings with Japan’s Kenta
Matsudaira retaining his no.1 Under 18 Boys’ Singles place. China’s Xu
Xin and England’s Paul Drinkhall are at no.2 and no.3 respectively.
One
Chinese player amongst the junior elite whilst in the Under 15 Boys’
Rankings, the top three places are all occupied by players from that
country.
Yan An is at no.1 followed by Song Hongyuan and Zhang Shengwunan.
Champion Falls
Highly ranked places for in all lists for China but spare a thought for one Chinese player.
Zhang
Jike recently won what is arguably the toughest tournament of all. He
won the Men’s Singles crown at the Chinese National Championships but
it is not a world ranking event.
Despite his efforts he falls from no.49 to no.51.
Source: www.ittf.com
