Dubai: With the 2016 Olympic Games just 100 days away, and selection still on the line for many of the world’s best players, the Nakheel Table Tennis Asian Cup promises some titanic battles this weekend as players fight for the last ranking points available.
Play in the tournament kicks off on April 28 at Zabeel Hall 1 of the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), with the first matches commencing at 10 am.
The top 22 players in men’s and women’s singles on the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) rankings in May 2016 will automatically be given the nod for an Olympic spot, but only two players per country can be allocated a place in the singles event. The remaining places are decided through a series of qualification tournaments, the first of which, the ITTF Asian Olympic Qualification tournament, was held in Hong Kong from April 13-17.
With several countries boasting more than two players in the top 22, these tournaments offer the last chance for players to secure their Olympic berth before the rankings are announced.
As expected, the tournament in Hong Kong produced some tough contests and surprising results. A number of players will now head to Dubai for the Nakheel Table Tennis Asian Cup without having to worry about qualification, while still others will have to produce their best form in Dubai to push them up the rankings table and into contention for Rio.
Hong Kong brought good news for India, and they will now field a full four-member team in Rio. 2012 Olympian Soumyajit Ghosh, who triumphed in Hong Kong will be joined in the men’s singles competition in Rio by Achanta Sharath Kamal, who is lining up for his third Olympics.
In the women’s singles India will be represented in Dubai by Manika Batra, India’s top female player. She will be joined in Rio by Mouma Das. Batra and Das joined forces in March this year to score a historic win in the second division of the World Team Table Tennis Championships (WTTTC). The win will see the Indian team compete in the Championship division for the first time in ten years at the next WTTTC in 2018.
With their Olympic positions sealed, Kamal, Ghosh and Batra will now head to Dubai for the Nakheel Table Tennis Asian Cup with the weight of selection worries off their shoulders and hungry for victory as they build momentum towards Rio.
Also coming through in Hong Kong was China’s Li Xiaoxia, the 2012 Olympic gold medallist who will now head to Rio to defend her title. Li will come to Dubai hoping to add the only title she is yet to win, the Asian Cup, to the swag of gold medals she has won in Olympic, World Championships, World Cup and Asian Championships competition. With Dubai the sponsor of the Chinese National Table Tennis Team, Li is returning to familiar ground to contest the title.
Singapore’s star player and Asian Cup defending champion Feng Tainwei will, however, be one of the greatest threats to the Chinese dominance of the game. Having previously won silver in the 2008 Olympics team competition, bronze in both the team and singles in 2012, as well as triple gold in the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Feng is one to watch in Dubai and Rio.
Dawoud Al Hajiri, President, UAE Badminton and Table Tennis Association (UAE BTTA), said: “The recent ITTF Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament showed the quality and calibre of players heading to Dubai this week. The competition will be hotly contested, with not only the Asian Cup title but also Olympic qualification points on the line, and the players will be giving it their all in every match.”
