Dubai: Current world and Olympic champions will take part in the Nakheel Table Tennis Asian Cup at Zabeel Hall 1, Dubai Trade Centre, from April 28-30, it was announced on Monday.
Entry to compete is by invitation only and is limited to just 16 men and 16 women, with a maximum of two per country. The event is also the last ranking tournament before this summer’s 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and will be a useful gauge for future medal potential.
A total of 11 countries will be represented, including China, Japan, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea, India, Thailand, Qatar, Iran and the UAE.
The men’s field features three-time Asian Cup winner and defending champion Xu Xin of China, who has seven doubles and team world titles to his name, including this year’s team honour.
With Olympic singles selection on the line for China’s players, World No. 3 Xu’s biggest competition is likely to come from his team mate and current Olympic singles champion Zhang Jike.
Zhang, the current World No.4, has won gold medals in the singles and team category at the 2012 Olympics, gold in the 2010 Asian Cup and gold medals in either singles, doubles or team categories in every World Championship since 2010.
Players from the Chinese national team, which has been sponsored by Dubai since 2013, will however meet tough opposition from Japan, Singapore and Chinese Taipei.
Japan’s leading contender is Jun Mizutani, World No.7 and winner of bronze medals in the 2007, 2014 and 2015 Asian Cup. Mizutani also helped his team to silver in the team world championships behind China this year. Singapore’s best chance is Gao Ning, who won the Asian Cup in 2007 and remains the only non-Chinese player to have won the event since 2005.
Another tough competitor will be Chinese Taipei’s Chuang Chih Yuan, the current World No.6, who won bronze in last year’s Asian Cup, as well as doubles gold at the 2013 World Championships.
The women’s line up is equally impressive with defending champion, Singapore’s Feng Tianwei posing the greatest threat to World No.1 Liu Shiwen of China. World championships doubles gold medalist in 2015 and singles silver medallist in 2013 and 2015, Li Shiwen took silver in the 2015 Asian Cup, after collecting gold in 2010, 2012 and 2013.
Olympic bronze medallist in 2012, Feng Tianwei will be joined in the competition by the only other players to have broken the Chinese stranglehold over the Asian Cup since 1991, Hong Kong’s Jiang Huajun (2007) and Tie Yana (2004).
China’s other representative will be 2012 Olympic gold medallist Li Xiaoxia, who also won silver in the 2015 Asian Cup and was World Champion in singles in 2013. After winning a slew of gold medals in World Championships, World Cup, Asian Championships, along with her Olympic gold, Li Xiaoxia will be looking to add one of the few titles she has yet to win, the Asian Cup, to her impressive list of achievements.