TEAM PERSSON BOUNCE BACK FROM T2APAC'S RECORD LOSS TO BEAT TEAM JJ 17-12 IN TEAM FIXTURE 9

Wang Manyu narrowly edges Chinese team-mate Sun Yingsha in high-quality match between two rising stars of table-tennis

JOHOR BAHRU, 13 Jul 2017 – Team Persson bounced back from the record 21-8 thrashing by Team Maze in Team Fixture 8 by securing a well-earned 17-12 win over Team JJ, as Round 2 of the T2 Asia Pacific Table Tennis League (T2APAC) continued in Johor Bahru.

Fans at the purpose-built T2Cavern at Pinewood Iskandar Malaysia Studios, as well as those following live on TV and YouTube were treated to a high quality match filled with intriguing match-ups, kicking off with a fiery all-European women’s tie between Matilda Ekholm and Bernadette Szocs.

Newly-crowned Australian Open champion Vladimir Samsonov showed his vast experience in his match against Swede Mattias Karlsson, while Korean Joo Saehyuk also dug deep in his encounter with 14-year-old Tomokazu Harimoto.

But it was the match between rising Chinese stars Sun Yingsha and Wang Manyu that left the audience purring with delight.

 

Match 1: Matilda Ekholm (SWE) vs Bernadette Szocs (ROM)

For a second straight day, an all-European tie opened the early session, and Ekholm was tasked yet again to lead the Team JJ challenge. But if the Swede was expecting a second straight win, she soon found out Szocs is a tough nut to crack. Despite reaching game point first in a tight opening set, it was Szocs who won 11-10. Ekholm did well in the second game to come from 6-10 behind to level at 10-10, and still lost the deciding point to be 2-0 behind. No wonder a frustrated Ekholm couldn’t help showing her emotions on several occasions. Szocs completely dominated the third game to win 11-2 but couldn’t bridge the gap as Ekholm took the consolation fourth game 9-7. Said Szocs: “I’m really happy because I beat a top player and gained three points for my team. I’m also very happy because I played really well.”

Match 2: Chuang Chih-Yuan (TPE) vs Jun Mizutani (JPN)

A highly entertaining encounter with Chuang making amends for his 4-0 loss to Drinkhall the previous day by securing a 3-2 win over Mizutani. Getting off to a good start, Chuang took the first game 11-8, then got the better of the latter stages of the next two games, winning 11-9, 11-9 for a 3-0 lead. Mizutani fought back hard to avert the whitewash and won the fourth 11-7 before taking the Kill Zone game 5-3 to narrow the margin of defeat. Said Chuang: “My form yesterday wasn’t great, so I just focused on doing things right, rather than think too much about how to beat Jun. I’ll just focus on improving my game.”

Match 3: Jeon Jihee (KOR) vs Suthasini Sawettabut (THA)

Jeon’s attempt to break through for her first T2APAC victory will have to wait another day as she went down 4-1 to Suthasini, with the Thai star proving she could improve further with consistency. Against the higher-ranked Jeon, Suthasini got off to the better start, taking the opening game 11-7. Jeon tried her hardest but could not find her rhythm, as Suthasini didn’t let off, winning the next three games 11-9, 11-7 and 11-3. The Kill Zone game gave Jeon the opportunity for damage limitation, which she won 5-3 to avert a 5-0 whitewash. Said Suthasini: “Having lost four points yesterday, I was determined to regain that for my team. I put in a lot of practice, even at the venue before the match, and make sure I kept my energy levels high.”

 

Match 4: Vladimir Samsonov (BLR) vs Mattias Karlsson (SWE)

Samsonov showed his experience in making the right adjustments after losing the opening game 11-4. Varying his lengths and going after Karlsson’s weaker forehand, the Belarussian veteran came back strongly to take the next four games 11-4, 11-9, 11-5, and 10-2, giving his younger Swedish opponent little opportunity to get back in. Karlsson left to question his game as he suffered a second straight 4-1 thumping. Said Samsonov, who was pleased to have his wife and two kids watching him play: “The last time I played against Mattias, I lost. I know I’m in good shape at the moment but it was still tough after losing the first set. I got good advice from my captain, and played more to his forehand, while he was having problems controlling the pimples.”

Match 5: Sun Yingsha (CHN) vs Wang Manyu (CHN)

An intriguing match between two of China’s brightest young stars who could go on to dominate the women’s game in the next two decades. It was the steady, understated style of Wang that won out in the end although this tight affair could have gone either direction. The dynamic Sun took the first game easily, 11-4, then saw Wang come back to take the second game 11-7. Sun came back from 0-4 and 7-10 behind in the third game, winning the tying 10-10 point with an audacious backhand slap return off Wang’s serve, then winning a classy rally for an 11-10 victory. Wang seized an early lead in the fourth game and this time did not let up as she closed it out 11-6. Game five was equally tight with Sun managing to eke out a 6-4 lead and winning 6-5 as time expired. “Playing a team-mate is always hard, so I just focused my own game and making sure I do things right,” said Wang, who admitted to watching hand gestures and listening out to key words when getting advice from captain Jorg Persson.

Match 6: Tomokazu Harimoto (JPN) vs Joo Saehyuk (KOR)

Harimoto belied the 23-year difference with his older Korean opponent by taking the first game handily 11-6. The Japanese teen then led 8-6 in the second game before Joo used his superior experience to get back into the match, and exert his superiority as the match wore on. After winning the second game 11-9, Joo pulled away to take the third game 11-7. Game four looked like going Harimoto’s way after he went 8-5 ahead after calling a time-out, but his mistakes and Joo’s clever variations saw the game ending 11-8 in the Korean’s favour. With time running out, Joo closed out the fifth game 9-6 for a 4-1 overall win. Said captain Persson: “Joo’s experience paid out in this match as he was able to capitalise on Harimoto’s inability to cope with returns that were lower across the net.”

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Team Captains’ quotes:

Jiang Jialiang: “Our women’s players simply can’t get a win streak going despite trying their best. But what a great match between the two Chinese girls, the kind of high tempo that is simply thrilling. We’ve now won and lost a match each in Round 2, so let’s see what happens on the final day.”

Jorgen Persson, whose team lost 21-8 to Team Maze in Team Fixture 8:

“We said today is a new day with new possibilities, and I’m very proud of how the team bounced back.”

Quote of the day:

“She said to me she lost to Sun 4-0 at the Japan Open and felt before the game she had no chance. But I told her this 24-minute match is new for both players so she should go and play her heart’s out.” – Team Persson captain Jorgen Persson on his advice to Wang Manyu

T2APAC

Round 2

Match Day 2

Team Fixture 9: Team JJ vs Team Persson

TEAM MAZE THRASH TEAM PERSSON 21-8 IN MATCH FIXTURE 8

Fightback from debutant Wang Manyu leaves Singapore star Feng Tianwei still seeking her first T2APAC match win

JOHOR BAHRU, 12 July 2017 – If Team Persson had beaten Team Maze 14-12 in the opening round of the T2 Asia Pacific Table Tennis League (T2APAC) two weeks ago, it was the Michael Maze-led side that returned the favour in Round 2.

At the purpose-built T2Cavern at Pinewood Iskandar Malaysia Studios, Michael Maze was all smiles as he watched his players win five of the six matches for an overall score of 21-8, the first time a team has won more than 20 games while restricting the opposition to under 10 games.

Singapore star Feng Tianwei gave notice of more to come as the world number six could count herself unlucky not to carve out her first win of this made-for-TV league, even as Chinese debutant Wang Manyu proved an able replacement for her compatriot Ding Ning on Team Persson.

Match 1: Joo Saehyuk (KOR) vs Chen Chien-An (TPE)

Chen continued from where he left off in Round 1 by getting straight into his stride, giving Joo little chance in the first two games as he won 11-4, 11-5. Korean Joo finally found his way in game three when he came from 6-10 behind to force a final point at 10-10, with the match decided by an exciting crowd-pleasing counter-punching rally won by Chen. The Taiwanese also took the fourth game 11-6 before dropping game 5 6-3 as the clock expired. Said Chen: “I think I was very patient in my play, especially when I was ahead. I’m very satisfied with my performance today.”

Match 2: Bernadette Szocs (ROM) vs Hina Hayata (JPN)

Szocs got off to a flyer, winning the opening game 11-8, then surrendered the next game meekly 1-11. The fiery Romanian fought back hard in the third and were unlucky to drop it 9-11 with nicks off edges leaving her frustrated. Credit to the 22-year-old, she came back strongly to beat Hayata 11-9 in the fourth, having at one point been 5-8 behind. The Kill Zone game was always going to be a lottery, and Hayata finished stronger to win 5-3 and take home the US$1,000 match bonus. Said Hayata: “During the Kill Zone, Szocs changed the way she served, so I told myself so just return it without over-thinking the process, and that worked in my favour.”

 

Match 3: Jun Mizutani (JPN) vs Aleksandr Shibaev (RUS)

Shibaev gave little regard to Mizutani’s superior ranking with an authoritative 4-1 win over the world number seven, winning the first two games easily 11-7, 11-4, before the Japanese pulled one back by winning the third 11-10. Shibaev was forced into a racquet change after hitting the table on the final point of the third game, and after a slow start to the fourth, the Russian came storming through to win 11-6. Despite trailing 4-3 in the Kill Zone game, Shibaev again dug deep to pull off a win in the special game unique to T2APAC. Said Shibaev: “This is the first time I’ve won a Kill Zone game, so today is a very good day for me. I wasn’t nervous at all in the final game but most importantly, I managed to add four games to my team’s total, so that’s most important for me.”

Match 4: Wang Manyu (CHN) vs Feng Tianwei (SGP)

T2APAC debutant Wang belied her world number 33 ranking to pull off a deserved 3-2 win over Singapore’s world number six Feng. Taking over from her Chinese compatriot, the superstar Ding Ning, Wang showed little nerves in taking the first game 11-8. Feng fought back brilliantly in taking in the next two games 11-7, 11-9, showing the skills fans have come to expect of her. But 18-year-old Wang made adjustments in her game to win the fourth game 11-7, and force a Kill Zone game, which she won 5-3 after going 4-1 in front. Feng, meanwhile, is left searching for her first match win after four outings. Said Wang: “The crucial factor in this victory is patience, and just concentrating on every point whether in front or behind. I was prepared to win or lose but more importantly, it was learning from the experience of playing one of the world’s top-ranked players.”

Match 5: Mattias Karlsson (SWE) vs Timo Boll (GER)

Karlsson and Boll served up a compelling battle between two Europeans, one who is an up-and-coming player while the other a wily old veteran. And it was the experience of Boll that prevailed as the German showed his superiority in taking the opening two games 11-7, 11-6 before yielding the third game 11-10 to Karlsson. Boll was not in charitable mood as he took the fourth game 11-5 and was 4-2 up in the Kill Zone game before winning that as well 5-4.

Said Boll: “Yeah, I think I played a good game. I played quite good tactics, thanks to my coach, and I’m very pleased with the results.”

Match 6: Suthasini Sawettabut (THA) vs Yang Haeun (KOR)

Thai ace Suthasini started her T2APAC campaign two weeks ago with a 3-1 victory over Elizabeta Samara but has not found her winning touch since. And that trend continued against Yang as the Korean just about managed to stay a neck or a nose ahead of her opponent, winning 11-8, 11-9, 11-9, and as the final game 8-7 on a sudden-death point after the clock ran down.

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Team Captain’s quote:

Michael Maze: “I had some good players in my team and they performed very well today. We had a little bit of luck at times but everybody was just playing fantastic. But just because we won today doesn’t mean we will win tomorrow, so we have to prepare ourselves for the next match.”

Quote of the day:

“I think everyone’s afraid of Mattias’ crushing forehand, he’s a tall strong guy, but also his backhand is very dangerous.” – Timo Boll of Team Maze after winning his match 4-1 against Mattias Karlsson of Team Persson.

T2APAC

Round 2

Match Day 1

Team Fixture 8: Team Persson vs Team Maze

TEAM JJ ENJOYS COMFORTABLE 16-12 WIN OVER TEAM ROSSI FIXTURE 7

Englishman Drinkhall’s standout performance the consolation for Rosskopf’s team

JOHOR BAHRU, 12 July 2017 – Jiang Jialiang’s right call at the opening coin-toss kicked off Round 2 of the T2 Asia Pacific Table Tennis League (T2APAC) as his Team JJ would go on to record a comfortable 16-12 win over Jorg Rosskopf’s Team Rossi.

Both teams would feature teenage debutants, with 16-year-old Sun Yingsha replacing Wu Yang in Team JJ while 17-year-old Wang Chuqin came in for Shang Kun in Team Rossi.

In accordance with competition rules, players who met in Round 1 would not play each other this round. However, this did not in any way diminished the quality of action as both teams produced matches of scintillating quality.

Match 1: Matilda Ekholm (SWE) vs Elizabeta Samara (ROM)

When the dust settled, Ekholm would ponder if this was the one that got away when she could have recorded a bigger win for her team. But the Swede was certainly good for the US$1,000 match win bonus after taking the first three games 11-8, 11-10, 11-9. That’s after Samara had thrown away a 10-5 lead in the second game. The Romanian would storm back to win the fourth game 11-4 and rode the momentum to run away with the Kill Zone game 5-1.

Said Ekholm: “I didn’t take advantage of the fact that I played really well in the first sets, when she didn’t play so good. I should have just kept going. She started playing better, so what can I say? It was an OK match.”

Match 2: Vladimir Samsonov (BLR) vs Dimitrij Ovtcharov (GER)

Fresh from winning the Australian Open at the Gold Coast, world number 12 Samsonov took the fight to his higher-ranked opponent – Ovtcharov is world number four – and came away a 3-2 winner. It could well have been a 4-1 win had he been able to close out the Kill Zone game when on match point, instead of losing that game 4-5. After both players traded the first two sets 11-10, 9-11, it was Samsonov who seized control to win the next two 11-7, 11-5. But the beauty of the T2APAC format meant there is always a chance to get back in, with Ovtcharov pulling one back more for this team than for himself. Said Samsonov: “I know Dima very well, and we played each other many times, as well as for the same team. I didn’t expect to beat him today, so I’m very pleased to have done that and to give three points to my team. I’m also very satisfied with my performance.”

Match 3: Sun Yingsha (CHN) vs Georgina Pota (HUN)

Sun may have dropped the opening game of her T2APAC debut 9-11 to Pota but the 16-year-old would celebrate a stirring 4-1 overall win over her Hungarian opponent in a highly competitive encounter. Sun fought back to win the second game 11-9 and had to come back from 6-9 behind to win this game, also 11-9. But that was when Pota looked as though she had run out of ideas, as her world number 10 opponent stormed to an 11-4 win in the fourth before wrapping up the Kill Zone game 5-2. Said Sun: “It’s my first appearance here and it took me a while to get used to things here, and Pota played really well at the start, and took me by surprise. After that first game, I just stayed focused on finding my rhythm, and reducing my mistakes. The T2APAC format is interesting and I enjoy it very much.”

Match 4: Chuang Chih-Yuan (TPE) vs Paul Drinkhall (ENG)

Since Round 1, Drinkhall (world no 48) has shown he’s fully capable of taking the fight to the top players, and so it proved against world no 13 Chuang. Leading 7-4 and later 9-7 in the opening game, Drinkhall would see Chuang fighting back to reach game point first. Despite that, the Englishman found the extra belief to grab the next two points and victory. He repeated that fightback in game three, and recorded a comfortable 11-8 win in game two. Now 3-0 up, Drinkhall rode the momentum in the fourth game, going 7-1 in front before Chuang closed the gap, and he managed to just keep his nose in front when the buzzer went, winning 8-7 for an overall 4-0 victory. A great result for Drinkhall who made the semi-finals of the Australian Open before coming to Malaysia for Round 2 of T2APAC.  

Said Drinkhall: “I felt great coming into the match, and my style matches his quite well. Everything went well today, and coming back from the Australian Open where I did quite well, it’s been good I’ve been able to keep that form today.”

Match 5: Jeon Ji-hee (KOR) vs Cheng I-Ching (TPE)

Having not enjoyed much luck in Round 1, Jeon was determined to show she belonged in this competition, and this 2-2 result was an uplifting one for the Korean. But the 24-year-old still needed to come back from two games down (5-11, 10-11) before a stirring 11-8 win heading into the final game. Trailing 1-3 with the clock running down, Jeon fought back to tie the score at 3-3 to force the sudden death tie-break, which she won to take the fourth game 4-3 Said Jeon: “I’ve to thank my team-mate Yingsha for her advice near the end of the match. I was very nervous but she told me I still have the chance to win, and her words calmed me down.”

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Match 6: Tomokazu Harimoto (JPN) vs Wang Chuqin (CHN)

Team Fixture 7 wrapped up with a battle of the teens, with two players setting up a rivalry that could be the hallmark of table tennis in the coming decades. This time around, it was the 14-year-old Harimoto that prevailed over his 17-year-old opponent Wang 4-1. Not that Wang was not competitive, as he won the second game 11-4 having been edged 10-11 in the opener. But the Chinese T2APAC debutant would rue his inconsistencies as the dropped games two and three 11-10, 11-5 before also dropping the Kill Zone game 5-4, despite reaching match point first.  

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Team Captains’ quotes:

Jiang Jialiang: “I think everyone played well but it was a bit of a surprise that we drew a blank from Chuang Chih-Yuan’s match against Paul Drinkhall, especially when they both look evenly matched. It was heartening that Jihee and Matilda added to our scoreboard.”

Jorg Rosskopf: “We had the chance to win this tie, but we keep losing the close games. I’m really happy to see Paul playing with so much confidence, we will need that to rub off on all our players so that we can come back strong for the rest of this round.”

Quote of the day:

“We have older players in our team, and younger players too. So it was up to the ones in the middle to deliver today.” – Team JJ captain Jiang Jialiang

T2APAC

Round 2

Match Day 1

Team Fixture 7: Team JJ vs Team Rossi

adidas Football Reveals Manchester United Home Kit for the 2017/18 Season

 Latest home kit features new button-up collar design

Jersey to be worn on pitch for the first time during the club’s pre-season tour

adidas Football has today revealed the Manchester United home kit for the 2017/18 season. Celebrating the club’s third year with adidas, the new home kit will be worn by the likes of Paul Pogba, Juan Mata and Ander Herrera. 

The latest home jersey features a minimalist, sophisticated design which pays homage to some of the classic kits from the past, at the same time as being at the forefront of technical sportswear design with technical, breathable fabrics and mesh engineering.

 The kit features: an all-new button-up collar offering an elegant and contemporary design; the adidas three stripes in white on the shoulders; and red, white and black sleeves to represent the colours of the match-day flags seen at United.

The home jersey is available from July 7 in adidas and official club stores, and will be worn on pitch for the first time during the club’s pre-season tour, when United take on LA Galaxy on 15^th July 2017.

Both the replica jersey and the authentic jersey, as worn by the players, will be available for purchase. There is also a long-sleeved iteration on sale, as well as shirts designed specifically for both women and children.

For further information please visit adidas.com/football or follow @adidasfootball on instagram or twitter to join the conversation.

FC Bayern Revive Old Fan Favourite with New adidas Football 2017/18 Away Kit

New shirt based on a much-loved kit that inspired a classic celebration

Released to coincide with the twentieth anniversary of the club switching their main jersey from red to navy

Retro style combines with modern technology thanks to new breathable mesh

adidas Football and German champions, FC Bayern, have today revealed the club’s new away kit for the 2017/18 season. The new navy kit with red stripes has been released to coincide with the twentieth anniversary of the club switching its home jersey from red to navy.

 The design will be recognisable to fans of the German champions, as it is based on one of the club’s most loved kits. Notable among them was a famous celebration by former player Giovane Élber in a 1999 game vs Wolfsburg where he wrapped himself in a carpet at the side of the pitch. The adidas design team sought to channel the creative spirit behind this moment in a shirt that will be worn as FC Bayern look to win a sixth straight German title next season.

The new away jersey combines this striking design with the latest adidas Football technology. An example of this design-meets-performance approach comes with the red stripe across the shirt. It is made of a highly breathable mesh material, allowing for better air circulation keeping players cool and on top of their game in any conditions.

The kit will be available to purchase in the FC Bayern online store, in adidas global retail stores, the adidas online shop (www.adidas.com/football​) as well as in all FC Bayern-Fan-Shops from July 7.

Shahril hit London for Global Tango League

adidas Tango League’s Most Valuable Player, Mohd Shahril Anuar had an experience of a lifetime when he joined the other winners from around the world at the first Global Tango League Event held in London, recently.

Shahril, fondly known as “Bulat” returned from London on June 5 after an eventful 5 days, was part of the TOT United A team that emerged victorious in the adidas Tango League which took place in KL on March 19.

After topping the Tango League Kuala Lumpur Leaderboard with a total of 43 match points and walking away with an adidas boot deal, Shahril also represented Malaysia at the Global Tango League Event with the aim of developing the next generation of football influencers.

The Global Tango League not only offers the Tango League city winners an opportunity to develop and cultivate their social influence, it also serves as a platform to help them build a career in football.

In London, the players were divided into four teams and guided through a number of special activations that brought out the maximum stadium to street experience. Every team had to complete several challenges with the help of an influence mentor, who acted as the team captain, in order to prove their abilities.  

The mentors included World Freestyle Champion Sean Garnier, skill twins, Josef and Jakob El Zein, Los Desimpedidos’s Bolivia and Fred as well as Moscow’s most prominent street football crew, Street Madness.

Shahril expressed his excitement of having met these renowned football influencers who were inspirational mentors that imparted worthwhile input to their teams.

“Although it’s been a week since I’ve returned from London, I still feel excited whenever I recall meeting them. They were good mentors who really cared about the teams and shared loads of valuable advice with us.”

Some of the activities prepared involved street and cage challenges with the influencers, a YouTube Creators Studio challenge and the O2 Experience. All of them were aimed to help the players grow and improve their skills in various aspects of football.

The main highlight of the trip was when each Tango League winner took a trip down to Cardiff to catch the UEFA Champions League Final 2016/17 between Juventus and Real Madrid at the Principality Stadium. Other notable events included were the Nemeziz Event and Stamford Bridge Pitch Event in which the Tango winners enjoyed lunch while overlooking the pitch just before making their way into the stadium dressing rooms to prepare for a knockout competition played on the prestigious Chelsea FC home ground.

24 year-old Shahril commented on how this was certainly one of the best ordeals that happened to him as he learned and gained a lot of new experiences.

“I am thankful to adidas for this opportunity in competing in the Global Tango League. It’s by far the best and most memorable trip in my life because I came back feeling contented. I’ve learned so much from everyone and the invaluable experiences I’ve acquired will no doubt push me forward in the future.

The next Tango League competition expected to take place in the second half of the year, will be a great window of opportunity for footballers by providing them a platform to showcase their outstanding skills through recreating a stadium match-day ambience and professional playing circumstances.

FOUR INTERNATIONAL LEGENDS HEADLINE FIRST-EVER T2 ASIA-PACIFIC TABLE TENNIS LEAGUE AS TEAM CAPTAINS

Launch of new reality series that takes viewers inside the exclusive drama between team captains and players throughout the season

The first-ever T2 Asia-Pacific Table Tennis League (T2APAC) announced today an international line-up of legends as Team Captains, whose combined resume includes major titles across World Championships, Olympic Games, World Cups and continental major games and tournaments:

• ·       Jiang Jialiang, a former two-time world champion from China, dominated the sport in the 1980s, winning multiple medals at the World Championships, World Cup and Asian Championships.
• ·       Jörgen Persson was a former world champion and seven-time Olympian who represented Sweden in every Olympic Games when table tennis was introduced into the Olympic program in 1988 until 2012.
• ·       Jörg Rosskopf, currently the German men’s national coach, won the silver medal in the men’s doubles at the 1992 Olympic Games and the bronze medal in the men’s singles at the 1996 Summer Olympics.
• ·       Michael Maze from Denmark was a bronze medal winner at the 2004 Olympic Games in the men’s doubles, and widely considered to be one of the best defensive lobbers in the world.

For the Team Championship, T2APAC players will be selected by the Team Captains in accordance with a draft selection process, which has been introduced to create a level-playing field and unpredictability of outcome. The four Team Captains will compete to select the best paddlers to build a winning mixed team, comprising six players - three men and three women.

A component of its season-long umbrella marketing campaign, T2APAC also announced the launch of a new reality series, Fusion, comprising multiple episodes, each of up to 3 minutes’ duration, and rolled-out as the league unfolds across the next six months.  The series showcases the fully unscripted interpersonal dynamics between players and Team Captains both on and off the table.  It takes viewers behind the scenes as Team Captains juggle player personalities while devising gameplay strategies, revealing the intense drama that follows world-class competition, shedding insights into coaching styles, strategies and interpersonal chemistry within each team.

Audiences around the world can tune-in to watch the Team Captains select players for their respective teams, which will be produced as the first episode of Fusion, titled “The Pick”, and will be televised on 20 June on T2APAC’s Youtube, Facebook and Weibo accounts.

Said T2APAC CEO, Jeff Chue: “‘We are excited to have these four legends of the game play an integral part in the league. They will certainly add an all-new dimension to gameplay that will certainly bolster appeal of the league to new and existing fans.”

 Said Jörgen Persson: “I’m honoured to be invited to be a team captain in this groundbreaking competition. The concept of T2APAC is so unique, and I genuinely believe that getting us to play a crucial role with, and to guide and lead, current international table tennis stars will do wonders to promote the sport worldwide.”  

T2APAC has attracted table tennis’ top names, including the world’s top female paddler in Ding Ning from China, as well as Singapore’s Feng Tian Wei (World No. 4), Cheng I-Ching from Chinese Taipei (World No. 7) and South Korean Yang Haeun (World No. 23).  The event will also feature major top-10 men’s players including Dima Ovtcharov from Germany (World No. 5), Jun Mizutani (World No. 6), former World No. 1 Timo Boll from Germany (World No. 8), Chuang Chih-Yuan (World No. 10) of Chinese Taipei, and legendary defensive player Joo Saehyuk of South Korea who was ranked 5^th in the world at his peak (World No. 17). The league will also feature some of the best young talents from Japan such as 13-year-old child prodigy Tomokazu Harimoto (World No. 69),17-year old Hina Hayata (World No. 16 ) who recently clinched the bronze in the women’s doubles at the Liebherr 2017 World Championships, and rising-star 13-year old Miyuu Kihara (world no. 158).

The contingent from China comprises members of the China men’s national team - World No. 51 Shang Kun, Liu Dingshuo, Xue Fei, and Wang Chuqin; and from the China women’s national team – World No. 12 Wu Yang, World No. 41 Wang Manyu, Liu Fei, and Sun Yingsha, as well as 15-year old Shi Xunyao, the Girl’s champion of the 2016 World Junior Championships.

Other top names competing in T2APAC’s inaugural season for a prize purse of over USD 1.75 million include Chen Chien-an (Chinese Taipei), Vladimir Samsonov (Belarus), Paul Drinkhall (England), Georgina Pota (Hungary), Elizabeta Samara and Bernadette Szocs (Romania), Jeon Jihee (South Korea), Aleksandr Shibaev (Russia), Matilda Ekholm and Mattias Karlsson (Sweden), as well as Suthasini Sawettabut (Thailand).

The league will feature 24 world-class players (12 men’s and 12 women’s players) per match round, with players competing in separate but concurrent men’s, women’s, and mixed-team league competitions. Some players will be playing on a rotational basis during the inaugural season. Each match in the inaugural T2APAC Table Tennis League is limited to 24 minutes, where players try to win as many games as possible within the duration.  Showcasing a unique competition model and presentation format, the league will feature a unique scoring system to ensure a level playing field and unpredictability of outcome, where audiences and fans around the world can expect edge-of-your-seat competitive excitement throughout the season.

Touted as the richest competition in today’s professional table-tennis calendar, the players will be battling for an unprecedented prize purse of more than USD 1.75 million in the inaugural season, which will be played across seven match rounds from end of this 28 June to December 2017. All 228 matches in Season 1 will be played and televised live before an invite-only studio audience from the T2CAVERN, a purpose-built arena in the Asian location of Hollywood’s iconic Pinewood Studios, situated in Johor, Malaysia.