Players Biographies

Men

1

MA LONG

Country: World Ranking: 1 Seed #: 1 Style of Play: Attack/ Shakehand/ Right handed Best results at WTTC: Semi-final Interesting Info: Named Team Captain for the Chinese team, Ma has been leading the team well by showing good sportsmanship and example. Ma has also been in blistering form in 2015, maintaining a 100% win in both the Kuwait and German Open. Ma will play doubles with (GER). Nickname: Captain Long Social Media Pages: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MaLongOfficial Weibo: @Captain龙

2

XU XIN

Country: China World Ranking: 2 Seed #: 2 Style of Play: Attack/ Pen hold/ Left handed Best results at WTTC: Semi-final Interesting Info: Xu started playing since the age of 5. Since young, he practised everything with his left hand, including using the chopsticks and writing. Nickname: Anaconda Social Media Pages: Weibo: @许x昕

3

ZHANG JIKE

Country: China World Ranking: 3 Seed #: 3 Style of Play: Attack/ Shakehand/ Right handed Best results at WTTC: Champion Interesting Info: Jike became the 4th male player in the history of table tennis to achieve a career grand slam, winning the Olympics, World Cup and World Championships singles titles in a span of 445 days. He won the Men’s Singles event in his first outing during the 2011 WTTC. Nickname: Tibetan Mastiff Social Media Pages: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ZhangJikeOfficial Weibo: @张继科

4

FAN ZHENDONG

Country: China World Ranking: 4 Seed #: 4 Style of Play: Attack/ Shakehand/ Right handed Best results at WTTC: Round of 32 Interesting Info: Fan’s strong performance during the 2012 China National Championships caught the attention of coaches, whereby he was drafted into the national team. Shorty, he represented China to play in the WTTC in 2013. He is also the 2014 Youth Olympic Champion. Nickname: Xiao Pang Social Media Pages: Weibo: @樊振东123

5

JUN MIZUTANI

Country: Japan World Ranking: 5 Seed #: 5 Style of Play: Attack/ Shakehand/ Left handed Best results at WTTC: Quarter-final Interesting Info: Mizutani was crowned Japan’s national champion at the age of 17, and he won the event 5 times in a row. He is also a father of one daughter, who was born in October 2014. Nickname: Mijun Social Media Pages:

6

DIMITRIJ OVTCHAROV

Country: Germany World Ranking: 6 Seed #: 6 Style of Play: Attack/ Shakehand/ Right handed Best results at WTTC: Round of 16 Interesting Info: Ovtcharov was born in Ukraine, and moved to Germany following the Chernobyl Nuclear disaster. He won bronze at the 2012 . Nickname: Dima Social Media Pages: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DimitrijOvtcharov Instagram: http://instagram.com/dimaovtcharov

7

TIMO BOLL

Country: Germany World Ranking: 7 Seed #: 7 Style of Play: Attack/ Shakehand/ Left handed Best results at WTTC: Semi-final Interesting Info: Boll was once considered the biggest adversary of the Chinese team, with head coach Guoliang commenting that ‘as long as Boll is competing, my sleep will never be comfortable’. Boll will be playing doubles with . He has a baby girl called Zoey Malaya. Nickname: Bolli, Bollinger Social Media Pages: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/timoboll Twitter: @timoboll Weibo: @波尔TimoBoll

8

MARCOS FREITAS

Country: Portugal World Ranking: 8 Seed #: 8 Style of Play: Attack/ Shakehand/ Left handed Best results at WTTC: Round of 16 Interesting Info: Led Portugal to the quarter-final at the 2014 World Team Table Tennis Championships, which is the best result in history. He is also the key player of the Portuguese team that won the 2014 European Team Championships, beating Germany in the final. Nickname: Social Media Pages: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marcosfreitaswebsite Twitter: @marcosfreitas1 Instagram: http://instagram.com/marcosfreitaspt

9

VLADIMIR SAMSONOV

Country: World Ranking: 9 Seed #: 9 Style of Play: Attack/ Shakehand/ Right handed Best results at WTTC: Runner-up Interesting Info: The 39 year old Belarussian was once World Number 1, and has consistently been the World Top 10 Men player. His favourite sportsperson is Michael Jordan. He holds a record 26 ITTF World Tour Men’s Singles titles. Nickname: Vladi Social Media Pages:

10

CHUANG CHIH-YUAN

Country: Chinese Taipei World Ranking: 10 Seed #: 10 Style of Play: Attack/ Shakehand/ Right handed Best results at WTTC: Round of 16 Interesting Info: Chuang won the Men’s Singles title at the ITTF World Tour Finals in 2002 before he had ever won on the ITTF World Tour. Together with his mum, they run a table tennis club. Nickname: Social Media Pages:

11

KOKI NIWA

Country: Japan World Ranking: 12 Seed #: 11 Style of Play: Attack/ Shakehand/ Left handed Best results at WTTC: Round of 16 Interesting Info: Niwa once mentioned that table tennis is the only thing that he has full confidence in. He is also the 2010 Champion. Nickname: Niwa-chan Social Media Pages:

12

JOO SAEHYUK

Country: South Korea World Ranking: 17 Seed #: 15 Style of Play: Defense/ Shakehand/ Right handed Best results at WTTC: Runner-up Interesting Info: Currently the oldest but highest ranked male South Korean player, exceeded all expectations to reach the final of the 2003 WTTC Men’s Singles event, with an impressive win over in the quarter-final. Nickname: Social Media Pages:

13

TIAGO APOLONIA

Country: Portugal World Ranking: 20 Seed #: 18 Style of Play: Attack/ Shakehand/ Right handed Best results at WTTC: Round of 32 Interesting Info: Apolonia managed to qualify for the 2012 Olympics despite having a knee surgery 2 months before. He was part of the team that won the 2014 European Championships. Nickname: Table tennis Cristiano Ronaldo, the kid Social Media Pages: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/followtiago Twitter: @tiagoapolonia Instagram: http://instagram.com/tiagoapolonia

14

PANAGIOTIS GIONIS

Country: Greece World Ranking: 22 Seed #: 19 Style of Play: Defense/ Shakehand/ Right handed Best results at WTTC: Round of 16 Interesting Info: Besides playing table tennis professionally, Gionis is also a dentist by profession. He plays in the same club in Dusseldorf alongside Timo Boll. Nickname: Gio Social Media Pages:

15

YUTO MURAMATSU

Country: Japan World Ranking: 23 Seed #: 20 Style of Play: Defense/ Shakehand/ Right handed Best results at WTTC: - Interesting Info: Up and coming Japanese star, where he is often able to combine stalwart defense and a solid backhand attack when the opportunity arise. He is also known to be shy in nature. Nickname: Social Media Pages:

16

QUADRI ARUNA

Country: Nigeria World Ranking: 38 Seed #: 30 Style of Play: Attack/ Shakehand/ Right handed Best results at WTTC: Qual. Round Interesting Info: Aruna is the highest ranked African ever in history. He was named the Male Table Tennis star at the Dubai 2014 ITTF Star Awards. Nickname: The forehand Social Media Pages: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ARUNA- Quadri/1552608018313781 Twitter: @aruna6066

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