MEDIA GUIDE #Ittfworlds2017 Check out Latest Event News & Updates on ITTF.Com Cn.ITTF.Com
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29 May - 5 June 2017 Düsseldorf (Germany) MEDIA GUIDE #ITTFWorlds2017 Check out latest event news & updates on ITTF.com cn.ITTF.com BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION Join millions of fans around the world in following the best table tennis players & world class events! @ITTFWorld @ITTFChannel @ITTFWorld2014 2 | #ITTFWorlds2017 29 May - 5 June 2017, Düsseldorf, Germany | 3 CONTENT ITTF Overview 4 History of Table Tennis 4 Basic Table Tennis Rules 5 Host City & 2017 WTTC Venue 7 2017 WTTC Key Dates 8 2017 WTTC Time Schedule 8 2017 WTTC Playing System 10 Check out latest event news & updates on Men's Singles • Players To Watch Out For 12 ITTF.com • Top 64 Seeds Player Information 18 cn.ITTF.com Women's Singles • Players To Watch Out For 22 • Top 64 Seeds Player Information 28 Doubles Seeding 32 WTTC Trophies & History 36 BE PART OF THE Reigning World Champions 37 Current World and Olympic Medalists 38 CONVERSATION Past World Team Champions (1926 - 2015) 39 Seamaster 2017 World Tour Winners 40 Upcoming Major Events 41 2017 WTTC Table 43 2017 WTTC Interesting Facts 44 Media Guidelines 46 General Information 50 Venue Map 52 Mixed Zone Detailed Map 54 Join millions of fans around the world in following Media Access 55 the best table tennis players & world class events! Photography Positions 56 Media Tools 58 @ITTFWorld ITTF Media Contacts 58 @ITTFChannel @ITTFWorld2014 29 May - 5 June 2017, Düsseldorf, Germany | 3 ITTF OVERVIEW The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) is the international governing body of Table Tennis and has 222 affiliated member associations; the most of any International Sports Federation. The ITTF holds over 80 events a year, seen live on TV in over 110 countries and currently has over 1.8 million social media followers which makes it one of the most followed sports on the planet. The ITTF was initiated in Berlin, Germany and became formalized in London in 1926. Table tennis became an Olympic discipline at the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympic Games and a Paralympic Discipline in 1960 . The current ITTF President is Mr Thomas WEIKERT (GER) who was appointed in 2014. HISTORY OF TABLE TENNIS Table tennis started as a parlour game in Victorian England; it was after dinner entertainment for the upper class society. Gradually, the sport grew from a parlour game to a highly competitive activity. Interest began to fade around 1904, and it was not until its revival in the early 1920s that competition resumed on an ever-growing scale. However, for the game to advance as a serious international sport, standards had to be developed, hence the formation of the ITTF in 1926, along with the first World Championships. The first Championships were organised, in London in 1926, originally as a European Championships. There was one problem; a group of players from India wanted to compete; hastily just before play began, the name was changed to World Championships but the poster advertising the event remain as European Championships. The game of Table Tennis has since gone from strength to strength, first appearing in the Olympic Games and now is the second most played sport in the world. For further history look at the table tennis historical timeline here: ITTF.com/media/History/Timeline_History.pdf. 4 | #ITTFWorlds2017 29 May - 5 June 2017, Düsseldorf, Germany | 5 BASIC TABLE TENNIS RULES SCORING In the World Championships, each singles match is best of 7 games; doubles matches are best of 5 games in the qualification, and best of 7 games in the main draw. The first player to reach 11 points wins the game, however a game must be won by at least a two-point margin. The edges of the table are part of the legal table surface, but not the sides. FLOW OF THE MATCH Each player serves two points in a row; then the service changes. However, if a score of 10-10 is reached in any game, then the service is alternate. After each game, the players change ends. In the final game (7th game), the players change ends when one player reaches five points. LEGAL SERVICE The ball must rest on an open hand palm. It must be thrown vertically at least six inches and struck as the ball falls. The ball must bounce on the server’s side and then the opponent’s side of the table. If the serve is legal except that it touches the net, it is called a let serve and the serve is done again. EQUIPMENT The racket must have a red and a black side. The ball must be white and 40 mm in diameter. The table is 2.74 meters long, 1.525 m wide, and 0.76 m high. DID YOU KNOW? • A player’s racket is tested randomly before each match, and opponents have the right to look at each other’s rackets. • If a game lasts for more than 10 minutes, the expedite rule comes into action. Serving is alternate, if the receiver returns the 13th stroke in the rally, the receiver has won the point. • If a player strikes the ball below the wrist of the hand that is holding the racket, the point is legal. • If a player hits the ball around the net and it still lands legally on the table, the shot is valid. 29 May - 5 June 2017, Düsseldorf, Germany | 5 DÜSSELDORF Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the seventh most populous city in Germany. Düsseldorf is an international business and financial centre, renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Düsseldorf's table tennis team is Borussia Düsseldorf, the most successful team in Germany with Timo Boll, Kristian Karlsson, Anton Källberg and Stefan Fegerl. Düsseldorf is also known for its football team Fortuna Düsseldorf, which won the 1933 German championship, the German Cup in 1979 and 1980, and were finalists in the European Cup Winners Cup in 1979. Other sports in Düsseldorf are ice hockey & American football. The Düsseldorf Panther are one of the most successful teams in Germany with six German Bowl titles and the Eurobowl victory in 1995. 6 | #ITTFWorlds2017 29 May - 5 June 2017, Düsseldorf, Germany | 7 HOST CITY & 2017 WTTC VENUE Messe Düsseldorf Messe Düsseldorf is a trade fair ground and organizer that occupies a total exhibition area of 306,000 m2 in Düsseldorf, that will be home to the Liebherr 2017 World Table Tennis Championships. Messe Düsseldorf organises nearly one fifth of Düsseldorf's premier trade shows. LOCATION Messehallen Düsseldorf Messeplatz - Entrance North 40474 Düsseldorf, Germany ACCESS Trade fair shuttle from A44 motorway, Junction 29, "Messe/Arena" or Take an underground tram (no. U78 or U79) or bus number 722 to get from the central station (Düsseldorf Hbf) to the exhibition centre in about 20 minutes. 29 May - 5 June 2017, Düsseldorf, Germany | 7 2017 WTTC KEY DATES 27 May - First Initial Stage Draw 28 May 15:45 - Opening Ceremony @ ESPRIT Arena - Second Initial Stage Draw 18:00 - Press Conference 31 May 09:00 - Annual General Meeting (AGM) 03 Jun 10:00 - Mixed Doubles Semifinals 12:30 - Women's Singles Semifinals 15:00 - Mixed Doubles Final & Award Ceremony 17:30 - Men's Doubles Semifinals 04 Jun 13:30 - Women's Singles Final & Award Ceremony 16:30 - Men's Doubles Final & Award Ceremony 05 Jun 10:00 - Men's Singles Semifinals 12:00 - Women's Doubles Semifinals 14:30 - Men's Singles Final 15:30 - Women's Doubles Final 16:30 - Men's Singles & Women's Doubles Award Ceremony 2017 WTTC TIME SCHEDULE* 29 May 10:00 - Qualification (Day 1) 30 May 10:00 - Qualification (Day 2) 18:30 - Mixed Doubles First Round 19:30 - Women's Doubles First Round 20:15 - Men's Doubles First Round 21:15 - Mixed Doubles Second Round 31 May 10:00 - Women's Singles First Round (Day 3) 14:00 - Men's Singles First Round 18:00 - Women's Doubles Second Round 18:45 - Men's Doubles Second Round 19:30 - Women's Singles Second Round * All timing in local time +2 GMT 8 | #ITTFWorlds2017 29 May - 5 June 2017, Düsseldorf, Germany | 9 2017 WTTC TIME SCHEDULE* 01 Jun 10:00 - Mixed Doubles Third Round (Day 4) 11:15 - Women's Doubles Third Round 12:15 - Men's Doubles Third Round 13:15 - Women's Singles Third Round 14:15 - Men's Singles Second Round 16:15 - Women's Singles Third Round 18:00 - Mixed Doubles Quarterfinals 19:30 - Men's Singles Second Round 02 Jun 10:00 - Women's Singles Fourth Round (Day 5) 12:30 - Men's Doubles Quarterfinals 13:30 - Women's Doubles Quarterfinals 14:30 - Men's Singles Third Round 15:45 - Women's Singles Quarterfinals 18:30 - Men's Singles Third Round 03 Jun 10:00 - Mixed Doubles Semifinals (Day 6) 11:15 - Men's Singles Fourth Round 12:30 - Women's Singles Semifinals 15:00 - Mixed Doubles Final & Award Ceremony 17:30 - Men's Doubles Semifinals 19:15 - Men's Singles Fourth Round 04 Jun 10:00 - Men's Singles Fourth Round (Day 7) 12:15 - Men's Singles Quarterfinals 13:30 - Women's Singles Final & Award Ceremony 15:00 - Men's Singles Quarterfinals 16:30 - Men's Doubles Final & Award Ceremony 19:00 - Men's Singles Quarterfinals 05 Jun 10:00 - Men's Singles Semifinals (Day 8) 12:00 - Women's Doubles Semifinals 14:30 - Men's Singles Final 15:30 - Women's Doubles Final 16:30 - Men's Singles & Women's Doubles Award Ceremony 29 May - 5 June 2017, Düsseldorf, Germany | 9 2017 WTTC PLAYING SYSTEM 1. STRUCTURE 1.1 There will be 5 individual events – Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles, Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles.