Nanjing 2014 Youth Table Media Guide

Table Tennis Events: 17 - 23 Aug 2014 Wutaishan Sports Gymnasium “ is a genius for me; he doesn’t have a secret but he’s simply a genius; If his opponent hits six balls on the table, he finds a way to put the seventh back on; if his opponent hits seven balls on the table, he will hit the eighth!” - Xiao Zhan Personal coach of Olympic & World Champion Jike

Fan Zhendong (CHN)

Currently No. 3 in the world in the senior world rankings, Fan was part of the Chinese team that became senior World Champions earlier this year in , Japan. He was also the youngest ever ITTF World Tour winner when he won the 2013 Polish Open at just 16 years and 292 days old. Fan Zhendong and Liu Gaoyang won the Mixed Doubles title at 2012 World Junior Championships in Hyderabad; they will join forces again in Nanjing. CONTENTS

ITTF Overview 4 History of 4 YOG Table Tennis Event Schedule 5 YOG Table Tennis Event Location 6 YOG Playing System* 7 Qualification Process* 10 Table Tennis Key Facts* 12 YOG Athlete Role Model Profiles 14 Seeding 16 Mixed Teams Composition 17 Player Profile - Male 18 Player Profile - Female 34 YOG RAINBOW 50 Basic Table Tennis Rules 51 ITTF Global Junior Programme 52 2010 YOG Medallists 54 Current World Junior Champions 55 2014 Global Junior Circuit Event Winners 56 Upcoming ITTF Major Events 58 Media Tools 59 ITTF Media Contacts 59

* 内附中文版本

17 - 23 August 2014, Nanjing, | 3 ITTF OVERVIEW

The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) is the international governing body of Table Tennis and has 220 affiliated member associations; it is the equal first out of any International Sports Federation.

The ITTF holds over 70 events a year, seen live in over 110 countries and currently has over 950,000 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 in 1926. Table tennis became an Olympic discipline at the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympic Games and a Paralympic Discipline in 1960 . President of the ITTF is Mr. Adham Sharara (CAN) who was elected in 1999 and has been serving ever since that date.

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 was planned. There was one problem; a group of players from 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, after football.

For further history look at the table tennis historical timeline here: ITTF.com/media/History/Timeline_History.pdf

4 | Nanjing 2014 - Table Tennis YOG TABLE TENNIS EVENT SCHEDULE

Day 1 - Sunday, 17 August 2014 10:00 - 14:00 Men’s & Women’s Singles - First Round 16:00 - 20:00 Men’s & Women’s Singles - Second Round

Day 2 - Monday, 18 August 2014 10:00 - 14:00 Men’s & Women’s Singles - Third Round 16:00 - 21:00 Men’s & Women’s Singles - Second stage for Positions 17 - 25, and Round of 1/8

Day 3 - Tuesday, 19 August 2014 10:00 - 14:00 Men’s & Women’s Singles - Second stage for Positions 17 - 21, and Quarter-finals 15:00 - 20:00 Men’s & Women’s Singles - Second stage for Positions 17 - 19, and Semi-finals

Day 4 - Wednesday, 20 August 2014 10:00 - 13:00 Men’s & Women’s Singles - Bronze medal matches, and Finals 13:00 - 13:30 Singles Events Victory Ceremony 15:30 - 21:30 Mixed Teams - First Round

Day 5 - Thursday, 21 August 2014 10:00 - 16:00 Mixed Teams - Second Round 16:15 - 22:15 Mixed Teams - Third Round

Day 6 - Friday, 22 August 2014 10:00 - 16:00 Mixed Teams - Position 17 - 25, and Round of 1/8 17:00 - 21:30 Mixed Teams - Position 17 - 21, and Quarter-finals

Day 7 - Saturday, 23 August 2014 10:00 - 13:00 Mixed Teams - Semi-finals 17:00 - 20:00 Mixed Teams - Bronze medal matches, and Finals 20:00 - 20:30 Team Event Victory Ceremony

17 - 23 August 2014, Nanjing, China | 5 YOG TABLE TENNIS EVENT LOCATION

Table Tennis Venue - Wutaishan Sports Gymnasium

Capacity: 5,000 spectators

Location: Wutaishan Sports Centre is situated in downtown Nanjing and about 11 kilometres and 25-minutes’ drive away from the Youth Olympic Village. It is about 49 kilometres and 70-minutes’ drive away from Nanjing Lukou International Airport.

Access: Metro: Lines 2 and 10 Bus: No. 7, 85, 92, 161, 126, 160, Puxin, D7

About the venue: Wutaishan Sports Complex, where the Wutaishan Sports Gymnasium is located, occupies an area of 220mu (146,740 square metres) and was built in 1953. Since then it has become the largest public sport and fitness centre in Nanjing after six decades of development and has hosted over 100 groups of people for sporting activities.

The Wutaishan Sports Complex will also host the Football and 3 x 3 basketball events at Nanjing 2014.

6 | Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games - Table Tennis YOG PLAYING SYSTEM

The Table Tennis Competition of Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games will consist of three events: Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles, and Mixed Teams. In all events there will be a maximum of 32 entries. The maximum number of athletes per NOC shall be one male and one female.

Men’s and Women’s Singles Events In the first stage each match is best of five games; the first player to reach 11 points wins the game, however a game must be won by at least a 2-point margin. In the second stage, each match is best of seven 11-point games for the Main Draw, and best of five 11-point games for the Consolation Draw. Each singles event consists of stages as follows: The First Stage consists of eight groups of four players in a round robin system. The top two of each group (16 players) will advance to the Second Stage for positions 1-9 and the bottom two players will go into Second Stage B for positions 17-25. The losers of the quarter-final matches in the Second Stage will be ranked equal 5th and the losers of the round of 16 will be ranked 9th. Final position matches are played only for the top 4 places (Bronze and Gold Medal Matches). The Second Stage B consists of a knock-out Consolation Draw for positions 17-25. The winner of the Second Stage B knock out is placed 17th, and the runner-up is placed 18th. The losers of the semi-finals are ranked 19th, the losers from the quarter-finals are placed 21st and the losers of the round of 16 are placed 25th.

Mixed Teams A team consists of two players, one male and one female, who have already qualified for the respective singles event. If a NOC has qualified one male and one female, the team will be formed by these two players and will carry the name of the NOC. If a NOC has qualified only one male or only one female, the team will be formed by two players from the same continent, carrying the name of the Continent. When they are no more players from the same continent, the player will be paired with a player from a different continent, forming an “Intercontinental team“.

17 - 23 August 2014, Nanjing, China | 7 A ‘match-up’ in a team event at the Youth Olympic Games is called a team match. Each team match consists of three matches (Singles match – Women, Singles match – Men, Mixed Doubles match). Each match consists of the best of five games to 11 points. In the first stage, the two singles matches and the mixed doubles match are to be played regardless of the results. In the other stages a team match finishes when a team wins two matches. The team event consists of stages as follows: The First Stage consists of eight groups of four teams in a round robin system. The top two of each group will advance to the Second Stage for positions 1-9 and the bottom two teams will go into Second Stage B for positions 17-25. The losers of the quarter-final matches in the Second Stage will be ranked equal 5th and the losers of the round of 16 will be ranked 9th. Final position matches are played only for the top 4 positions in the Bronze and Gold Medal Matches. The Second Stage B consists of a knock-out Consolation Draw for positions 17-25. The 3rd & 4th of each group on the first stage will play 2 rounds of knock-out matches to define equal positions 17 (4 teams), 21 (4 teams), and 25 (8 teams).

青奥会乒乓球项目赛制

2014南京青奥会的乒乓球项目共设男子单打、女子单打和混合团体3项。参 赛男子运动员32名，女子运动员32名，共64名。每个协会最多派出1男1女 参赛。

男子和女子单打项目 第一阶段的比赛采用五局三胜，每局11分制。每局比赛，获胜方至少要比对 方球员多得2分。 第二阶段正赛每场比赛采用七局四胜，每局11分制。附加赛每场比赛采用五 局三胜，每局11分制。每局比赛，获胜方至少要比对方球员多得2分。 各单项比赛分为如下阶段： 第一阶段将参赛运动员分为8个小组，每小组4人进行单循环赛。各小组赛的 前2名将进入第二阶段A组，1-9名排位赛的资格。各小组赛的3、4名将进入 第二阶段B组17-25名排位的资格。

8 | Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games - Table Tennis 第二阶段A组将进行单淘汰赛,通过八分之一决赛,四分之一决赛,半决赛和决 赛(只进行铜牌和金牌争夺赛)来确定最终排名。四分之一决赛中失利的选手 将获得并列第YOG 5 名。八分之一决赛中失利的选手将获得并列第PLAYING SYSTEM (CHI) 9 名。 最后阶段的比赛在4名选手中进行（冠军和季军争夺赛）。 第二阶段B组赛将进行单淘汰赛,通过八分之一决赛,四分之一决赛,半决赛和 决赛(17、18 名争夺赛)来确定最终排名。 胜者为17名，第二名为18名。半决赛负者为19名，四分之一决赛负者们 为21名，八分之一决赛的负者们将为25名。

混合团体 每队由一男一女两名运动员组成。参赛者必须已经获得单打参赛资格。 如果协会有一男、一女运动员获得了席位,则由同一国家/地区的两名运动 员组队参赛,队伍以该国/地区奥员会的名字命名。 如果协会仅有一男或一女运动员获得了席位,则由来自同一大洲的两名运动 员自愿组队参赛,队伍以该大洲的名字命名,名字后面加一个号码,该号码由 该团队的两名选手在青奥会排名的名次相加而得。 由运动员配对参加的团体赛在青奥会统称为混合团体赛。每场混合团体赛 由三场比赛组成。第一场比赛为女子单打,第二场比赛为男子单打。5分钟 休息后进行第三场的混和双打赛。每场比赛采用五局三胜,每局11分制。其 中,每局比赛,获胜方至少要比对方球员多得2分。 第一阶段的所有比赛必须进行。其它阶段的比赛在一个团队赢了2场比赛后 结束。 混合团体赛分为如下阶段 : 第一阶段将参赛队伍分为8小组,每小组3-4支队伍进行单循环赛。各小组赛 的前2名将获得参加第2阶段A组1-9名排位赛的资格。各小组赛的另外2队 将获得参加第二阶段B组赛,17-25名排位赛的资格。 第2阶段A组将进行单淘汰赛,通过八分之一决赛、四分之一决赛,半决赛和 决赛(铜牌和金牌争夺赛)决定最终名次。在八分之一决赛中失利的选手将获 得并列第 9 名,在四分之一决赛中失利的选手将并列获得第5名。 第 2 阶段B组将进行单淘汰赛,各小组赛的 3、4 名进行2轮淘汰赛后确定并 列 17 名(4支队伍)、21 名(4支队伍)、25 名(8 支队伍)。

17 - 23 August 2014, Nanjing, China | 9 YOG QUALIFICATION PROCESS

The world’s best table tennis players born between 1996-1999 had to battle through 12 months of tough qualification, which started in Egypt and culminated in the Cook Islands in May to secure their position at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games. The 32 boys and 32 girls players qualified by:

• 4 players per gender from the World Qualification, in which participated the 16 higher male & female players in the 2013 Road to Nanjing standings. These standings were based on the number of points they collected at the six tournaments on the series (one event in each continent); • 3 top ranked under-18 players per gender that did not qualify from the above tournaments and registered participation in the 2013 Road to Nanjing; • 14 players per gender from the continental qualification events; • 1 player per gender from each of six qualification events, one held in each continent; • 4 players per gender from universality places; • 1 player per gender from the host country (China).

青奥会参赛资格

有资格参赛青奥会的运动员出生日期应在1996年至1999年期间。经过1年 的资格赛来确保他们在青奥会的席位。资格赛从埃及开始，至2014年5月 在库克群岛结束。 参赛的男女各32名运动员通过以下方式产生： • 根据选手们在2013国际乒联青奥会预选赛的6站比赛中获得的积分排 名产生男女各4名参赛者。 • 没有进入2013国际乒联青奥会预选赛前四名的选手中，根据国际乒 联18岁以下世界排名，选出男女各3名参赛。 • 通过各洲际预选赛选出男女各14名参赛。 • 6站“2014直通南京系列”比赛中的获胜者若尚未经上述两种方式获得 席位,即可获得名额。 • 普遍性席位男女各4名选手。 • 由东道主（中国）派出男女选手各1名 。

10 | Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games - Table Tennis Adina Diaconu (ROU)

The latest in a long line of successful Romanian players. She has the potential to be the best out of all of them. She is also one of the youngest girls in the field.

17 - 23 August 2014, Nanjing, China | 11 TABLE TENNIS KEY FACTS

• Table Tennis is the second highest participated sport in the world and the biggest racket sport with an estimated 300 million participants. • The ITTF has 220 National Associations, which is the equal highest of any sport. • Table Tennis is a lifelong sport played by 5 to 80+ years olds. • Table Tennis has been an Olympic sport since 1988. • Medical research from university medical schools has illustrated the health benefits of playing table tennis to people suffering from strokes, brain injury and alzheimer’s. • When smashed, a table tennis ball can travel at 170km/h. • The spin imparted on a ball can make it rotate 10,000 revolutions a minute or 167 times a second. • Table Tennis is the world’s fastest sport in terms of rate of shots played. • According to a Swedish university survey, the Swedish national table tennis team had better cardio-vascular fitness than national soccer players. • Most of the world’s top players are full time professional players and the elite can expect to earn substantially from the sport, some becoming millionaires. • The 2014 World Table Tennis Championships was watched by 188 million unique viewers in China alone and was seen in 110 countries through over 24 channels. • During the 2013 and 2014 World Table Tennis Championships ITTF.com was the 2nd most visited Olympic Sports website. • 117 countries participated in the 2014 World Table Tennis Championships. • ITTF has 700,000 Weibo followers, highest of any International Federation. • ITTF’s Official YouTube channel has over 30 million views, the 4th highest of any International Federations. • ITTF has 170,000 Facebook fans, which is the 8th highest of any International Federations. • Fan Zhendong and Liu Gaoyang won the Mixed Doubles title at 2012 World Junior Championships in Hyderabad; they will join forces in Nanjing. • Yuto Muramatsu (JPN) is the only defensive player in the competition. • There are no pen-holders competing in the 2014 Nanjing Youth Olympic Games. However in 2010, Hung Tzu-Hsiang (TPE) was the Men’s singles silver medallist.

12 | Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games - Table Tennis 乒乓趣识

• 据统计，世界上有3亿人参加过乒乓球运动，这也让乒乓球成为世界上 第二高参与量的运动。 • 国际乒联拥有220个协会会员，与国际排联并列成为世界上最大的单项 体育组织。 • 乒乓球是一项全民运动，从5岁的孩童到80岁的老人均可参与。 • 1988年，乒乓球第一次作为正式比赛项目出现在奥运会上。 • 据医学研究显示，打乒乓球可以大大减轻患者的中风、脑损伤及老年痴 呆症状。 • 大力扣杀时，乒乓球的最高时速可达170公里／小时。 • 乒乓球的旋转速度可以高达10,000次／分钟或167次／秒。 • 如果仅考量运动员的击球速度，乒乓球是世界上最快的运动。 • 根据一所瑞典大学的研究报告显示，瑞典乒乓球国家队队员的心血管比 足球国家队队员的更加强壮。 • 顶尖的乒乓球运动员多是职业选手，他们中的许多以打球为生，最优秀 的选手们甚至成为百万富翁。 • 2014世乒赛仅在中国的独立观众就达到1亿8千万，在全球的110个国 家的22个频道进行直播。 • 在2013和2014世乒赛期间，国际乒联官网ITTF.com成为了所有奥运会 比赛项目中被造访次数第二多的单项体育组织官方网站。 • 2014世乒赛有117个国家参与其中。 • 国际乒联拥有70万名微博粉丝，在所有国际体育组织中排名第一。 • 国际乒联的YouTube官方频道至今已有3千万点播，在所有国际体育组 织中排名第四。 • 国际乒联拥有17万Facebook粉丝，在所有国际体育组织中排名第八。 • 樊振东和刘高阳在2012海得拉巴青年锦标赛上赢得男女混双冠军，今 年的南京青奥会上他们将再次携手。 • 日本的村松雄斗是本次比赛中唯一一名削球手。 • 2014南京青奥会上将没有直拍选手。在2010年，来自中华台北的直拍 选手洪子翔赢得了男子单打银牌。

17 - 23 August 2014, Nanjing, China | 13 YOG ATHLETE ROLE MODELS

The ITTF is proud and honoured to present two extremely well known Table Tennis profiles for the Athletes Role model positions in Nanjing - Wang Liqinfrom China working alongside with seven time Olympian and multiple world champion, Jörgen Persson from Sweden.

YOG Athelete Role Models Jörgen Persson (Left) and (Right) Wang Liqin (China) D.O.B: 18 June 1978 (Age: 36) Highlights: 2000 Olympic Games Doubles Champion; 2004 Olympics Singles Bronze; 2008 Olympic Games Team Champion & Singles Bronze; World Singles Champion (2001, 2005, 2007); 8 other World Championships gold medals. “I feel just proud to be selected as one of two Role Models for the Nanjing Games. It will be a great honor for me to once again connect with the Olympic movement.” Jörgen Persson (Sweden) D.O.B: 22 April 1966 (Age: 48) Highlights: 1991 World Singles Champion; World Team Champion (1989, 1991, 1993, 2000) Story: Jörgen Persson started his journey to stardom playing around with a ball and a racket on the kitchen table in his hometown Halmstad, Sweden at the age of eight. The local table tennis club quickly picked up the talented youngster who had early success with his game in the very competitive Swedish environment. “I am looking forward to interacting with all the young athletes. It is always fun to participate in major sporting events in China. Our sport is still big here and it will be my pleasure to work for the ITTF and the Olympic Movement.”

14 | Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games - Table Tennis Lily Zhang (USA)

Lily was a table tennis child prodigy and rode through the USA rankings at a very young age. She is now fulfilling her potential on the senior circuit and is the big hope for the USA to shine on the table tennis world stage.

17 - 23 August 2014, Nanjing, China | 15 SEEDING*

MENS WOMENS

No. Last Name First Name NOC No. Last Name First Name NOC 1 FAN Zhendong CHN 1 DOO Hoi Kem HKG 2 MURAMATSU Yuto JPN 2 LIU Gaoyang CHN 3 CALDERANO Hugo BRA 3 KATO Miyu JPN 4 KIM Minhyeok KOR 4 ZHANG Lily USA 5 YANG Heng-Wei TPE 5 CHIU Ssu-Hua TPE 6 REITSPIES David CZE 6 RAKOVAC Lea CRO 7 AKKUZU Can FRA 7 DIACONU Adina ROU 8 PUCAR Tomislav CRO 8 LUO Anqi CAN 9 GERASSIMENKO Kirill KAZ 9 TROSMAN Nicole ISR 10 HUNG Ka Tak HKG 10 KHETKHUAN Tamolwan THA 11 CHEN Diogo POR 11 WAN Yuan GER 12 ZATOWKA Patryk POL 12 BAJOR Natalia POL 13 SZUDI Adam HUN 13 ZARIF Audrey FRA 14 ORT Kilian GER 14 MUKHERJEE Sutirtha IND 15 TANVIRIYAVECHAKUL Padasak THA 15 LUNG Lisa BEL 16 RANEFUR Elias SWE 16 STEFCOVA Kristyna CZE 17 TENTI Fermin ARG 17 ARVELO Gremlis VEN 18 AFANADOR Brian PUR 18 IMRE Leila HUN 19 YIN Jing Yuan SIN 19 PARK Seri KOR 20 ALLEGRO Martin BEL 20 PICCOLIN Giorgia ITA 21 LEVENKO Andreas AUT 21 LORENZOTTI Maria URU 22 SCHMID Elia SUI 22 MISCHEK Karoline AUT 23 YADAV Abhishek IND 23 YEE Herng Hwee SIN 24 TORANZOS Alejandro PAR 24 SAAD Alaa EGY 25 GHALLAB Aly EGY 25 BUI Vy AUS 26 AL-NAGGAR Abdulrahman QAT 26 LAGSIR Sannah ALG 27 AVVARI Krishnateja USA 27 EDGHILL Chelsea GUY 28 BEN YAHIA Kerem TUN 28 RYABOVA Yuliya KAZ 29 BIENATIKI Christ CGO 29 DONG Sophia NZL 30 HUANG Dominic AUS 30 KIM Regina UZB 31 ALASSANI Soudes TOG 31 SALAH Fatouma Ali DJI 32 JOHNSON T'Anje SKN 32 SEERA Florence UGA

* Based on August 2014 Under 18 Ranking

16 | Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games - Table Tennis MIXED TEAMS COMPOSITION

As of 13 August 2014 NOC TEAMS NOC MEN WOMEN AUS Dominic HUANG Vy BUI AUT Andreas LEVENKO Karoline MISCHEK BEL Martin ALLEGRO Lisa LUNG CHN FAN Zhendong LIU Gaoyang CRO Tomislav PUCAR Lea RAKOVAC CZE David REITSPIES Kristyna STEFCOVA EGY Aly GHALLAB Alaa SAAD FRA Can AKKUZU Audrey ZARIF GER Kilian ORT WAN Yuan HKG HUNG Ka Tak DOO Hoi Kem HUN Adam SZUDI Leila IMRE IND Abhishek YADAV Sutirtha MUKHERJEE JPN MURAMATSU Yuto KATO Miyu KAZ Kirill GERASSIMENKO Yuliya RYABOVA KOR KIM Minhyeok PARK Seri POL Patryk ZATOWKA Natalia BAJOR SIN YIN Jing Yuan YEE Herng Hwee THA Padasak TANVIRIYAVECHAKUL Tamolwan KHETKHUAN TPE YANG Heng-Wei CHIU Ssu-Hua USA Krishnateja AVVARI Lily ZHANG

CONTINENTAL TEAMS Continent MEN WOMEN Africa Christ BIENATIKI (CGO) Florence SEERA (UGA) Africa Kerem BEN YAHIA (TUN) Sannah LAGSIR (ALG) Africa Soudes ALASSANI (TOG) Fatouma Ali SALAH (DJI) Asia Abdulrahman AL-NAGGAR (QAT) Regina KIM (UZB) Europe Diogo CHEN (POR) Adina DIACONU (ROU) Europe Elia SCHMID (SUI) Giorgia PICCOLIN (ITA) Europe Elias RANEFUR (SWE) Nicole TROSMAN (ISR) Latin America Alejandro TORANZOS (PAR) Chelsea EDGHILL (GUY) Latin America Fermin TENTI (ARG) Gremlis ARVELO (VEN) Latin America Hugo CALDERANO (BRA) Maria LORENZOTTI (URU)

INTERCONTINENTAL TEAMS MEN WOMEN Brian AFANADOR (PUR) LUO Anqi (CAN) T’Anje JOHNSON (SKN) Sophia DONG (NZL)

17 - 23 August 2014, Nanjing, China | 17 * WR: Under 18 World Ranking (As of August 2014) PROFILES - MALE

WR: 1 #1. FAN Zhendong (CHN) Qualified: Host Country Representative

D.O.B: 22 January 1997 (Age: 17) Nickname: Xiao Pang (means Chubby) Languages Spoken: Mandarin & Table Tennis Idol: No one stands out as my idol; I just want to be the best that I can be. Hobbies: Sports of various kinds, such as football and basketball Career Highlights: 2014 World Team Championships champion; 2014 ITTF World Tour Kuwait Open champion; 2013 ITTF World Tour champion; 2013 Chinese National Team Games champion. Right handed Table Tennis Journey: Started when I was 5 years old, I just wanted to learn

attacking shakehand something new and have fun. Story: I was the youngest ever ITTF World Tour winner when I won the Polish Open at just 16 years & 292 days old. This record has now been beaten, but I am still very proud to have held it.

WR: 3 Yuto (JPN) #2. MURAMATSU defensive shakehand Qualified: ITTF U-18 World Ranking

Right handed D.O.B: 14 October 1996 (Age: 17) Nickname: Muraxtuchu Languages Spoken: English & Japanese Favourite Player: Joo Se Hyuk Hobbies: Watch anime Career Highlights: 2014 ITTF Men Singles semi-finalist; 2013 World Junior Championships Boys’ Team runner-up. Story: I was the youngest member of the World Cadet Challenge winning Japanese Cadet team in the Tokyo event 2009 . I have the same hybrid defensive-offensive mode as the great Joo See Hyuk from Korea.

18 | Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games - Table Tennis ** Numbering is based on seedings PROFILES - MALE

WR: 5 #3. Hugo CALDERANO (BRA) Qualified: ITTF U-18 World Ranking

D.O.B: 22 June 1996 (Age: 18)

Languages Spoken: Portugese, English, Spanish, attacking shakehand attacking

& a little French Table Tennis Idol: Jean-Phillipe Gatien handed Right Hobbies: Other sports, and Rubik’s Cube (I can solve one in 15 seconds) Career Highlights: 2014 ITTF World Tour Japan Open U-21 champion; 2014 ITTF Junior Circuit Finals runner-up; 2014 Senior Latin American champion; 2013 ITTF World Tour Open champion; 2013 World Cadet Challenge bronze. Table Tennis Journey: Started playing in 2005 with my father, I was 9 years old at that time. Story: When I started playing table tennis, I also practised Track & Field

facebook.com/HugoCalderano and Volleyball, & was Rio de Janeiro’s state champion for Long Jump,

@HCalderano Volleyball, & Table Tennis. Eventually, I had to choose one sport to focus on, and table tennis was my choice.

WR: 13 #4. KIM Minhyeok (KOR) Qualified: ITTF U-18 World Ranking

D.O.B: 20 December 1996 (Age: 17) Nickname: Ggol Tong Languages Spoken: Korean Favourite Players: & Kim Minseok Hobbies: Computer games Career Highlights: 2013 Korean Junior & Cadet Open Junior Singles champion; 2014 Global Junior Circuit Finals Singles champion. Right handed Table Tennis Journey: Started at 5 years old

attacking shakehand Story: I love table tennis! I practise in school, clubs & participate in some events.

17 - 23 August 2014, Nanjing, China | 19 * WR: Under 18 World Ranking (As of August 2014) PROFILES - MALE

WR: 14 #5. YANG Heng-Wei (TPE) Qualified: 2014 ITTF/YOG World Qualification event (Vilanova de Gaia, Portugal)

D.O.B: 13 July 1997 (Age: 17) Languages Spoken: Mandarin Favourite Players: & Zhang Jike Hobbies: Listen to music & play on my cellphone Career Highlights: 2013 ITTF Egypt Junior & Cadet Open Junior Singles champion; 2013 ITTF Canadian Junior & Cadet Open Junior Singles

Right handed champion. Table Tennis Journey: Started when I was 7 years old, in Taipei City

attacking shakehand

WR: 18 #6. David REITSPIES (CZE) Qualified: 2014 ITTF/YOG World Qualification event

(Vilanova de Gaia, Portugal) attacking shakehand attacking D.O.B: 10 October 1996 (Age: 17)

Nickname: Rajtak Right handed handed Right Languages Spoken: English & Czech Favourite Players: & Petr Korbel Hobbies: All sports & listening to music Career Highlights: 2013 ITTF Italian Junior & Cadet Open runner-up; 2013 ITTF Hungarian Junior & Cadet Open runner-up; 2013 European Youth Top 10 runner-up. Table Tennis Journey: My father encouraged me to play when I was 6. Story: Seeing Copacabana beach in Brazil with my coach Pavel Spacek. I am the Czech number one for my age group and I recently had some very good training at the Road to Nanjing training camp in Shanghai.

20 | Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games - Table Tennis ** Numbering is based on seedings PROFILES - MALE

WR: 24 #7. Can AKKUZU (FRA) Qualified: European Qualification Tournament (Hodonin, )

D.O.B: 23 May 1997 (Age: 17) attacking shakehand attacking

Nickname: Canou Languages Spoken: French & a little English handed Right Favourite Player: Hobbies: Music, cinema & basketball Career Highlights: 2012 Europe Top 10 Cadet Boys’ champion; 2012 European Championships Cadet Team champion; 2011 Slovak Cadet

@canakk Open Singles & Doubles champion; French Championships Cadet Team champion. Table Tennis Journey: Started playing at 7 years old under the influence of my father. He also played table tennis. Story: Broke through as a top level by winning the sought after French National Cadet Singles title in 2012 and I since then progressed on the international scene. I earned my spot for Nanjing by fending of tough domestic challengers and won the European qualification in March.

#8. Tomislav PUCAR (CRO) WR: 31 Qualified: European Qualification Tournament (Hodonin, Czech Republic)

D.O.B: 26 January 1996 (Age: 18) Nickname: Tomo Languages Spoken: Coatian & English Favourite Player: Ma Long Hobbies: Movies & Music Career Highlights: 2013 European Junior Championships runner-up; 2013 European Cadets Top 10 5th place; 2013 ITTF Serbian Junior Open

Right handed champion; 2013 ITTF Slovakia Junior Open runner-up. Table Tennis Journey: 6 years old attacking shakehand Story: My dad is table tennis coach so I started to practice with him. When I was 15 years old I moved to Zagreb because of better training conditions. My goal is to play in senior national team and I want to go to Olympic games.

17 - 23 August 2014, Nanjing, China | 21 * WR: Under 18 World Ranking (As of August 2014) PROFILES - MALE

WR: 35 #9. Kirill GERASSIMENKO (KAZ) Qualified: Road to Nanjing 2014 Series Asia (Goa, India)

D.O.B: 18 December 1996 (Age: 17) Languages Spoken: Russian, English, Kazah & a little Mandarin

Favourite Players: & Zhang Jike @kirillgerassimenko Hobbies: Bike, running, skiing & billiards Career Highlights: Current Kazakhstan National champion; Represented Right handed Kazakhstan at the 2014 World Team Table Tennis Championships. Table Tennis Journey: I started playing at 5, with my father as my coach. attacking shakehand Story: I have been in many countries, such as Thailand, China, Austria & Germany.

WR: 36 #10. HUNG Ka Tak (HKG) Qualified: Asian Qualification Tournament (Bangkok, Thailand)

D.O.B: 12 January 1998 (Age: 16) attacking shakehand attacking Nickname: Victor

Languages Spoken: Cantonese Right handed handed Right Favourite Player: Ma Lin Hobbies: Reading, drawing, outdoor activities Career Highlights: 2013 ITTF Global Junior Circuit Finals bronze; 2013 New Caledonia Junior & Cadet Open Junior Boys’ Singles champion; 2012 World Cadet Challenge: Cadet Boys’ Singles bronze; Cadet Boys’ Team champion. Table Tennis Journey: Started playing when I was8 years old @katakhung Story: I started to play table tennis when I was 8 years old. It was a very tough time for me to overcome every difficulty throughout my career. For example, I have got my arm injured but finally I overcome it, my confidence and determination have driven me to success in the YOG Continental Qualification which held in Bangkok, therefore, I will treasure this opportunity & try my best to fight for success.

22 | Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games - Table Tennis ** Numbering is based on seedings PROFILES - MALE

WR: 37 #11. Diogo CHEN (POR) Qualified: European Qualification Tournament

(Hodonin, Czech Republic) shakehand attacking

D.O.B: 24 August 1996 (Age: 18) handed Right Languages Spoken: Portugese, English, Spanish & Mandarin Favourite Player: Zhang Jike Hobbies: Playstation, computer, music & books Career Highlights: 2011 European Youth Championships Cadet Mixed Doubles champion; Cadet Singles bronze, Cadet Doubles bronze and Cadet Team bronze. Table Tennis Journey: Started at 6 years old, because my father was a coach &

@diogochen24 I started to play. Story: I play for the famous Sporting Lisabon club in the Portuguese league system . I have already represented the senior national team & I can’t wait to play more with the established stars like & Tiago Apolonia.

WR: 40 #12. Patryk ZATOWKA (POL) Qualified: European Qualification Tournament (Hodonin, Czech Republic)

D.O.B: 10 April 1997 (Age: 17) Languages Spoken: English & Polish Favourite Player: Andrej Grubba Hobbies: Footabll & computer games Career Highlights: 2012 European Junior Championships Singles silver; 2013 European Championship Doubles bronze. Table Tennis Journey: My mother introduced me to table tennis when I was Right handed 3 years old Story: I am one of four Youth Olympic Games qualifiers selected for the attacking shakehand inagural ITTF World Hopes Team in 2009. I even won the first ever ITTF Hopes singles event in Örebro , Sweden.

17 - 23 August 2014, Nanjing, China | 23 * WR: Under 18 World Ranking (As of August 2014) PROFILES - MALE

WR: 41 #13. Adam SZUDI (HUN) Qualified: 2014 ITTF/YOG World Qualification event (Vilanova de Gaia, Portugal)

D.O.B: 29 January 1996 (Age: 18) Nickname: Adi Languages Spoken: English, German & Hungarian Favourite Player: Janos Jakab Hobbies: Football & billiards Career Highlights: 2013 European Youth Championships Junior Boys’

Right handed Doubles champion. Table Tennis Journey: Began when I was 8 years old, in Szolnok

attacking shakehand Story: I started to play table tennis because my friends played & I wanted to be with them.

WR: 44 #14. Kilian ORT (GER) Qualified: 2014 ITTF/YOG World Qualification event

(Vilanova de Gaia, Portugal) attacking shakehand attacking D.O.B: 27 April 1996 (Age: 18)

Nickname: Kili handed Right Languages Spoken: English & German Favourite Players: Members of German National Team Hobbies: All sports & listening to music Career Highlights: 2011 European Youth Championships Cadet Boys’ Team champion; 2013 European Youth Championships Mixed Doubles champion. Table Tennis Journey: Started at 6 years old, my father was a coach at a club. Story: I played football until I was 12 years old & then started to play table tennis at the same club. I play in the German 2 Bundesliga, I am coming off a good season scoring 21-7 in the 2013-2014 campaign for my team TSV Bad Königshofen.

24 | Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games - Table Tennis ** Numbering is based on seedings PROFILES - MALE

WR: 53 #15. Padasak TANVIRIYAVECHAKUL (THA) Qualified: Road to Nanjing 2014 Series

Europe (Metz, ) attacking shakehand attacking

D.O.B: 17 May 1996 (Age: 18) Right handed handed Right Languages Spoken: Thai Favourite Player: Ma Long Hobbies: Watching table tennis videos Career Highlights: 2013 ITTF Thailand Junior & Cadet Open Junior Singles champion; 2013 ITTF New Caledonia Junior & Cadet Open Junior Singles champion.

@thunder_bright Table Tennis Journey: Began when I was 8 years old Story: I am supported by TTAT and was selected by the ITTF to get the scholarship to practice at Falkenberg, Sweden with Mr Peter Karlsson… It was UNBELIVEABLE.

#16. Elias RANEFUR (SWE) WR: 55 Qualified: Road to Nanjing 2014 Series Oceania (Avarua, Cook Islands)

D.O.B: 29 June 1996 (Age: 18) Nickname: Elle Languages Spoken: Swedish, English & Spanish Favourite Player: Oh Sang Eun & Hobbies: Football & frisbee Career Highlights: 2014 Cook Islands Junior & Cadet Open Junior Singles champion; 2014 European Youth Championships Junior Singles silver. Table Tennis Journey: Right handed I started at 8 years old, We have a table tennis table at home so I played a little there, and in school with friends. I liked it, so I started

attacking shakehand practising in clubs. Story: For a long time I played more football than table tennis as I wasn’t sure if table tennis is the right sport for me. But now I know that it is!

17 - 23 August 2014, Nanjing, China | 25 * WR: Under 18 World Ranking (As of August 2014) PROFILES - MALE

WR: 56 #17. Fermin TENTI (ARG) Qualified: Latin America Qualification Tournament (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic)

D.O.B: 14 June 1997 (Age: 17) Nickname: Ferchu Languages Spoken: Spanish Hobbies: Tennis & Football Career Highlights: 2011 & 2014 Latin American Championships U-15 Team

bronze; 2009 Pan American Championships U-13 champion @femintenti Table Tennis Journey: My table tennis journey started in a club called Right handed Gimnasty (LA PLATA CITY) Story: Throughout my table tennis career, I have also played tennis at the attacking shakehand highest level in . I love the attention of the match and the heat of a battle.

WR: 58 #18. Brian AFANADOR (PUR) Qualified: Latin America Qualification Tournament (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) attacking shakehand attacking D.O.B: 06 March 1997 (Age: 17)

Languages Spoken: Spanish & English handed Right Favourite Player: Dimitrij Ovtcharov Hobbies: Reading & spending time with my family Career Highlights: 2013 Latin American Junior & Cadet Championships Junior Boys’ champion; 2014 Latin American Championships U-21 event 3rd place; Represented Puerto Rico at the 2014 World Team Table Tennis Championships

@briantmpr in Tokyo, Japan. Table Tennis Journey: In 2003 when I was 7 years old Story: When I played the ITTF Italian Junior & Cadet Open in 2012, I didn’t have a good rest the day before my match & lost one of my matches in the group stage. “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger!“ I made my way into the main draw & eventually emerged champion in the cadet boys’ singles category.

26 | Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games - Table Tennis ** Numbering is based on seedings PROFILES - MALE

WR: 65 #19. YIN Jing Yuan (SIN) Qualified: Asian Qualification Tournament (Bangkok, Thailand) shakehand attacking

D.O.B: 16 March 1997 (Age: 17) handed Right Languages Spoken: English & Chinese Favourite Player: Hobbies: Watching TV Career Highlights: 2013 South East Asia Junior Championships Junior Singles bronze; 2012 South East Asia Junior Championships Cadet Singles champion; 2014 ITTF French Junior & Cadet Open Junior Singles champion. Table Tennis Journey: Started when I was 7 years old, because my brother plays table tennis too. Story: Stopped school for 1.5 years to prepare for this year’s YOG.

WR: 69 #20. Martin ALLEGRO (BEL) Qualified: Road to Nanjing 2014 Series Latin America (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

D.O.B: 29 April 1996 (Age: 18) Languages Spoken: French, English & a little Italian Favourite Player: Jean-Michel Saive Hobbies: Cinema & hanging out with friends Career Highlights: Former Belgium champion in Mini-Cadet, Cadet & Junior.

Left handed Table Tennis Journey: I started at 8, because my father has a club & my whole family is playing table tennis Story: It took me 5 qualification tournaments to be qualified for the Youth

attacking shakehand Olympic Games.

17 - 23 August 2014, Nanjing, China | 27 * WR: Under 18 World Ranking (As of August 2014) PROFILES - MALE

WR: 73 #21. Andreas LEVENKO (AUT) Qualified: Road to Nanjing 2014 Series North America (Missisauga, Canada)

D.O.B: 17 July 1998 (Age: 16) Languages Spoken: German, English & Russian Favourite Player: & Hobbies: Playstation

Career Highlights: 2013 European Junior Championships Singles @andilevenko bronze; 2013 European Top 10 bronze; 2012 ITTF Junior & Cadet Spanish Open Junior Singles champion

Right handed Table Tennis Journey: I started playing with my father when I was 5. He was a table tennis coach.

attacking shakehand Story: My life is very interesting, each day there is a new story.

WR: 91 #22. Elia SCHMID (SUI) Qualified: Road to Nanjing 2014 Series Africa (Cairo, Egypt) attacking shakehand attacking

D.O.B: 22 May 1996 (Age: 18) handed Right Languages Spoken: French, English & German Favourite Player: Hobbies: Travelling & cinema Career Highlights: 2014 Swiss Champion Table Tennis Journey: Started when I was 6 years old Story: When I started to play Table Tennis I was in a little room in our house I had a table & I played a lot with my father. It was very funny then I asked him to play in a club near of my city. Two years later, I started to play in the league of Switzerland, I became better & better, I worked hard & continue until now.

28 | Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games - Table Tennis ** Numbering is based on seedings PROFILES - MALE

WR: 114 #23. Abhishek YADAV (IND) Qualified: Asian Qualification Tournament

(Bangkok, Thailand) shakehand attacking D.O.B: 09 July 1996 (Age: 18) handed Left Nickname: Abni Languages Spoken: English & Hindi Favourite Player: Zhang Jike Hobbies: Dancing & listening to music Career Highlights: 2011 Asian Junior Championships Cadet Boys’ Singles bronze; 2013 Singles bronze. Table Tennis Journey: 6 years old Story: I was very happy when I won the bronze medal at the Cadet event in the Asian Junior Championships & when I heard the news of my qualification to the Youth Olympic Games.

WR: 169 #24. Alejandro TORANZOS (PAR) Qualified: NOC Universality Places

D.O.B: 18 September 1996 (Age: 17) Nickname: Machine Languages Spoken: Spanish, Guarani & English Favourite Player: Timo Boll Hobbies: Listening to music & hanging out with friends Career Highlights: 2013 South American Youth Games Mixed Doubles silver; 2010 Latin American Junior & Cadet Championships U-15 Men’s @alejandrotoranzos Doubles silver; 2008 Latin American Junior & Cadet Championships Team champion; Represented Paraguay at the 2012 World Team Table Tennis Championhips. Right handed Table Tennis Journey: Started playing in 2010, when I accompanied my father to training attacking shakehand Story: I have represented my country in many international competitions. In 2010, despite facing economic difficulties, my parents still made great effort to send me to Germany to perfect my technique.

17 - 23 August 2014, Nanjing, China | 29 * WR: Under 18 World Ranking (As of August 2014) PROFILES - MALE

WR: 181 #25. Aly GHALLAB (EGY) Qualified: African Qualification Tournament (Cairo, Egypt)

D.O.B: 01 February 1997 (Age: 17) Nickname: Leewa Languages Spoken: Arabic & English Favourite Players: Ma long & Jun Mizutani Hobbies: Football & playstation Career Highlights: 2011 & 2012 African Cadet Singles & Teams champion; 2014 African Junior Doubles & Mixed Doubles champion; Participated in World Cadet Challenge (2011 & 2012); 2011 Global Junior Circuit Finals Left handed 11th position. Table Tennis Journey: Started when I was 7 years old

attacking shakehand Story: I was fighting to qualify to the YOG for the last 18 months & at last I QUALIFIED! It ‘s UNBELIEVABLE!

WR: 185

#26. Abdulrahman AL-NAGGAR (QAT)

Qualified: Asian Qualification Tournament shakehand attacking

(Bangkok, Thailand) Right handed handed Right

D.O.B: 25 January 1998 (Age: 16) Languages Spoken: Arabic Career Highlights: Participated at the GAC Group 2013 World Tour Grand FInal in Dubai.

30 | Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games - Table Tennis ** Numbering is based on seedings PROFILES - MALE

WR: 215 #27. Krishnateja AVVARI (USA) Qualified: North America Qualification Tournament

(Missisauga, Canada) shakehand attacking D.O.B: 15 December 1999 (Age: 14) Languages Spoken: English handed Right Favourite Player: Jan Ove Waldner Hobbies: Swimming & reading Career Highlights: 2013 ITTF North America Cadet Boys’ Singles runner-up. Table Tennis Journey: Started playing at 6 years old Story: I am the youngest player in the boys field. I am the product of the ITTF Hot Spot ICC Training Center in Milpitas California where I train under the auspicies of the Italian born master coach Massimo Constantini.

WR: 254 #28. Kerem BEN YAHIA (TUN) Qualified: African Qualification Tournament (Cairo, Egypt)

D.O.B: 04 April 1996 (Age: 18) Nickname: Kayoum Languages Spoken: Arabic &French Favourite Player: Vladimir Samsonov Hobbies: Cinema & football Career Highlights: 2010 African Team champion; 2010 African

Championships Singles silver. Right handed handed Right Story: I was 6 when I first started playing table tennis. I live in Lyon,

attacking shakehand attacking my favourite team is Hennebont & my dream is to win the World Championships.

17 - 23 August 2014, Nanjing, China | 31 * WR: Under 18 World Ranking (As of August 2014) PROFILES - MALE

#29. Christ BIENATIKI (CGO) WR: 297 Qualified: NOC Universality Places D.O.B: 19 June 1997 (Age: 17) Nickname: Blaise Languages Spoken: French Favourite Player: Dimitrij Ovtcharov Hobbies: Playstation & listening to music Career Highlights: 2012 Africa Championships Cadet Singles bronze; 2013 Africa Clubs with Avenir Club champion; 2014 African Championships Junior Team silver; 2014 African Youth Games Singles silver, Mixed Doubles bronze.

Right handed Table Tennis Journey: In 2005, the Congolese Table Tennis training centre was near to my home attacking shakehand Story: The first time when I qualified for the World Cadet Challenge Africa team in 2011, I was very happy!

WR: 303 #30. Dominic HUANG (AUS) Qualified: Oceania Qualification Tournament (Avarua, Cook Islands) D.O.B: 17 May 1998 (Age: 16)

Nickname: Dom shakehand attacking Languages Spoken: Cantonese, Mandarin, English, & a bit of German handed Right Favourite Player: Zhang Jike Hobbies: Piano, reading crime/ thrillers, bike riding & computer games Career Highlights: Represented at the 2013 World Junior Championships; Represented Oceania at the 2012 World Cadet Challenge; Represented World Hopes at the 2013 World Cadet Challenge; Won a total of 20 medals from Australian Nationals over 5 years. Table Tennis Journey: I played badminton when I was 5 - 7, but switched to table tennis when I was 8 because of my brother. Story: I want to be an oncologist when I grow up. I had this opportunity previously to interact & talk to patients. One of the patients that I met had terminal disease but yet was so bubbly & ecstatic. When I left the hospital that day, an old saying made me smile, “Live every day like its your last.” That’s what I hope to do.

32 | Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games - Table Tennis ** Numbering is based on seedings PROFILES - MALE

WR: Unranked #31. Soudes ALASSANI (TOG) Qualified: NOC Universality Places

D.O.B: 28 January 1998 (Age: 16) shakehand attacking

Nickname: Soudes Right handed handed Right Languages Spoken: French Favourite Player: Jan-Ove Waldner Hobbies: Football Career Highlights: 2014 Solidarity Games Singles & Doubles bronze; Took part in the Road to Nanjing Training Camp in Shanghai. Table Tennis Journey: Began in 2010 though a talent identifcation program in my school. Story: During the talent identification, I was not in the original group selected. The technical director of the federation then saw me & said, this boy seems very smart, he will be a good table tennis player & he selected me.

WR: Unranked #32. T’Anje JOHNSON (SKN) Qualified: NOC Universality Places

D.O.B: 29 December 1998 (Age: 15) Nickname: TJ Languages Spoken: English Favourite Player: Timo Boll Hobbies: Basketball & travelling Career Highlights: 2011 - 2013 Saint Kitts - Nevis National Champion; Represented Saint Kitts - Nevis (SKN) in 2010 Carribean Regional Table Tennis Federation (CRTTF) Pre-Cadets & Cadet Championships & at the 2014 Latin American Championships.

Right handed Table Tennis Journey: Started playing at 8 years old, at a summer camp that I attended.

attacking shakehand Story: I grew up in a cricket & football loving country, so table tennis was viewed initially as a leisure sport. After travelling during the Mini-Cadet to Dominican Republic, my passion & love for the sport grew.

17 - 23 August 2014, Nanjing, China | 33 * WR: Under 18 World Ranking (As of August 2014) PROFILES - FEMALE

WR: 1 #1. DOO Hoi Kem (HKG) Qualified: 2014 ITTF/YOG World Qualification event (Vilanova de Gaia, Portugal)

D.O.B: 27 November 1996 (Age: 17) Nickname: Doo Ball Languages Spoken: English, Mandarin & Cantonese Favourite Player: Fan Zhendong

Hobbies: Singing & dancing

@Duhaiqin facebook.com/doohoikem Career Highlights: 2013 Asian Junior Championships Junior Singles runner-up; 2013 ITTF Egypt Junior & Cadet Open Junior Singles champion. Right handed Table Tennis Journey: I started playing when I was 6 years old, my brother

attacking shakehand taught me. Story: I used to be a cry baby, I cry anywhere, anytime. But now I stand strong, I am super woman.

WR: 4 #2. LIU Gaoyang (CHN) Qualified: Host Country Representative attacking shakehand attacking

D.O.B: 13 June 1996 (Age: 18) Nickname: Little Lamb (because the pronounciation of handed Left my name is the same to how lamb is said in Chinese) Languages Spoken: Mandarin Favourite Player: Zhang Yining Hobbies: Travelling Career Highlights: 2013 Asian Youth Games Women’s Singles champion; 2013 World Junior Championships Women’s Team winner & Women’s Singles runner-up. Table Tennis Journey: I started playing table tennis when I was 6 years old, I just wanted to have fun & excercise.

34 | Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games - Table Tennis ** Numbering is based on seedings PROFILES - FEMALE

WR: 5 #3. KATO Miyu (JPN) Qualified: 2014 ITTF/YOG World Qualification event shakehand attacking (Vilanova de Gaia, Portugal) Right handed Right

D.O.B: 14 April 1999 (Age: 15) Languages Spoken: Japanese Favourite Players: Jörgen Persson & Jan-Ove Waldner Hobbies: Shopping & reading comics Career Highlights: 2013 All Japan Junior Singles champion. Table Tennis Journey: Started at 6 years old in Tokyo, my father, Koji, was

@Kato_miyu a table tennis coach, Story: My best subject at school is Social Studies & I have a pet cat.

#4. Lily ZHANG (USA) WR: 16 Qualified: ITTF U-18 World Ranking

D.O.B: 16 June 1996 (Age: 18) Nickname: Lilz Languages Spoken: English, Mandarin & a little French Favourite Player: Zhang Yining Hobbies: Reading, hiking, music, exploring new cafes,

watching soccer & spending time with friends

@Lilyyz facebook.com/LilyZhangtt Career Highlights: 2013 & 2014 US National Women’s Team trials 1st place; 2014 U-21 Women’s silver; 2013 US Open Championships Women’s Singles bronze, U-21 Women’s silver; 2012 US National Champion; 2012 North American Women’s & Junior Girls’ champion.

Right handed handed Right Table Tennis Journey: I used to play with family for fun, then my friend introduced me to a local club & I started attending group trainings &

attacking shakehand attacking having private lessons Story: I am always adventurous & love to explore new places & meet interesting people. One of the reason why I love table tennis is that I get to travel all around the world & experience different culture & places.

17 - 23 August 2014, Nanjing, China | 35 * WR: Under 18 World Ranking (As of August 2014) PROFILES - FEMALE

WR: 26 #5. CHIU Ssu-Hua (TPE) Qualified: 2014 ITTF/YOG World Qualification event (Vilanova de Gaia, Portugal)

D.O.B: 03 August 1996 (Age: 18) Nickname: Xiao Ma (Little Horse) Languages Spoken: Mandarin Favourite Player: Chen Szu-Yu Hobbies: Listening to music & dancing @Chiussuhua Career Highlights: 2013 ITTF Chinese Taipei Junior & Cadet Open

Right handed Doubles champion. Table Tennis Journey: Started when I was 7 years old, my parents

attacking shakehand taught me. Story: I enjoyed visiting Spain and going window shopping.

WR: 27 #6. Lea RAKOVAC (CRO) Qualified: Road to Nanjing 2014 Series Latin America (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

D.O.B: 03 March 1996 (Age: 18) shakehand attacking

Nickname: Rax Right handed handed Right Languages Spoken: English Hobbies: Beach volleyball Career Highlights: 2013 Junior European runner-up; 2013 World Junior Championships Mixed Doubles bronze; 10 medals at European Youth Championships. Table Tennis Journey: I started to play at home with my brother when I was 8. He saw potential in me & took me with my parents to a table tennis club. @Leaoriginal @Learakovac Story: I had to take the long hard road to Youth Olympic Games by clinching the title in the Buenos Aires Road to Nanjing qualifier. I am a member of the ITTF With the Future in Mind project supporting the Olympic dream for young talents.

36 | Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games - Table Tennis ** Numbering is based on seedings PROFILES - FEMALE

WR: 33 #7. Adina DIACONU (ROU) Qualified: 2014 ITTF/YOG World Qualification event (Vilanova de Gaia, Portugal) attacking shakehand attacking

D.O.B: 14 October 1999 (Age: 14) handed Right Nickname: Adi Languages Spoken: English & Romanian Favourite Player: Hobbies: Music Career Highlights: 2013 European Youth Championships Cadet Singles champion; 2013 ITTF Serbian Open Singles champion. Table Tennis Journey: Began playing when I was 5 years old, in Slatina, my mother is a sports teacher & I come from an area traditionally strong

@Adinamihaela14 for table tennis. Story: My best subject at school in Mathematics, & I have two Husky dogs at home.

#8. LUO Anqi (CAN) WR: 41 Qualified: North America Qualification Tournament (Missisauga, Canada)

D.O.B: 26 August 1996 (Age: 17) Nickname: Anqui & Ancheechee Languages Spoken: English, French, Mandarin & Cantonese Favourite Player: Hobbies: Shopping, watching dramas, eating & sleeping Career Highlights: 2013 North American Championships Junior bronze, Women’s Team champion; 2013 Safir International Tournament Women’s Singles bronze; 2011 Global Cadet Challenge Cadet Team silver, Doubles bronze. Table Tennis Journey: I started playing table tennis when I was 9. I played in the

Right handed basement because I had a lot of free time outside of school. Story: My finest moment so far was when the North American Cadet Team attacking shakehand won the silver medal at the 2011 World Cadet Challenge held in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I call Toronto home for studies & table tennis, where table tennis has grown rapidly recently.

17 - 23 August 2014, Nanjing, China | 37 * WR: Under 18 World Ranking (As of August 2014) PROFILES - FEMALE

#9. Nicole TROSMAN (ISR) WR: 42 Qualified: European Qualification Tournament (Hodonin, Czech Republic) D.O.B: 25 November 1996 (Age: 17) Nickname: Nicoleta Languages Spoken: English, Russian & Hebrew Favourite Player: Hobbies: Singing & being with friends Career Highlights: 2010 European Junior Top 10 runner-up;

2013 Junior European Championships Mixed Doubles champion. @Nicoleta96

Right handed Table Tennis Journey: I started playing table tennis with my father, he is a table tennis coach.

attacking shakehand Story: I was in gymnastics, & was very good at it. My gymnastic coach wanted me in her national team, she even approached my father about it. But I still chose table tennis in the end.

WR: 43 #10. Tamolwan KHETKHUAN (THA) Qualified: ITTF U-18 World Ranking

D.O.B: 09 June 1997 (Age: 17) shakehand attacking Nickname: Mo

Languages Spoken: Thai handed Right Favourite Players: Werner Schlager & Ding Ning Hobbies: Watching movie Career Highlights: 2012 ITTF World Cadet Challenge Team champion & Singles bronze; 2013 ITTF New Caledonia Junior & Cadet Open Teams & Singles champion & Doubles runner-up. Table Tennis Journey: Started when I was 6 years old Story: I fell in love with table tennis when I started at 6. I come from poor

@Momietamolwan family & my parents are divorced. I have been training hard to support my parents with my prize money for the past 2 years. Table Tennis is my life & hope, so I try my best to achieve my dreams. A Youth Olympic Medal is the biggest goal. It’s a dream. If I can get a medal, it will change my life.

38 | Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games - Table Tennis ** Numbering is based on seedings PROFILES - FEMALE

WR: 44 #11. WAN Yuan (GER) Qualified: ITTF U-18 World Ranking attacking shakehand attacking D.O.B: 23 May 1997 (Age: 17)

Languages Spoken: German, Mandarin & English handed Right Hobbies: Going to the movies & interested in fashion Career Highlights: 2014 Croatian Open U-21 bronze; 2014 French Junior & Cadet Open Junior Singles champion; 2014 European Youth Championships Junior Teams runner-up; 2012 European Youth Champion- ships Cadet Teams champion & Doubles runner-up; 2014 German National Youth Championships Junior Singles runner-up & Doubles champion. Story: I was born in Eberswalde near Berlin, & I come from a table tennis family. My father, Wan Guohui, is the assistant to the German national women’s head coach Jie Schopp. My younger sister also plays ta- ble tennis, & we both live & practise at the German National Table Tennis Centre in Düsseldorf.

WR: 52 #12. Natalia BAJOR (POL) Qualified: European Qualification Tournament (Hodonin, Czech Republic)

D.O.B: 07 March 1997 (Age: 17) Nickname: Bajorka Languages Spoken: English & Polish Favourite Player: Liu Shiwen Hobbies: Sport & books Career Highlights: 2012 European Junior Top 10 4th place; 2012 European Championships Doubles bronze & Mixed Doubles bronze; 2012 ITTF World

Right handed Cadet Challenge Singles bronze. Table Tennis Journey: I was introduced to the sport by my father &

attacking shakehand grandfather 10 years ago.

17 - 23 August 2014, Nanjing, China | 39 * WR: Under 18 World Ranking (As of August 2014) PROFILES - FEMALE

WR: 55 #13. Audrey ZARIF (FRA) Qualified: European Qualification Tournament (Hodonin, Czech Republic)

D.O.B: 23 July 1998 (Age: 16) Nickname: Dredre Languages Spoken: French & a little English Favourite Player: Liu Shiwen Hobbies: Cinema, shopping & musical Career Highlights: 2012 Europe Top 10 Cadet Girls’ champion; 2012

Right handed European Youth Championships Cadet Mixed Doubles champion; 2013 European Youth Championships Cadet Girls’ Team runner-up.

attacking shakehand Table Tennis Journey: I started playing table tennis when I was 5 years old, under my sister’s influence. She played too.

WR: 63 #14. Sutirtha MUKHERJEE (IND) Qualified: Asian Qualification Tournament (Bangkok, Thailand) attacking shakehand attacking

D.O.B: 10 October 1997 (Age: 16) Nickname: Neha handed Right Languages Spoken: English, Hindi & Bengali Favourite Player: Wing Sing Lee Hobbies: Reading story books Career Highlights: 2013 ITTF World Tour Brazil Open U-21 runner-up; 2013 Junior South East champion ; 2013 ITTF Slovak Junior & Cadet Open Junior Singles champion. Table Tennis Journey: Started playing since childhood Story: My dream is to play in the Olympics, so I was very happy when I qualified for the Youth Olympic Games.

40 | Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games - Table Tennis ** Numbering is based on seedings PROFILES - FEMALE

WR: 65 #15. Lisa LUNG (BEL) Qualified: Road to Nanjing 2014 Series North America (Missisauga, Canada)

D.O.B: 29 September 1999 (Age: 14) shakehand attacking Languages Spoken: Dutch & Chinese Favourite Player: handed Right Hobbies: Music Career Highlights: 2014 Golden Ticket Road to Nanjing Series - North America; 2014 Czech Junior & Cadet Open Cadets Single & Double champion; 2013 World Cadet Challenge Team runner-up, Doubles bronze; 2013 French Junior & Cadet Open Cadets Team champion; 2012 Slovak Junior & Cadet Open Cadet Team champion. Table Tennis Journey: 6 years old, in a table tennis school in China. Story: I was born in Sint-Truiden, Belgium, but went to China when I was 6. In China I started with playing the piano but soon I discovered table tennis. I came back to Belgium 5 years later & I am now training & studying at the “Topsportschool Tafeltennis” in Leuven. I will be the youngest female player in Nanjing.

#16. Kristyna STEFCOVA (CZE) WR: 66 Qualified: NOC Universality Place Replacement

D.O.B: 19 October 1996 (Age: 17) Nickname: Tyna Languages Spoken: English & German Favourite Player: Iveta Vacenovská Hobbies: Films & music Career Highlights: 2011 European Championships Cadet Singles quarter-finalist; 2011 World Cadet Challenge Teams bronze; 2013

Right handed European Championships Mixed Doubles quarter-finalist; 2014 ETTU Cup Team bronze.

attacking shakehand Table Tennis Journey: I started playing table tennis at 6 years old, with my father.

17 - 23 August 2014, Nanjing, China | 41 * WR: Under 18 World Ranking (As of August 2014) PROFILES - FEMALE

WR: 72 #17. Gremlis ARVELO (VEN)

Qualified: Latin America Qualification Tournament shakehand attacking (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) Right handed Right D.O.B: 21 August 1996 (Age: 17) Languages Spoken: Spanish Favourite Player: Timo Boll Hobbies: Dance & music Career Highlights: 2014 Latin American Junior Championships Mixed Doubles champion; 2014 Copa Latina bronze; 2014 Latin America Championships Team bronze. @Andreina136 Table Tennis Journey: Started playing at 12 years old

WR: 75 #18. Leila IMRE (HUN) Qualified: European Qualification Tournament (Hodonin, Czech Republic)

D.O.B: 29 March 1997 (Age: 17) Languages Spoken: English shakehand attacking Favourite Player: Jan-Ove Waldner Hobbies: Listening to music, watching films & hairdressing handed Right Career Highlights: 2012 European Cadet Championships bronze; 10 time Hungarian Champion from 2011 to 2014 (4 singles, 3 doubles, 3 teams). Table Tennis Journey: March 2007, in Kecskemét, Hungary Story: There was once I wanted to take part in a football competition at the Sports Day in Kecskemét, but was initially rejected as the organiser said that girls were not allowed. I was eventually given the chance & won the competition in the end! When I got the invitation to be a football player, I said “I think football is not a real sport. I am a table tennis player.“

42 | Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games - Table Tennis ** Numbering is based on seedings PROFILES - FEMALE

WR: 79 #19. PARK Seri (KOR) Qualified: Road to Nanjing 2014 Series Asia (Goa, India)

D.O.B: 18 September 1997 (Age: 16) Nickname: Eurasian Red Squirrel Languages Spoken: Korean Favourite Players: Yang Youngja & Moon Hyunjung Hobbies: Cycling & Listening to music Career Highlights: 2013 & 2014 Korean National Championships Team champion. Right handed Table Tennis Journey: 10 years old Story: I have good sense of sports since I was young. However, my attacking shakehand parents did not want me to be a professional player. I really like to play table tennis and finally managed to convince my parents.

#20. Giorgia PICCOLIN (ITA) WR: 90 Qualified: Road to Nanjing 2014 Series Africa (Cairo, Egypt) D.O.B: 15 January 1996 (Age: 18) Nickname: Gio Languages Spoken: Italian, English & German Favourite Player: Ding Ning Hobbies: Music & learning Career Highlights: 2013 ITTF Portugal Junior & Cadet Open Team bronze; 2013 ITTF Slovenia Junior & Cadet Open Team bronze; 2013 ITTF Italy Junior & Cadet Open Team bronze.

Right handed Table Tennis Journey: Started playing when I was 9 years old Story: I played volleyball & table tennis when I was young, then my

attacking shakehand parents ask me to focus on one sport & I chose table tennis. My brother also was playing the Qualifications but unfortunately he injured himself in the World Junior Championship in Morocco so he couldn’t continue . I wish that we both qualified together.

17 - 23 August 2014, Nanjing, China | 43 * WR: Under 18 World Ranking (As of August 2014) PROFILES - FEMALE

WR: 98 #21. Maria LORENZOTTI (URU) Qualified: Latin America Qualification Tournament (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic)

D.O.B: 13 July 1996 (Age: 18) Nickname: Pia Languages Spoken: Spanish Favourite Player: Hobbies: Going for walks with friends

@Mariapialorenzotti Career Highlights: 2014 Latin American Junior champion; Uruguay National facebook.com/MPLorenzotti Senior Champion; No.1 ranking & awarded by the Uruguayan Olympic Committee Olympic Flame. Table Tennis Journey: I started training when I was 10 & it was because my Right handed brother Gonzalo was a very good player. Story: In Uruguay, table tennis is not a very big sport, so playing attacking shakehand partners are very limited. I use this to my advantage because I am able to play with men most the time which helps me develop my game.

WR: 145 #22. Karoline MISCHEK (AUT) Qualified: Road to Nanjing 2014 Series Europe (Metz, France) attacking shakehand attacking

D.O.B: 22 May 1998 (Age: 16) Left handed Left Nickname: Karo Languages Spoken: German, English & French Favourite Player: Liu Jia Hobbies: Reading, watching movies & meeting friends Career Highlights: 2013 European Youth Championships team 6th place; 2013 Europe Youth Top 10 9th place; Participation at 2013 European Championships. Table Tennis Journey: Started playing from 2005, we had a table tennis screening in school, I started joining the group practices afterwards. Story: I skipped one school year in primary school .

44 | Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games - Table Tennis ** Numbering is based on seedings PROFILES - FEMALE

WR: 149 #23. YEE Herng Hwee (SIN)

Qualified: Asian Qualification Tournament shakehand attacking

(Bangkok, Thailand) Left handed handed Left D.O.B: 21 June 1997 (Age: 17) Nickname: Queen Yee Languages Spoken: English & Mandarin Favourite Player: Ding Ning Hobbies: Watching TV & anime Career Highlights: 2014 South East Asian Junior Championships Girls’ Team champion, Girls Singles bronze.

@Hernghwee Table Tennis Journey: I started playing when I was 7 years old

#24. Alaa SAAD (EGY) WR: 211 Qualified: African Qualification Tournament (Cairo, Egypt) D.O.B: 25 March 1996 (Age: 18) Nickname: lolla Languages Spoken: Arabic & English Favourite Player: Ding Ning Hobbies: Volleyball & playstation Career Highlights: 2011 African Cadet Singles champion; 2011 World Cadet Challenge 7th place; 2012 Junior & Cadet Open Team silver; 2013 African Youth Singles champion; Singles bronze at 2014 African

Right handed Youth Championships & 2014 ITTF Iraq Junior & Cadet Open. Table Tennis Journey: I started playing when I was 7 years old

attacking shakehand Story: Both of my brothers are table tennis players, influencing me to play too. I used to hate it but after I made a lot of progress with winning some local & international events & now being qualified to the YOG… I can now say I LOVE THIS GAME!

17 - 23 August 2014, Nanjing, China | 45 * WR: Under 18 World Ranking (As of August 2014) PROFILES - FEMALE

WR: 277 #25. Vy BUI (AUS) Qualified: Oceania Qualification Tournament (Avarua, Cook Islands) D.O.B: 03 January 1996 (Age: 18) Nickname: V Languages Spoken: English & Vietnamese Favourite Players: Zhang Yining & Liu Shiwen Hobbies: Hanging out with friends & singing

Career Highlights: 2014 Oceania U-21 Singles champion; 2013 Oceania @Vyastrobui1 U-18 Singles champion Table Tennis Journey: Started when I was 8, my dad (Used to play

Right handed socially in Vietnam) took me to a table tennis club. Story: When I young (approx 8-10) I used to scream & harrass my coach

attacking shakehand by yelling & smashing the table tennis table when he did slight errors in training. E.g. Not aiming the ball specifically at a spot, multiballing too slow etc. When re-watching the video now, it makes me laugh on how much of a brat I was.

WR: 342 #26. Sannah LAGSIR (ALG) Qualified: African Qualification Tournament

(Cairo, Egypt) shakehand attacking Right handed handed Right D.O.B: 18 March 1998 (Age: 16) Languages Spoken: French & English Favourite Player: Liu Shiwen Hobbies: Handball & music Career Highlights: 2013 ITTF Tunisia Junior & Cadet Open Cadet Doubles bronze. Table Tennis Journey: 7 years old Story: I represented national teams of France, Morocco & Algeria, but I personally prefer to play for my home country Algeria.

46 | Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games - Table Tennis ** Numbering is based on seedings PROFILES - FEMALE

WR: 395 #27. Chelsea EDGHILL (GUY)

Qualified: NOC Universality Places D.O.B: 11 June 1997 (Age: 17) shakehand attacking Nickname: Chelo

Languages Spoken: English, Spanish & French handed Right Favourite Player: Jorgen Persson Hobbies: Surfing the internet & hanging out with friends Career Highlights: 2014 Canadian Junior & Cadet Open Junior Team bronze; 2012 - 2014 Trinidad & Tobago Open Championships Singles champion; 2012 - 2014 Guyana National Junior champion. Table Tennis Journey: Started at Cliff Anderson Sports Hall in 2006. It was the major sport in my primary school. Story: Table tennis has not only brought me joy & happiness but also improved my eyesight. I was diagnosed with Amblyopia when I was 6 years old, it has improved so much that even my optometrist was amazed. I feel so happy that I have started playing this sport as it developed my character.

WR: 413 #28. Yuliya RYABOVA (KAZ) Qualified: Asian Qualification Tournament (Bangkok, Thailand) D.O.B: 15 Febuary 1997 (Age: 17) Nickname: Yuliya Languages Spoken: Russian & English Hobbies: Guitar & reading Career Highlights: Kazakhstan multiple times U-18 champion; Kazakhstan Team champion. Table Tennis Journey: I started playing at 6 years old @YuliyaRyabova Story: I am a world traveller, & has visited many East Asian countries, Right handed Europe & the United States. I am able to balance my travelling for table tennis tournaments around the world & my studies. I also likes to play attacking shakehand my guitar & make electronic effects with it.

17 - 23 August 2014, Nanjing, China | 47 * WR: Under 18 World Ranking (As of August 2014) PROFILES - FEMALE

WR: 442 #29. Sophia DONG (NZL) Qualified: Road to Nanjing 2014 Series Oceania (Avarua, Cook Islands)

D.O.B: 26 November 1997 (Age: 16) Languages Spoken: English, Chinese & a little French Hobbies: Cross-country, violin, & volunteering (tutoring young kids) Career Highlights: 2014 Cook Islands Junior & Cadet Open Junior Team champion; 2012 New Zealand Junior & Cadet Open Cadet Doubles, Team & Singles champion; Represented Oceania at the 2011 & 2012 World Cadet Challenge. Table Tennis Journey: I had bad eyesight when I was young & the Right handed optometrist recommended me to play. I started when I was 7. Story: I grew up in China, Australia & New Zealand. The experience in attacking shakehand different culture & values has broadened my knowledge, meet many interesting & amazing people, & opened up many opportunities that I would never had before.

WR: Unranked #30. Regina KIM (UZB)

Qualified: Asian Qualification Tournament shakehand attacking (Bangkok, Thailand) Right handed Right D.O.B: 15 May 1997 (Age: 18) Languages Spoken: Russian, English & Uzbek Favourite Player: Hobbies: Reading books, music & swimming Career Highlights: 2012 - 2014 Uzbekistan Junior champion. Table Tennis Journey: Since 2008 Story: I am proud to be able to represent my country & my continent at Nanjing 2014 YOG. My dream is to become an Olympic winner. I know it is difficult to achieve this milestone now, but participating in YOG will be my first step towards my goal. I am also interested in education, maybe I could achieve in this area too.

48 | Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games - Table Tennis ** Numbering is based on seedings PROFILES - FEMALE

WR: Unranked #31. Fatouma Ali SALAH (DJI) Qualified: NOC Universality Places attacking shakehand attacking D.O.B: 13 January 1996 (Age: 18)

Nickname: Fatou handed Right Languages Spoken: English & French Favourite Player: Ding Ning Hobbies: Reading, watching TV & going out with friends. Career Highlights: 2011 & 2012 Djibouti Championships Singles bronze. Table Tennis Journey: Started in 2008, my class mate used to play & she invited me to join her at a training camp sponsored by DOSB. I started practising & I love it. Story: I enjoy playing table tennis. Even though we are a Muslim country with restrictive traditions, I can play with anyone & always have fun. Our national federation always encourage girls to play sports, especially table tennis.

#32. Florence SEERA (UGA) WR: Unranked Qualified: NOC Universality Places

D.O.B: 05 January1997 (Age: 17) Nickname: Mududa Languages Spoken: English. Gishu & Luganda Table Tennis Idol: Stefan Laupa (Founder of Mbale Tigers Table Tennis Club) Hobbies: Dancing & badminton Career Highlights: 2013 Mbale Open Women’s Singles champion; 2013 Daima Open Women’s Singles champion; 2012 East African Schools Championships U-17 champion.

Right handed Table Tennis Journey: Started in 2003, I was scouted by Mbale Tigers coach Jude Mutete in Bududa one of the suburbs in Mbale Town and later

attacking shakehand recruited in the main club (Mbale Tigers). Story: I was born in Budada, Eastern Uganda, where land slides are common. I am the only educated girl in my family, and I really have to thank my Table Tennis scholarship for this.

17 - 23 August 2014, Nanjing, China | 49 YOG RAINBOW

“YOG RAINBOW” is specially designed for the second Youth Olympic Games. It retains the DHS’ classic “Rainbow Arch” design, which signifies the connection of young athletes from all around the world to gather in Nanjing to play and to promote friendship.

The use of lithium battery powered LED lights on both sides of the table not only boosts the overall visual effect, but also accords with the energy saving and environmentally friendly concept widely advocated by youth groups.

The Youth Olympic Games emblem imprinted at the sides of the table, not only reflects the importance of the Youth Olympic Games as an essential part of the Olympic Games, but also the Olympic spirit that it carries, unreveiling the YOG DNA.

50 | Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games - Table Tennis BASIC TABLE TENNIS RULES

SCORING Team events are best of five matches; individual matches are best of seven or best of five games pending on the playing system of the respective tournament. 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 (fifth 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 either orange or 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 goes 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.

17 - 23 August 2014, Nanjing, China | 51 ITTF GLOBAL JUNIOR PROGRAMME

Since the introduction of the ITTF Global Junior Programme back in 2003, educational support and extended opportunities for athletes development has been a priority for the ITTF.

As one of the centerpieces in that process the ITTF introduced, in full cooperation with IOC Olympic Solidarity and participating NOC’s , the ITTF “With the Future in Mind” (WFIM) project the same year.

The original idea called for financial support, scholarship style, as well as high performance guidance to be provided to young athletes from all around the globe, targeting the Olympic Games .

Over the last ten years, the project has not only brought extra fuel to the burning desires of over 100 young talents, but also invested around 1.5 million dollars into training center operations - quality coaching and in some cases to support struggling ITTF World Junior Circuit events.

The overall result of the ITTF initiative has been outstanding. The extra push in terms of improved training opportunities have clearly helped many of the current top players in the world to step up their determination during an important period in their careers .

Among the key athletes who are once a member of the ITTF WFIM project, we have names like Omar Assar (EGY), Marcos Freitas (POR) and Noshad Alamiyan from (IRI) on the male side, with (ROU) and Natalia Partyka (POL) being world leading female representatives.

In the latest batch of scholarship holders - this time with focus on the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, you will find eight ITTF “With the Future in Mind” scholarship in Nanjing 2014: Maria Lorenzotti (URU), Lea Rakovac (CRO), Chelsea Edghill (GUY) Nicole Trosman (ISR) , Tamolwan Khetkhuen (THA), Padasak Tanviriyavechakul (THA), Kirill Gerrasimenko (KAZ) and Brian Afanador (PUR) .

52 | Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games - Table Tennis Yadav Abhishek (IND)

Was virtually a street kid when table tennis changed his life. In the same venue as YOG exactly one year prior he caused a huge upset by making the semis of the Asia Youth Games and led 2-1 in the semi against the eventual champion Fan Zhendong (CHN).

17 - 23 August 2014, Nanjing, China | 53 2010 YOG MEDALLISTS

Men’s Singles

From Left: HUNG Tzu-Hsiang / TPE (Silver), NIWA Koki / JPN (Gold), Simon GAUZY / FRA (Bronze)

Women’s Singles

From Left: Isabelle LI Siyun / SIN (Silver), GU Yuting / CHN (Gold), YANG Ha-Eun / KOR (Bronze)

54 | Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games - Table Tennis Mixed Teams [Gold] Ayuka TANIOKA (JPN) / (JPN) [Silver] YANG Ha-Eun (KOR) / KIM Dong-Hyun (KOR) [Bronze] GU Yuting (CHN) / Adem HMAM (TUN)

Gold medallists NIWA Koki and TANIOKA Ayuka (Japan)

2013 WJTTC MEDALLISTS

2013 World Junior Table Tennis Championships Medallists Men’s Team Women’s Team Gold China Gold China Silver Japan Silver Japan Bronze Poland Bronze Bronze France Bronze Hong Kong

Men’s Singles Women’s Singles Gold JANG Woo-jin KOR Gold GU Yuting CHN Silver ZHOU Kai CHN Silver LIU Gaoyang CHN Bronze MORIZINO JPN Bronze WANG Manyu CHN Masataka Bronze LIU Xi CHN Bronze KONG Lingxuan CHN

17 - 23 August 2014, Nanjing, China | 55 2014 GLOBAL JUNIOR CIRCUIT EVENT WINNERS

Road to Nanjing 2014 Series

Europe Metz, FRANCE, 3 - 4 March 2014 Men’s Winner Padasak TANVIRIYAVECHAKUL (THA) Women’s Winner Kim VERMAAS (NED)

Asia Goa, INDIA, 23 - 24 March 2014 Men’s Winner Kirill GERASSIMENKO (KAZ) Women’s Winner PARK Seri (KOR)

North America Missisauga, Toronto, CANDA, 7 - 8 April 2014 Men’s Winner Andreas LEVENKO (AUT) Women’s Winner Lisa LUNG (BEL)

Africa Cairo, EGYPT, 14 - 15 April 2014 Men’s Winner Elia SCHMID (SUI) Women’s Winner Giorgia PICCOLIN (ITA)

Latin America Buenos Aires, ARGENTINA, 21 - 22 April 2014 Men’s Winner Martin ALLEGRO (BEL) Women’sWinner Lea RAKOVAC (CRO)

Oceania Avarua, COOK ISLANDS, 30 - 31 May 2014 Men’s Winner Elias RANEFUR (SWE) Women’s Winner Sophia DONG (NZL)

*All winners (except Kim VERMAAS who is injured) are playing in the Youth Olympic Games.

56 | Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games - Table Tennis 2014 ITTF Premium Global Junior Circuit (Hodonin) Bahrain Open (Manama) 12 - 16 February 2014 24 - 28 February 2014 Men’s Winner Diogo CHEN (POR) Men’s Winner Ali ALKHADRAWI (KSA) Women’s Winner Bernadett BALINT (ROU) Women’s Winner LIN Chia-Hsuan (TPE) (Metz) Italian Open (Lignano) 5 - 9 March 2014 12 - 16 March 2014 Men’s Winner YIN Jing Yuan (SIN) Men’s Winner Konstantin CHERNOV (RUS) Women’s Winner WAN Yuan (GER) Women’s Winner Ekaterina GUSEVA (RUS) Indian Open (Goa) Thailand Open (Bangkok) 25 - 28 March 2014 14 - 18 May 2014 Men’s Winner Padasak TANVIRIYAVECHAKUL (THA) Men’s Winner YANG Heng-Wei (TPE) Women’s Winner Sutirtha MUKHERJEE (IND) Women’s Winner TAIRA Mayuka (JPN) Polish Open (Wladyslawowo) (Taicang) 28 May - 1 June 2014 23 - 27 June 2014 Men’s Winner Nandor ECSEKI (HUN) Men’s Winner ZHANG Bohan (CHN) Women’s Winner Ayhika MUKHERJEE (IND) Women’s Winner FAN Siqi (CHN) Open (Chengdu) 30 June - 4 July 2014 Men’s Winner LIU Dingshuo (CHN) Women’s Winner FAN Siqi (CHN) 2014 ITTF Global Junior Circuit (Orebro) (Toronto) 19 - 23 February 2014 10 - 13 March 2014 Men’s Winner RYUZAKI Tonin (JPN) Men’s Winner Kanak JHA (USA) Women’s Winner MORITA Ayane (JPN) Women’s Winner Prachi JHA (USA) Argentina Open (Buenos Aires) Spanish Open (Platja d’Aro) 17 - 20 April 2014 7 - 11 May 2014 Men’s Winner Fermin TENTI (ARG) Men’s Winner LIAO Cheng-Ting (TPE) Women’s Winner Karolina MYNAROVA (CZE) Women’s Winner CHIU Ssu-Hua (TPE) (Cottonera) Slovakia Open (Senec) 15 - 18 May 2014 22 - 25 May 2014 Men’s Winner TSAI Chun-Yu (TPE) Men’s Winner Joe SEYFRIED (FRA) Women’s Winner Arina SINGEORZAN (ROU) Women’s Winner Ayhika MUKHERJEE (IND) Cook Islands Open (Avarua) Open (Medellin) 26 - 29 May 2014 18 - 21 June 2014 Men’s Winner Elias RANEFUR (SWE) Men’s Winner Massao KOHATSU (BRA) Women’s Winner Ruofei RAO (NZL) Women’s Winner Bruna TAKAHASHI (BRA) *Highlighted winners are playing in the Youth Olympic Games.

17 - 23 August 2014, Nanjing, China | 57 UPCOMING MAJOR EVENTS

2014

GAC Group ITTF World Tour, Czech Open Olomouc / CZE 27 - 31 Aug ITTF Junior Circuit, Open Santiago / CHI 28 - 31 Aug ITTF Junior Circuit, Funchal Open Funchal / POR 03 - 06 Sep GAC Group ITTF World Tour, Argentina Open Buenos Aires / ARG 04 - 07 Sep GAC Group ITTF World Tour, Flanders Open De Haan / BEL 10 - 13 Sep ITTF Junior Circuit, Tunisian Open Nabeul / TUN 10 - 14 Sep GAC Group ITTF World Tour, Brazil Open Santos / BRA 11 - 14 Sep 2014 Asian Junior & Cadet Championships Mumbai / IND 12 - 16 Sep ITTF Junior Circuit, Open Varazdin / CRO 17 - 21 Sep ITTF Premium Junior Circuit, Chinese Taipei Open Taipei / TPE 24 - 28 Sep 2014 Asian Games / KOR 27 Sep - 04 Oct ITTF Junior Circuit, Serbian Open Vrnkacka Banja / SRB 01 - 05 Oct Women’s World Cup / AUT 17 - 19 Oct World Cadet Challenge Bridgetown / BAR 23 Oct - 01 Nov LIEBHERR Men’s World Cup Dusseldorf / GER 24 - 26 Oct ITTF Junior Circuit, Slovak Open Bratislava / SVK 31 Oct - 02 Nov GAC Group ITTF World Tour, Russian Open Ekaterinburg / RUS 05 - 09 Nov ITTF Premium Junior Circuit, Szombathely / HUN 05 - 09 Nov GAC Group ITTF World Tour, Swedish Open / SWE 12 - 16 Nov Russian Junior & Cadet Open St. Peterburg / RUS 25 - 30 Nov 15th Memorial Nikolay Nikitin World Junior Table Tennis Championships Shanghai / CHN 30 Nov - 7 Dec GAC Group 2014 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals Bangkok / THA 11 - 14 Dec

2015

2014 Global Junior Circuit Finals TBD 23 - 25 Jan

58 | Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games - Table Tennis MEDIA TOOLS

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17 - 23 August 2014, Nanjing, China | 59 facebook.com/ITTFWorld

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