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| Photo: ATTU |
This year, 2019 Asian Cup returns to Japan, as Yokohama will play host to the Asian qualification tournament for 2019 World Cup from 5-7 April. The field is headlined by Ma Long, who went on a 4-month hiatus recovering from his injuries and has just had a golden comeback performance at the Qatar Open. The other players in attendance include last year's title-holder Fan Zhendong and Zhu Yuling and other top 14 men and 15 women from Asia.
Preview
The 2017 men's singles world champion Ma Long had been absent from international competitions since having a disappointing defeat at 2018 Bulgarian Open. Though his injuries took him out of competition for nearly 4 months, sitting out several world tours, the second half season of 2018 CTTSL and 2019 Marvellous 12, he looks ready to top the podium again after a bright performance at Qatar Open. Defending champion Fan Zhendong of China should be a top contender in this tournament as well. After an unbeaten run at the 2019 Marvellous 12, he looks impeccable coming into 2019. Lee Sangsu of Korea is no stranger to the Asian Cup medal. He placed third at the last two Asian Cup and has the potential to make it three in a row.
Other top talents in the field include Harimoto Tomokazu of Japan. The 15-year-old looks promising this year. After a 'disappointing' All Japan Championships, by Harimoto's standard, falling short from the men's singles finals, he came back strong winning the champion of 2019 Lion Cup Top 12 competition and I am looking forward to his Asian Cup debut on home soil. Speaking of the rising star, 17-year-old Lin Yun-Ju of Chinese Taipei, who won 3 titles at 2019 Oman Open and shocked out Dimitrij Ovtcharov at 2019 Qatar Open, will be one for watching. His first three ball contacts and backhand flick are superb.
In the women's competition, Chen Meng and Zhu Yuling of China will hope to top the field there. Chen Meng has shown huge improvement at the end of 2018 which has given her an edge at 2019 Marvellous 12 where she ended up first and secured a spot to compete in the women's singles at 2019 WTTC. Alternatively, 2019 Marvellous 12 may not be the best experience Zhu Yuling had in 2019. She ended up sixth at the tournament which might have cost her the chance to compete in the women's singles at 2019 WTTC. Regardless of previous results, both Chinese would hope to prove themselves in Yokohama and win home the title.
Additionally, Japan's own Kasumi Ishikawa and Miu Hirano will hope to contend for medals. The winner of 2019 Lion Cup Top 12 competition, Kasumi Ishikawa is a 4-time Asian Cup medalist. Whereas Miu Hirano is the 2017 Asian champion who knocked out Ding Ning, Zhu Yuling and Chen Meng and walked away with the women's singles title at 2017 Asian Championships. Although the Chinese have studied the style of the two players closely and have not allowed history repeat, one could never overlook the potential of the emerging Japanese.
In Group D, Batra Manika of India and Lin Ye of Singapore should put on quite a show fighting for the 1 spot to advance to the single play-off. Batra Manika, the 2018 Commonwealth Games women's team and singles champion, plays a rare long-pip backhand which she sometimes fiddles the racket to the inverted side and gives a sudden backhand punch catching her opponent in surprise. As Mattias Falck and He Zhuojia prove a thousand flowers can still blossom at Qatar Open (a variety of playing styles can survive in the world of table tennis), I wonder will Batra Manika become one of the blossoming flowers at 2019 Asian Cup. Yet, the task will be made challenging as her head-to-head record against Lin Ye is 0-6 favouring Lin Ye according to ITTF's statistics.
The 2017 men's singles world champion Ma Long had been absent from international competitions since having a disappointing defeat at 2018 Bulgarian Open. Though his injuries took him out of competition for nearly 4 months, sitting out several world tours, the second half season of 2018 CTTSL and 2019 Marvellous 12, he looks ready to top the podium again after a bright performance at Qatar Open. Defending champion Fan Zhendong of China should be a top contender in this tournament as well. After an unbeaten run at the 2019 Marvellous 12, he looks impeccable coming into 2019. Lee Sangsu of Korea is no stranger to the Asian Cup medal. He placed third at the last two Asian Cup and has the potential to make it three in a row.
Other top talents in the field include Harimoto Tomokazu of Japan. The 15-year-old looks promising this year. After a 'disappointing' All Japan Championships, by Harimoto's standard, falling short from the men's singles finals, he came back strong winning the champion of 2019 Lion Cup Top 12 competition and I am looking forward to his Asian Cup debut on home soil. Speaking of the rising star, 17-year-old Lin Yun-Ju of Chinese Taipei, who won 3 titles at 2019 Oman Open and shocked out Dimitrij Ovtcharov at 2019 Qatar Open, will be one for watching. His first three ball contacts and backhand flick are superb.
In the women's competition, Chen Meng and Zhu Yuling of China will hope to top the field there. Chen Meng has shown huge improvement at the end of 2018 which has given her an edge at 2019 Marvellous 12 where she ended up first and secured a spot to compete in the women's singles at 2019 WTTC. Alternatively, 2019 Marvellous 12 may not be the best experience Zhu Yuling had in 2019. She ended up sixth at the tournament which might have cost her the chance to compete in the women's singles at 2019 WTTC. Regardless of previous results, both Chinese would hope to prove themselves in Yokohama and win home the title.
Additionally, Japan's own Kasumi Ishikawa and Miu Hirano will hope to contend for medals. The winner of 2019 Lion Cup Top 12 competition, Kasumi Ishikawa is a 4-time Asian Cup medalist. Whereas Miu Hirano is the 2017 Asian champion who knocked out Ding Ning, Zhu Yuling and Chen Meng and walked away with the women's singles title at 2017 Asian Championships. Although the Chinese have studied the style of the two players closely and have not allowed history repeat, one could never overlook the potential of the emerging Japanese.
In Group D, Batra Manika of India and Lin Ye of Singapore should put on quite a show fighting for the 1 spot to advance to the single play-off. Batra Manika, the 2018 Commonwealth Games women's team and singles champion, plays a rare long-pip backhand which she sometimes fiddles the racket to the inverted side and gives a sudden backhand punch catching her opponent in surprise. As Mattias Falck and He Zhuojia prove a thousand flowers can still blossom at Qatar Open (a variety of playing styles can survive in the world of table tennis), I wonder will Batra Manika become one of the blossoming flowers at 2019 Asian Cup. Yet, the task will be made challenging as her head-to-head record against Lin Ye is 0-6 favouring Lin Ye according to ITTF's statistics.
The Asian Cup has always been a much-anticipated event of the year as many powerhouses for table tennis are in Asia. Most of all, this year's edition is held just a few weeks prior to the 2019 World Championships giving us the most up-to-date overview on how everyone in Asia is up to coming into the World Championships this April. The Asian Cup is also a qualification tournament for the World Cup to be held this October. Qualifying for the World Cup implies chances to earn big points to move up in the world ranking which is important for athletes hoping to make to the 2020 Olympics. Given the depth of the field and the significance of the tournament, there are no reasons for you to miss an event like the 2019 Asian Cup!
Nominative Rosters
Source: ITTF
Competition Format
The top 12 athletes (according to World Ranking) are drawn into Group A, B and C to and the 4 regional representative play in Group D. A round-robin system is in play in stage 1. The top 2 players from Group A, B and C will directly qualify to stage 2. While the winner of Group D will join the third players in Group A, B and C to compete for the remaining 2 spots of Stage 2. Competitions in Stage 1 will be played under the best of 5 format. Stage 2 is a knockout stage where the best of 7 format in play. Players will not meet opponents from the same group and same delegation before semifinals.
Past Medalists
We have made you a list of Asian Cup medalists. Are these names familiar to you? Check our Throwback Thursday: Remarkable Moments at Asian Cup to revisit some of the remarkable moments played at the Asian Cup.
We have made you a list of Asian Cup medalists. Are these names familiar to you? Check our Throwback Thursday: Remarkable Moments at Asian Cup to revisit some of the remarkable moments played at the Asian Cup.
So that's all for the preview. Article(s) tribute to the Hungarian legends, (since 2019 WTTC is approaching), will be published. Don't hesitate and tell us your podium prediction and anything you would like us to know in the comment box below!
Welcome Back Ma Long!
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