Dramas' staged, history's made, tears' shed and here's everything happened at the 2019 World Table Tennis Championships in Budapest, Hungary, from 21 to 28 April.
Mixed Doubles: Intense Competitions Set Up 2020 Tokyo
Owing to the introduction of the mixed doubles at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, competition in the mixed doubles has reached its height. China's Xu Xin / Liu Shiwen 4-1 defeated the defending champion Maharu Yoshimura / Ishikawa Kasumi from Japan in the finals and took the mixed doubles title. Yet the road of topping the podium was not easy for the champion-winning pair, as they faced serious threat from the Koreans Lee Sangsu / Jeon Jihee in the quarterfinals winning 4-3 from 0-2 down and challenges posed by their teammates Fan Zhendong / Ding Ning, who made their international debut as mixed doubles pair at the Championships, in the semifinals. The bottom half of the draw was equally exciting. Germany's Patrick Franziska / Petrissa Solja shocked out Chinese Taipei's Lin Yun-Ju / Cheng I-Ching and Japanese national champion Masataka Morizono / Ito Mima to make the podium.
Must Watch:
XD Final: Xu Xin / Liu Shiwen vs Maharu Yoshimura / Ishikawa Kasumi
XD SF: Xu Xin / Liu Shiwen vs Fan Zhendong / Ding Ning
XD SF: Maharu Yoshimura / Ishikawa Kasumi vs Patrick Franziska / Petrissa Solja
XD QF: Xu Xin / Liu Shiwen vs Lee Sangsu / Jeon Jihee
XD QF: Patrick Franziska / Petrissa Solja vs Masataka Morizono / Ito Mima
Ovidu Ionescu / Alvaro Robles, the mixed-nation pairs of Romania and Spain headlined the World Championships as they made to the finals and placed second behind Chinese Ma Long / Wang Chuqin. The European pairs overcame several strong European opponents including Portugal's Tiago Apolonia/ Joao Monteiro who advanced to the semifinals after an unfortunate withdrawal of the German pair Timo Boll / Patrick Franziska due to a fever Timo Boll fell victim to. Meanwhile, Chinese duo Liang Jingkun / Lin Gaoyuan also settled for bronze after winning 4-1 over Japan's Kizukuri Yuto / Harimoto Tomokazu and no.2 seed Hong Kong's Ho Kwan Kit / Wong Chun Ting and losing 0-4 against their teammates in the semifinals. The appearance of the European pairs in the semifinals has sent a strong message to the world that the ball is round and the European playing style is not inferior at all.
Must Watch:
MD Final: Ma Long / Wang Chuqin vs Ovidu Ionescu / Alvaro Robles
MD SF: Ovidu Ionescu / Alvaro Robles vs Tiago Apolonia/ Joao Monteiro
MD QF: Ma Long / Wang Chuqin vs Lee Sangsu / Jeoung Youngsik
MD R16: Timo Boll / Patrick Franziska vs Tristan Flore / Emmanuel Lebesson
MD R32: Tristan Flore / Emmanuel Lebesson vs Masataka Morizono / Yuya Oshima
Women's Singles: Beyond All-China Podium
The Chinese dominated the women's singles podium but it does have a more sophisticated underlying theme. Prior to the Championships, Liu Shiwen had a disappointing loss at the 2019 Portugal Open and placing 5th at the Marvellous 12 might have almost ruled her out of the women's singles competition. She had made to the semifinals for 5 times without having won a title, while one's best successes come after disappointments, she finally makes it in her sixth. Liu Shiwen was on fire at the Championships, especially in the semifinals where she beat defending champion Ding Ning 4-2 with a rare 11-0 in game 5. She continued her momentum in the finals and it was another 4-2 victory with an 11-0 clean sweep in game 5 over Chen Meng. She described this as a lucky victory in a post-match interview but it was more of a humble way to express her gratitude for the trust and support from the national team and a massive thank you to herself for not giving up at hard times (no coaches were assigned to her for the entire 2018). Hopefully, this belated champion will help Liu Shiwen to secure a spot on the Olympic squad and excels in the future.
Settling for third alongside Ding Ning is rising star Wang Manyu who 4-2 beat 2018 Youth Olympic champion Sun Yingsha in the quarterfinals. While the Japanese girls fell short from making to the podium. Mima Ito had a tough draw and bowed out early in the round of 32 losing 1-4 to Sun Yingsha, Kasumi Ishikawa lost 3-4 to Hong Kong's Doo Hoi Kem in the round of 16 and Miu Hirano and Kato Miyu were knocked out by Ding Ning and Liu Shiwen respectively in the quarterfinals.
Must Watch
WS Final: Liu Shiwen vs Chen Meng
WS SF: Liu Shiwen vs Ding Ning
WS QF: Wang Manyu vs Sun Yingsha
WS R16: Doo Hoi Kem vs Kasumi Ishikawa
WS R32: Sun Yingsha vs Mima Ito
Men's Singles: Historic Victories for All Semifinalists
The men's singles competition was loaded with big dramas and eye-catching headlines. Ma Long was crowned the 2019 men's singles world champion and became only the third man to win 3 men's singles world champion in a row, joining Hungarian legend Viktor Barna (1932, 1933, 1934, 1935) and China's Zhuang Zedong (1961, 1963, 1965) on the list.
Mattias Falck, against all odds, made a historic second-place finishing. The last time a Swede making to the men's singles finals was dated back in 1997 when J-O Waldner won the men's singles title over Vladimir Samsonov of Belarus.
An Jaehyun world ranked 157 stunned the world with a podium finishing. He upset Hong Kong's Wong Chun Ting in the round of 128 and then no.4 seed Harimoto Tomokazu of Japan in the round of 16. In the quarterfinals, he won 4-3 over his teammate Jang Woojin with the narrowest margin 12-10 in the decisive 7th game and lost 3-4 in the semifinals to Mattias Falck due to his inexperience.
The other bronze medal went to Liang Jingkun of China who shocked out the no.1 seed and clear favourite for the title, Fan Zhendong in the round of 16. He then survived a 7-game thriller in the quarterfinals against Koki Niwa of Japan and lost 1-4 to Ma Long in the semifinals.
Supposedly, Timo Boll of Germany was a clear favourite for the medal but a fever had taken him out of the competition in the round of 16. His teammate Dimitrij Ovtcharov was upset by Croatia's Tomislav Pucar in the round of 32 after a close 7-game match. Whereas another medal contender Xu Xin of China was upset by Simon Gauzy of France in the round of 32. Japan's Jun Mizutani announced that the 2019 World Championships would be his last individual event World Championships but it might not have ended the way he like as he narrowly lost to Jeoung Youngsik in the round of 32.
Must Watch
MS Final: Ma Long vs Mattias Falck (game 4 is extremely crucial)
MS SF: Ma Long vs Liang Jingkun
MS SF: Mattias Falck vs An Jaehyun
MS QF: Liang Jingkun vs Koki Niwa
MS QF: An Jaehyun vs Jang Woojin
MS R16: Liang Jingkun vs Fan Zhendong
MS R16: An Jaehyun vs Harimoto Tomokazu
MS R32: Tomislac Pucar vs Dimitrij Ovtcharov
MS R32: Jeoung Youngsik vs Jun Mizutani
MS R32: Simon Gauzy vs Xu Xin
Women's Doubles: Youth Power Prevailed
The women's doubles finals was played between the young generation from China and Japan. Wang Manyu / Sun Yingsha of China took the women's doubles titles at their first individual event World Championships while 2017 women's doubles bronze medalist Hina Hayata / Mima Ito moved up one rank and settled for second. The finals was a close match and the disputed serve at 9-9 in game 5 was the turning point of the match at the end the Chinese won 4-2. Both pairs had faced challenges from their own country in the semifinals and coincidentally the younger pairs prevailed leaving Hashimoto Honoka / Sato Hitomi of Japan and Chen Meng / Zhu Yuling of China placing third in the event.
Must Watch
WD Final: Wang Manyu / Sun Yingsha vs Hina Hayata / Mima Ito
WD SF: Wang Manyu / Sun Yingsha vs Chen Meng / Zhu Yuling
WD SF: Hina Hayata / Mima Ito vs Hashimoto Honoka / Sato Hitomi
Medal Summary
The Chinese dominated the women's singles podium but it does have a more sophisticated underlying theme. Prior to the Championships, Liu Shiwen had a disappointing loss at the 2019 Portugal Open and placing 5th at the Marvellous 12 might have almost ruled her out of the women's singles competition. She had made to the semifinals for 5 times without having won a title, while one's best successes come after disappointments, she finally makes it in her sixth. Liu Shiwen was on fire at the Championships, especially in the semifinals where she beat defending champion Ding Ning 4-2 with a rare 11-0 in game 5. She continued her momentum in the finals and it was another 4-2 victory with an 11-0 clean sweep in game 5 over Chen Meng. She described this as a lucky victory in a post-match interview but it was more of a humble way to express her gratitude for the trust and support from the national team and a massive thank you to herself for not giving up at hard times (no coaches were assigned to her for the entire 2018). Hopefully, this belated champion will help Liu Shiwen to secure a spot on the Olympic squad and excels in the future.
Settling for third alongside Ding Ning is rising star Wang Manyu who 4-2 beat 2018 Youth Olympic champion Sun Yingsha in the quarterfinals. While the Japanese girls fell short from making to the podium. Mima Ito had a tough draw and bowed out early in the round of 32 losing 1-4 to Sun Yingsha, Kasumi Ishikawa lost 3-4 to Hong Kong's Doo Hoi Kem in the round of 16 and Miu Hirano and Kato Miyu were knocked out by Ding Ning and Liu Shiwen respectively in the quarterfinals.
Must Watch
WS Final: Liu Shiwen vs Chen Meng
WS SF: Liu Shiwen vs Ding Ning
WS QF: Wang Manyu vs Sun Yingsha
WS R16: Doo Hoi Kem vs Kasumi Ishikawa
WS R32: Sun Yingsha vs Mima Ito
Men's Singles: Historic Victories for All Semifinalists
The men's singles competition was loaded with big dramas and eye-catching headlines. Ma Long was crowned the 2019 men's singles world champion and became only the third man to win 3 men's singles world champion in a row, joining Hungarian legend Viktor Barna (1932, 1933, 1934, 1935) and China's Zhuang Zedong (1961, 1963, 1965) on the list.
Mattias Falck, against all odds, made a historic second-place finishing. The last time a Swede making to the men's singles finals was dated back in 1997 when J-O Waldner won the men's singles title over Vladimir Samsonov of Belarus.
An Jaehyun world ranked 157 stunned the world with a podium finishing. He upset Hong Kong's Wong Chun Ting in the round of 128 and then no.4 seed Harimoto Tomokazu of Japan in the round of 16. In the quarterfinals, he won 4-3 over his teammate Jang Woojin with the narrowest margin 12-10 in the decisive 7th game and lost 3-4 in the semifinals to Mattias Falck due to his inexperience.
The other bronze medal went to Liang Jingkun of China who shocked out the no.1 seed and clear favourite for the title, Fan Zhendong in the round of 16. He then survived a 7-game thriller in the quarterfinals against Koki Niwa of Japan and lost 1-4 to Ma Long in the semifinals.
Supposedly, Timo Boll of Germany was a clear favourite for the medal but a fever had taken him out of the competition in the round of 16. His teammate Dimitrij Ovtcharov was upset by Croatia's Tomislav Pucar in the round of 32 after a close 7-game match. Whereas another medal contender Xu Xin of China was upset by Simon Gauzy of France in the round of 32. Japan's Jun Mizutani announced that the 2019 World Championships would be his last individual event World Championships but it might not have ended the way he like as he narrowly lost to Jeoung Youngsik in the round of 32.
Must Watch
MS Final: Ma Long vs Mattias Falck (game 4 is extremely crucial)
MS SF: Ma Long vs Liang Jingkun
MS SF: Mattias Falck vs An Jaehyun
MS QF: Liang Jingkun vs Koki Niwa
MS QF: An Jaehyun vs Jang Woojin
MS R16: Liang Jingkun vs Fan Zhendong
MS R16: An Jaehyun vs Harimoto Tomokazu
MS R32: Tomislac Pucar vs Dimitrij Ovtcharov
MS R32: Jeoung Youngsik vs Jun Mizutani
MS R32: Simon Gauzy vs Xu Xin
Women's Doubles: Youth Power Prevailed
The women's doubles finals was played between the young generation from China and Japan. Wang Manyu / Sun Yingsha of China took the women's doubles titles at their first individual event World Championships while 2017 women's doubles bronze medalist Hina Hayata / Mima Ito moved up one rank and settled for second. The finals was a close match and the disputed serve at 9-9 in game 5 was the turning point of the match at the end the Chinese won 4-2. Both pairs had faced challenges from their own country in the semifinals and coincidentally the younger pairs prevailed leaving Hashimoto Honoka / Sato Hitomi of Japan and Chen Meng / Zhu Yuling of China placing third in the event.
Must Watch
WD Final: Wang Manyu / Sun Yingsha vs Hina Hayata / Mima Ito
WD SF: Wang Manyu / Sun Yingsha vs Chen Meng / Zhu Yuling
WD SF: Hina Hayata / Mima Ito vs Hashimoto Honoka / Sato Hitomi
Medal Summary
Of course, I have dozens of favourite matches beyond those listed above but this was not meant to be a long essay of 2019 WTTC. For more details check ITTF and ITTV for the full match replays of the Championships. There you have it, a quick review of the 2019 World Table Tennis Championships.
Sad but true, the Championships becomes history once the athletes walked down the podium. The big question, of course, is, What's next?
There will be a few challenge series to be held in May and most notably, the World Tour Platinum China Open will touch down Shenzhen on 28 May. But if you are talking about who will make to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, I am fortunate that I (and many table tennis enthusiasts out there) do not need to go through those painful decision-making process the national coaches have to experience. Only time will tell and while we wait with bated breath, the blog will take a month off to prepare more articles about domestic competitions, table tennis news and, perhaps (depending on your feedback), expand the history series for you to follow along. Leave your thoughts in the comment below and let us know your impression of 2019 WTTC and what you would like to see from table tennis and this blog!
Last but not least, let's see what did Liu Guoliang, CTTA president, say about the 2019 WTTC! He reviewed the 2019 WTTC in an interview conducted by CCTV 5.
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