Continents collide in all-star tournament

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(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-08-25 11:01

Beijing will host the Sanyuan 2009 Europe-Asia All Stars Table Tennis Challenge (Asia) tonight at the Yuetan Stadium, Xicheng District.

Organized by the European Table Tennis Union (ETTU) and the Asian Table Tennis Union (ATTU), and sponsored by the Sanyuan Group, a local dairy company, the event will comprise five men's singles matches today and tomorrow.

"One year ago, the top table tennis players competed for Olympic medals in Beijing, now we are bringing the European and Asian table tennis stars back here to give the fans a chance to see the best matches again," said Yu Guoliang, the general secretary of the ATTU.

A Xicheng native, Ma Long, the current world No 2, hopes to perform well in front of his home crowd at tonight's event which begins at 7:30.

"I'm really looking forward to this match, to pay back the local fans who have been supportive of me for a long time," Ma told the China Daily yesterday.

Joining Ma on the Asia team is compatriot Ma Lin, the gold medalist in men's singles at last year's Olympic Games while Hoo Se-hyuk, who reached the semifinals at the World Championships in Yokohama in May, will represent South Korea.

The line-up also includes world No 15 Chuang Chih Yuan of Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong's Cheung Yuk, who is ranked 18th in the world.

Unfortunately, Timo Boll, the top European player, who pulled out of the Worlds this year due a back injury, has also been forced out of the Challenge.

Boll's withdrawal has opened the door for his compatriot, Dimitrij Ovtcharov. The young German will play alongside triple European champion and World Championships silver medalist Vladimir Samsonov of Belarus and bronze medalists Kalinikos Kreanga of Greece and Michael Maze of Denmark. The Europe team is rounded out by 43-year-old former world and European champion Jorgen Persson of Sweden.