From the News Team | 24 Nov 2015
Hugo Calderano, Mima Ito and Jang Woojin contends for the 2015 Breakthrough Star
Photo: Courtesy ITTF
ITTF Announces Breakthrough Star & Star Coach Nominations For 2015 ITTF Star Awards
The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) has announced the nominees for the 2015 Breakthrough Star & 2015 Star Coach awards for the 2015 ITTF Star Awards that will be held on 9 December 2015 in Lisbon, Portugal. The 2015 ITTF Star Awards will be the third edition of the ITTF's year-ending extravaganza to celebrate the achievements of athletes and coaches in 2015, this time in Lisbon's emblematic city landmark ofPátio da Galé.
A new addition to the Star Awards, the "Breakthrough Star" award will show recognition to the rising stars in the sport and celebrate their spectacular performance on the international stage.
Nominees in the running for the 2015 Breakthrough Star & Star Coach are:
Breakthrough Star presented by TMS International:
Hugo CALDERANO (BRA) - Became the 2015 Pan American Champion at just 19 years of age to book his place at the Rio 2016 Olympic games. Calderano is the leader of a fantastic new generation of Latin American players.
Mima ITO (JPN) - Won two World Tour titles, made the World Championships quarter finals and has made it to the Japanese team for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at just 14 years of age.
JANG Woojin (KOR) - Impressive results at the 2015 Asian Championships and has risen rapidly in the World Ranking in 2015. Progressing well since he became the Junior World Champion in 2013.
Nomination Video: https://youtu.be/EeeaOuraWmk
Star Coach presented by Butterfly:
Viorel FILIMON (Romanian National Coach) - Guided Elizabeta Samara from a mini cadet to become the 2015 European Champion, coaching her every step of the way.
LIU Guoliang (Chinese National Coach) - Oversaw China win every possible major title in 2015, as well being responsible for bringing the new batch of young Chinese table tennis players through the system.
QIAN Qianli (Austria National Coach) - In his first act as Austria's National coach, he guided the Men's team to become the European Team Champions for the first time in history in 2015, as well as having 3 Austrian players in the European Championships men's doubles final.
Nomination Video: https://youtu.be/Z5MeG36-Nv0
Fans are now able to vote for their Male & Female Star players, as well as for the Star Point of the year on ITTFStarAwards.com! Voting closes on 25 November 2015.
The winners of the 2015 Male & Female Table Tennis Star will based on 50% on fans' votes, and 50% on results from the expert panel judging, made up of their peers, and media experts, while the Star Point will be fully based onfans' choice. The remaining awards (Star Coach, Breakthrough Star, Male & Female Para Table Tennis Star, and the Fair Play Star) will be dependent on expert judging.
