Olympic Games | 6 Jun 2016
Olympic Legends to Play Brazil Stars in Rio Exhibition Match
The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) is excited to announce a mouth watering exhibition match between Olympic Legends and the Brazil Stars in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 10 July 2016.
Acting as a curtain raiser for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Table Tennis event, the match will be the Brazilian Men's National team's last official match before their quest for home Olympic glory begins, and what better opposition than a team made of Olympic Legends.
The Olympic Legends will be a star studded team that have all been world number one's in their career, featuring:
WANG Liqin (CHN) - 2000 Olympic Games Doubles Champion, 2008 Olympic Games Team Champion, 2004 & 2008 Olympic Games Single's Bronze, 3 times Singles World Champion
Jorgen PERSSON (SWE) - Competed in 7 Olympic Games, 1991 World Champion, 4 times World Team Champion, 1986 European Champion
Jean-Michel SAIVE (BEL) - Competed in 7 Olympic Games, 1993 World Championships Runner-up, 1994 European Champion
One of the most celebrated table tennis players of all time WANG Liqin stated: "I am very honoured to receive the invitation from the ITTF to participate in this event. I hope that this event will allow more people to understand table tennis, and promote the Olympic table tennis event and the development of table tennis in Brazil."
The much anticipated match will be held at the Botafogo Arena on 10 July at 9:00-12:00 noon and can be seen live in Brazil on SportTv, and globally exclusively on ITTF's YouTube channel (YouTube.com/ITTFChannel).
The Olympic Legends may have a truckload of medals between them, but they will have a tough match on their hands against a very powerful Brazilian team led by 2014 Youth Olympic Games Bronze Medalist and current Pan American Games Champion Hugo CALDERANO. The 19-year-old will be supported by two times Latin American Cup champion Gustavo TSUBOI and Cazuo MATSUMOTO against the legends.
If the world was not already excited by the impending Olympic Table Tennis event, they will be after this spectacle! The Rio 2016 Olympic Games Table Tennis event will take place on 6-17 August 2016 at RioCentro Pavilion 3. Don't miss out on getting your ticket to the world's fastest reflex sport today: https://www.rio2016.com/tickets/findoutmore/.
Watch the event promo video here: https://youtu.be/dlxmJocptq4.
