Other Events | 15 Apr 2013

13 World and Olympic champions from China at the WSA

For the third consecutive year after 2011 (before the World Championships in Rotterdam) and 2012 (before the World Team Championships in Dortmund) China’s table tennis national team comes for World Cup preparations to the Werner SCHLAGER Academy in

For the third consecutive year after 2011 (before the World Championships in Rotterdam) and 2012 (before the World Team Championships in Dortmund) China’s table tennis national team comes for World Cup preparations to the Werner SCHLAGER Academy in Schwechat.

This time, the table tennis giants will prepare from 3 – 10 May for the World Championships in Paris-Bercy (13 – 20 May) where – from a Chinese perspective – it is important to ensure that the stain of a decade ago will not repeat, when Werner SCHLAGER, to the chagrin of the big favorites from Asia, in this very hall had clinched gold in men’s singles.

Now the Chinese Federation has submitted the list of those players, coaches, masseurs, officials and delegates who will move into the World Cup camp in Schwechat. A Who’s Who of the World Table Tennis again says “Ni Hao” at the WSA.
Quite apart from the fact that the two head coaches LIU Guoliang (men) and KONG Linghui (women) were World champions, Olympic champions and world number one in their playing days, the list of players (among the now active) includes no less than 13 World and Olympic champions:

The list of 23 top stars: Men: ZHANG Jike, MA Long, XU Xin, WANG Hao, MA Lin, CHEN Qi, HAO Shuai, YAN An, FAN Zhendong, WANG Liqin, ZHOU Yu, FANG Bo, QIU Yike Women: LI Xiaoxia, LIU Shiwen, ZHU Yuling, DING Ning, WEN Jia, CHEN Meng, RAO Jingwen, WU Yang, GUO Yue, HU Limei With ZHANG Jike and DING Ning, the two defending champions 2011 come to Schwechat. Further this young star FANG Bo, who in January this year was to win the Austrian Open in Wels, and the former SVS Niederösterreich players MA Lin, WANG Hao and QIU Yike.

In the general public even less well known are ZHENDONG and HU Limei. You will hear more from them soon. FAN Zhendong (16 years) prevailed at the China World Cup Trials against superstar WANG Hao and the new defensive ace HU Limei twice gave no chance to DING Ning at this very China-Trials.