Other Events | 4 Jan 2014

European trio faces enormous task

LI Jiao, Viktoria PAVLOVICH and Elizabeta SAMARA are the leading European names at the forthcoming US$ 1,000,000 GAC Group 2013 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals, to be staged in Dubai from Thursday 9th to Sunday 12th January 2014. So far all the odds are agai

LI Jiao, Viktoria PAVLOVICH and Elizabeta SAMARA are the leading European names at the forthcoming US$ 1,000,000 GAC Group 2013 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals, to be staged in Dubai from Thursday 9th to Sunday 12th January 2014. So far all the odds are against them. From 1996, when the first Event has been staged, never non-Asian player has won the Women’s Singles Event title. In Dubai in the Women’s Singles event, Viktoria PAVLOVICH of Belarus is the no. 6 seed, LI Jiao of the Netherlands in the no. 8 seed with Romania’s Elizabeta SAMARA being one place lower, she is the no. 9 seed.

At the European Championships LI Jiao secured the Women’s Singles title in Belgrade in 2007 and in Gdansk in 2011; whilst Viktoria PAVLOVICH succeeded in Ostrava in 2010 and in Herning in 2012.  At the European Championships in Stuttgart and in Herning, SAMARA won the Women’s Doubles event with colleague Daniela DODEAN.

In Dubai, it will be no less than the seventh appearance in the Grand Finals for Viktoria PAVLOVICH, for Elizabeta SAMARA her fifth; whilst for LI Jiao she will be on duty for the fourth time; for Linda CREEMERS, she will be on debut. Dutch player will play with LI in Women’s Doubles Event. Top seed in Women’s Singles Event is DING Ning of China followed by compatriots LIU Shiwen, LI Xiaoxia and Korea’s SEO Hyowon. FENG Tianwei of Singapore is listed at position no. 5. In Doubles Event leading names are China’s DING Ning and LI Xiaoxia, whilst BARTHEL Zhenqi and SHAN Xiaona are placed at the position no. 3, Linda CREEMERS and LI Jiao are fifth on the list and Sofia POLCANOVA and Amelie SOLJA of Austria are 8th