Injured Zhang Jike Withdraws from ITTF World Tour Grand Finals

December 2, 2016
11:21 am
Other Events

Chinese superstar ZHANG Jike has withdrawn from the Seamaster Qatar 2016 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals with an ankle injury.

The injury is the same one that forced the world number four to pull out from the recent Austrian and Swedish ITTF World Tour events last month.

The news has left the London 2012 Olympic Champion’s 7.6 million weibo fans devastated as they were looking forward to seeing their hero in action for the first time since September’s China Open.

The reports coming out of China state that the injury occurredwhen the double World Champion was filming for a reality show where he was eventually chased after by his fans who couldn’t contain their excitement upon seeing him. This caused ZHANG to sprain his ankle and was not able to recoverin time for the ITTF World Tour Grand Finals.

The injury means that the Rio 2016 Olympic Games silver medalist will have to wait another 12 months for the chance to win the ITTF World Tour Grand Finals title the one major table tennis title eluding him in his decorated career.

Japan’s Koki NIWA is the the lucky player who now takes ZHANG Jike’s place at the Seamaster Qatar 2016 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals which will take place 8-11 December in Doha Qatar.

From Jeju to Havířov: Eurospins Camp Continues to Unite European and Korean Youth

For the second time, young Europeans aged 13 to 16 are practicing in a joint Eurospins camp with their peers from South Korea. Last December it was in Asia, in...

ETTU celebrates 25 years of partnership with LIEBHERR

The European Table Tennis Union (ETTU) proudly marks 25 years of partnership with LIEBHERR, one of the world’s leading technology companies and a long-standing supporter of European table tennis. “For...

Webinar Social Media Conduct for Umpires and Referees attracts strong interest

As part of a new initiative, the ETTU Umpires and Referees Committee hosted a webinar dedicated to social media conduct for match officials, drawing significant interest from across the community....

Jersey launches fundraising campaign to rebuild TT Centre after Storm Ciarán

The Jersey Table Tennis Association has launched a fundraising campaign to rebuild its home venue following the devastation caused by Storm Ciarán in November 2023. The storm destroyed the island’s...