2017 Star Awards Male & Female Table Tennis Star Nominees Announced

The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) is excited to announce the nominees for the 2017 Male & Female Table Tennis Stars & Star Point with the winners to be crowned at the 2017 ITTF Star Awards in Astana Kazakhstan on 14^th December 2017.
 
The 2017 ITTF Star Awards which will be in its fifth edition will be held at the Astana’s famous and prestigious Rixos Hotel to celebrate the world’s best table tennis players’ achievements in 2017.
 
The nominees for the Male Table Tennis Star presented by DHS as nominated by the ITTF Athletes’ Commission:

• Ma Long (CHN): 2017 World Champion 2017 Qatar & Japan Open Champion 2016 World Tour Grand Finals Champion
• Dimitrij Ovtcharov (GER): 2017 Men’s World Cup Champion 2017 Indian Bulgaria China & German Open Champion 2017 European Team Champion
• Tomokazu Harimoto (JPN): 2017 Czech Open Champion youngest ever World Tour Single’s Champion at 14-years-old youngest World Championships Quarterfinalist
• Timo Boll (GER): 2017 Men’s World Cup Silver Medalist 2017 Korean Open Champion 2017 European Team Champion

Upon the nomination Male Table Tennis Star nominee Dimintrij Ovtcharov shared: “After the best year of my career it is perfect to cap it off with a nomination for the ITTF Star Awards! I hope to add another trophy to my cabinet from a truly year to remember in Astana.”
The nominees Female Table Tennis Star presented by Nittaku as nominated by the ITTF Athletes’ Commission:

• Ding Ning (CHN): 2017 World Champion 2017 Women’s Doubles World Champion 2017 China Open Champion
• Zhu Yuling (CHN): 2017 Women’s World Cup Champion 2017 World Championships Silver Medalist 2016 World Tour Grand Finals Champion
• Miu Hirano (JPN): 2017 Asian Champion 2017 World Championships Bronze Medalist
• Cheng I-Ching (TPE): 2017 World Championships Mixed Doubles Silver Medalist 2017 Women’s World Cup Bronze Medalist 

Female Table Tennis Star nominee Zhu Yuling shared upon her first ever ITTF Star Awards nomination:” I’m very happy to be nominated I have imagined about it in the past and now it’s finally my chance. The World Cup title is a victory against myself and a small step towards the Grand Slam. But it’s in the past now there’s more challenges ahead in the future and I will take them down one by one.”
 
2017 saw a lot of amazing shots and rallies but only five made the shortlist for Star Point of the year. Check out the cream of the crop here: https://youtu.be/7Q7iAM0I5j0
 
Fans can now vote for their star player of 2017 here. Voting will end on 24^th November 2017. Fans’ voting results will be combined with the judging outcome by an expert panel which will include their peers and the media to determine the Table Tennis Stars of 2017!
 
In addition to the Male & Female Table Tennis Stars and Table Tennis Star Point five other awards will be handed in Astana:

• Male Para Table Tennis Star presented by Tinsue
• Female Para Table Tennis Star presented by Stag International
• Table Tennis Star Coach presented by Butterfly
• Table Tennis Breakthrough Star
• Table Tennis Fair Play Star

The nominees for these awards will be announced in the coming weeks.