Other Events | 12 May 2013

Planet Ping crowds towards Bercy

The 2013 Mondial Ping comes in the present tense . It is very pleasant to see. The first rallies will begin on Monday morning, May 13th, with the qualifying rounds: a preliminary phase involving 340 players. The competition will soon give results. But no

The 2013 Mondial Ping comes in the present tense . It is very pleasant to see. The first rallies will begin on Monday morning, May 13th, with the qualifying rounds: a preliminary phase involving 340 players.

The competition will soon give results. But no need to guess the future in stars, Ping enthusiasts can already rub their hands. The fortunate coincidence of the draw could offer them high standard matches even before the finals. The public in the Bercy arena could attend a fraticide duel in the men’s third round between ZHANG Jike and FAN Zhendong : the world champion on the one hand and his alter ego among juniors. A generation clash which will be worth watching. The elder, ZHANG Jike will start the tournament unaffected. “I am very happy to come back to Paris. I won the World Cup in 2011” he explained in the City hall lounges, “Being ranked number 4 in the competition is not a problem. What matters is to win it.”

A similar scenario is expected in the women’s singles. Unless something surprising occurs and it is always possible in a world championship, one of the semi finals could make the world champion, the chinese player ,DING Ning, meet her fellow countrywoman LI Xiaoxia who won a gold medal last year in London. Just like her fellow countryman, DING Ning, showed self confidence : “I have trained today , the arena is superb. I feel quite good. I hope to play well in Paris.“

What about the French players ? Adrien MATTENET, ranked number 1 in France, could meet the Iranian player, Noshad ALANIYAN, in the 2nd round , a left-hand atypical player, a good server and often dangerous but the task can be achieved. It seems to be going well for Damien ELOI and Emmanuel LEBESSON. But Stéphane HUCLIEZ, the french team manager, warns :“Before thinking of what comes next in the competition, the players will have to concentrate on the first round. They will have to fight and at that level nothing is simple.”

Ten years after the great success of the 2003 event, the world table tennis elite comes back to Bercy. A come back in the most prestigious Parisian Sports arena. Adham SHARARA, the ITTF chairman is glad about it : “After the huge success of 2003, I had said 3 times thank you: for the enthusiastic public and the sponsors, for the FFTT which got the right to organize and for the perfect organization itself. Today I hope to say thank you at least ten times.”

Christian PALIERNE, the President of the French Table Tennis Association (FFTT) appreciated. Less than 48 hours before the start of the competition, the French President presented his expectations : “As for the organizing committee , the desire to make it a success is similar to what the athletes can feel. We hope that this will be the start of a long story for table tennis in France. “

French table tennis managers are not the only ones to show ambition and enthusiasm 2 days before the start of the World Championships. Liliane CAPELLE, Paris Deputy Mayor expressed her commitment to the event : “Ping Pong is a popular sport and we wanted to follow the impulse by hosting the Mondial. I support all players but I give a particular thought to the French team. “