#ITTFWorldTour Grand Finals Page 1
MA Long (CHN) Current World Ranking: 1 Seed: 1 Age: 28 WTGF Appearances (incl. 2016): 8 Highlights of career: 2016 Olympic Champion, 2015 World Champion, 4 WTGF Men s Singles title (2015, 2011, 2009, 2008), 2 ITTF World Tour Super series titles in 2016 (Germany, Qatar) Language(s) spoken: Mandarin Interesting story: Ma is now the 5 th male player to complete the Grand Slam after winning the singles title at the Olympic Games. He will be seeking his 5 th WTGF title in Doha. #ITTFWorldTour Grand Finals Page 2
FAN Zhendong (CHN) Current World Ranking: 2 Seed: 2 Age: 19 WTGF Appearances (incl. 2016): 3 Highlights of career: 2016 Men s World Cup Champion, 2016 World Team Champion, 2 ITTF World Tour Super series title in 2016 (Japan, China) Language(s) spoken: Mandarin Interesting story: Fan won his first singles World title at the 2016 Men s World Cup. He also won the 2016 China National Championships title in September. Fan s roller shot at the 2016 World Tour Japan Open has attracted many views, which now has over a million views on YouTube. #ITTFWorldTour Grand Finals Page 3
XU Xin (CHN) Current World Ranking: 3 Seed: 3 Age: 26 WTGF Appearances (incl. 2016): 6 Highlights of career: 2016 Olympic Team Champion, 2016 World Team Champion, 2016 Korea Open Champion, 2 WTGF Men s Singles title (2013, 2012), 2015 World Mixed Doubles Champion, 2015 World Men s Doubles Champion Playing info: Attack/Left/Penhold Language(s) spoken: Mandarin Interesting story: At the recent China National Championships in September, Xu Xin led the Shanghai team to win the team event. Xu became engaged in late November, when he proposed to Yao Yan at a concert held in Shanghai. #ITTFWorldTour Grand Finals Page 4
Jun MIZUTANI (JPN) Current World Ranking: 5 Seed: 4 Age: 27 WTGF Appearances (incl. 2016): 5 Highlights of career: 2016 Olympics Men s Singles Bronze & Team Silver, 2 WTGF Men s Singles title (2014, 2010), 3 ITTF World Tour title in 2016 (Poland, Slovenia, Australia). Playing info: Attack/Left/Shakehand Language(s) spoken: Japanese, English Interesting story: In Rio de Janeiro, Mizutani became the first Japanese man to win a medal in an Olympic table tennis event. He led the team to the finals where they lost to China. Notably, Mizutani beat Xu Xin (CHN) in his singles match in the team finals. #ITTFWorldTour Grand Finals Page 5
CHUANG Chih-Yuan (TPE) Current World Ranking: 9 Seed: 5 Age: 35 WTGF Appearances (incl. 2016): 17 Highlights of career: 2016 Hungarian Open Champion, 2013 World Men s Doubles Champion, 2002 WTGF Champion Language(s) spoken: Mandarin, English Interesting story: Together with his mum, Chuang opened a table tennis centre in Kaohsiung Taiwan, which allows aspiring table tennis kids to practice their skills. Chuang also has an older brother who plays table tennis. #ITTFWorldTour Grand Finals Page 6
Vladimir SAMSONOV (BLR) Current World Ranking: 8 Seed: 6 Age: 40 WTGF Appearances (incl. 2016): 15 Highlights of career: 26 ITTF World Tour titles, 1998 World Championships Runner-up, 2016 Olympic Games Semifinalist Language(s) spoken: Russian, German, Serbian, English, French, Spanish Interesting story: Samsonov advanced into the Men s Singles semifinal of the 2016 Olympic Games for the 1 st time in Rio, before losing the bronze medal to Jun Mizutani (JPN). Samsonov is also the Chairman of the ITTF Athletes Commission. #ITTFWorldTour Grand Finals Page 7
WONG Chun Ting (HKG) Current World Ranking: 7 Seed: 7 Age: 25 WTGF Appearances (incl. 2016): 3 Highlights of career: 2016 World Cup Bronze, 2016 Asian Cup Bronze, 2015 World Championships Mixed Doubles Bronze Playing info: Attack/Right/Penhold Language(s) spoken: Cantonese, Mandarin, English Interesting story: 2016 has been another pivotal year for Wong. He won major international medals for the first time in his career at the Asian Cup and the World Cup. Wong is expected to lead the Hong Kong team to greater heights in 2020 Tokyo Olympics. #ITTFWorldTour Grand Finals Page 8
Dimitrij OVTCHAROV (GER) Current World Ranking: 6 Seed: 8 Age: 28 WTGF Appearances (incl. 2016): 9 Highlights of career: 2015 European Games Men s Singles Champion, 2012 Olympic Games Men s Singles Bronze, 2016 Olympic Games Team Bronze Language(s) spoken: German, English Interesting story: Born in Ukraine, Ovtcharov moved to Germany following the Chernobyl disaster. Ovtcharov swept all major titles in Europe in 2015. His wife gave birth to a baby girl after the Rio Olympics. #ITTFWorldTour Grand Finals Page 9
Yuto MURAMATSU (JPN) Current World Ranking: 31 Seed: 9 Age: 20 WTGF Appearances (incl. 2016): 2 Highlights of career: 2014 Youth Olympics Silver, 2016 ITTF World Tour Czech Open Champion Playing info: Defense/Right/Shakehand Language(s) spoken: Japanese Interesting story: Muramatsu won his first ITTF World Tour Men s Singles title at the 2016 Czech Open in September. He also won the Under 21 Men s Singles event. #ITTFWorldTour Grand Finals Page 10
Kenta MATSUDAIRA (JPN) Current World Ranking: 18 Seed: 10 Age: 25 WTGF Appearances (incl. 2016): 2 Highlights of career: 2016 ITTF Austrian Open Champion, 2009 World Championships Quarterfinalist, 2006 World Junior Champion Language(s) spoken: Japanese Interesting story: Matsudaira became the first Japanese to become World Junior Champion when he was 15 years old. He has an older brother (Kenji) and younger sister (Shiho) who also represent Japan in international tournaments. #ITTFWorldTour Grand Finals Page 11
CHEN Chien-An (TPE) Current World Ranking: 29 Seed: 11 Age: 25 WTGF Appearances (incl. 2016): 2 Highlights of career: 2013 World Men s Doubles Champion Playing info: Attack/Left/Shakehand Language(s) spoken: Chinese Interesting story: Along with partner Chuang Chih-Yuan, Chen and Chuang won the World Men s Doubles title in 2013, winning the first ever World Champion title for Chinese Taipei. Chen is also married, and has a son. #ITTFWorldTour Grand Finals Page 12
JEOUNG Youngsik (KOR) Current World Ranking: 10 Seed: 12 Age: 24 WTGF Appearances (incl. 2016): 3 Highlights of career: 2 ITTF World Tour titles Language(s) spoken: Korean Interesting story: An outstanding performance in Rio led Jeoung Youngsik to a place in the Chinese Super League. He plays in the Shanghai team alongside Xu Xin. #ITTFWorldTour Grand Finals Page 13
TANG Peng (HKG) Current World Ranking: 19 Seed: 13 Age: 35 WTGF Appearances (incl. 2016): 4 Highlights of career: 2010 WTGF Men s Doubles Champion Language(s) spoken: Chinese, Cantonese Interesting story: Tang is married to teammate Tie Yana, and has a three year old son. Tang s first tournament representing Hong Kong was in 2008 at the World Championships. #ITTFWorldTour Grand Finals Page 14
Yuya OSHIMA (JPN) Current World Ranking: 39 Seed: 14 Age: 22 WTGF Appearances (incl. 2016): 2 Highlights of career: 2 ITTF World Tour titles, 2016 World Team Silver, 2015 WTGF U21 & Men s Doubles Champion Language(s) spoken: Japanese Interesting story: Taking part in his first Grand Finals in 2015, Oshima impressed by winning both the Under 21 Men s Singles title and Men s Doubles title. By winning the 2016 Swedish Open, Oshima secured his place in the Men s Singles event in Doha. #ITTFWorldTour Grand Finals Page 15
NIWA Koki (JPN) Current World Ranking: 17 Seed: 15 Age: 22 WTGF Appearances (incl. 2016): 6 Highlights of career: 2016 Olympics Men s Team Silver, 2016 World Team Silver, 2011 World Junior Champion, 2010 Youth Olympic Champion Playing info: Attack/Left/Shakehand Language(s) spoken: Japanese Interesting story: At 22 years of age, Niwa has achieved notable results over the past years. Niwa also has an older sister, who has represented Japan in international tournaments. #ITTFWorldTour Grand Finals Page 16
LI Ping (QAT) Current World Ranking: 41 Seed: 16 Age: 30 WTGF Appearances (incl. 2016): 1 Highlights of career: 2009 World Mixed Doubles Champion Language(s) spoken: Chinese Interesting story: Li won the World Mixed Doubles title in 2009 before representing Qatar. He reached the third round of the men s singles event at the Rio Olympics this year before losing 3:4 to Germany s Dimitrij Ovtcharov. #ITTFWorldTour Grand Finals Page 17