World’s Top-Ranked Paddlers Set To Battle It Out In Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR, June 26 (Bernama) -- The world's top-ranked men's and women's paddlers are set to battle it out in the world’s most sensational table tennis tournament - Seamaster T2 Daimond 2019 Malaysia, from July 18-21, in Pinewood Iskandar Malaysia Studios, Johor Bahru, Johor. Olympic champion Ma Long of China, current International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Tour standing number one Lin Gaoyun (China) and the 16-year-old Japanese sensation Tomokazu Harimoto are set to feature in men's singles category. Meanwhile, Chen Meng (China), who has 13 ITTF titles to her name following the recent victory at the 2019 China Open, World Champion Liu Shiwen (CHN) with 16 ITTF World Tour titles, and Singapore’s first Olympic medalist, Feng Tianwei are among the women’s players competing at the event. ITTF in a statement Wednesday said that the qualification cut-off was based on the top 15 World Tour ranked men’s and women’s players after the China Open held in May, with the addition of Season 1’s Men’s Champion Timo Boll from Germany and Women’s Champion Bernadette Szocs (Romania) as host exemptions. T2 Diamond CEO and Commissioner Jeff Chue said the tournament was revving up for the start of its second season with a star-studded list of the world’s top 16 male and top 16 female players set to thrill the audience. He said this marked the beginning of the first in three tournaments, where 32 of the world’s best table tennis players would compete for a combined prize purse of US$1.5 million and bonus ITTF World Ranking points as they battle their way to 2020 Tokyo Olympic qualification. "We are introducing the first-of-a-kind circular field of play at the T2Cavern, where viewers and audiences alike will get a 360° view of all the action as it unfolds. "With a total of 32 matches played across the four-day event, you will witness fast-paced table tennis at its very best; the energy reverberating through the field will be impalpable," he added. The new and dynamic T2 Diamond format was introduced for the first time in professional table tennis in 2017, with matches held under a 24-minute time limit and a progressive competition format that seeks to amplify the appeal of table tennis across regions. The tournament breaks away from the traditional table tennis match format with a fast-paced and exciting gameplay for players and audience alike. T2Cavern features a single table set-up with the aim of having an intimate competition arena designed to boost the experience of both players and the audience. -- BERNAMA