ZHANG Jike (CHN) and LI Xiaoxia (CHN) have been crowned the first ever Male and Female Table Tennis Stars at a glamorous evening at the Raffles Hotel in Dubai. Organised in cooperation with the Dubai Sports Council, the inaugural โ2013 ITTF Star Awa,
ZHANG Jike (CHN) and LI Xiaoxia (CHN) have been crowned the first ever Male and Female Table Tennis Stars at a glamorous evening at the Raffles Hotel in Dubai. Organised in cooperation with the Dubai Sports Council, the inaugural โ2013 ITTF Star Awards Driven by GAC Motorโ attracted the whoโs who of the table tennis world, and was an event of glitz and glamour.
Current Olympic Champion ZHANG Jike, who successfully defended his World Championship gold in 2013, stated when receiving the โ2013 ITTF Male Table Tennis Star sponsored by Ping Pong Dubaiโ trophy: โIt is a very big honour to win this awardโ.
โSorry that I have won both the awards tonight!โ exclaimed ZHANG, referring to his other win Fanโs Table Tennis Star Award. โThis award does not belong to me, it belongs to all the table tennis people across the globe. Lets all keep on playing this sport we love, and I look forward to more success in the future.โ
The first ever โ2013 Female Table Tennis Star presented by Vision Magazine Dubaiโ, LI Xiaoxia, who added the 2013 World Championship gold to her Olympic gold she won in London 2012 stated: โThank you everyone for their support, especially Chinese table tennis. I am very honored to win this prestigious award, especially as it is the first one in history. I will try my best in the future to bring more success.โ
The Male and Female Table Tennis Star were nominated by the ITTF Athleteโs Commission and the winners were selected the ITTF Star Awards Selection Commission which comprised of a representative from the ITTF Athleteโs Commission, ITTF Para Division and the ITTF President Adham SHARARA.
Chinaโs MA Lin capped off a memorable 2013 by becoming the โ2013 Para Male Table Tennis Star presented by Tinsueโ, after beating a stellar field of nominees.
An emotional Anna-Carin AHLQUIST (SWE), who was unbeaten since she won the London 2012 Paralympics, was crowned the โ2013 Para Female Table Tennis Star presented by Stag Internationalโ.The 2013 Para Table Tennis Stars were nominated by the ITTF Para Division, and the ITTF Star Awards Selection Commission then chose the deserving winners.
Current world number ones MA Long (CHN) and LIU Shiwen (CHN) were taken by surprise when the ITTF Star Awardโs title partner GAC Motor handed over keys to two brand new cars, the Trumpchi GA3, after ending the year as the World Number 1 out of 300 million people who play the game.
Over 80,000 people flocked to ITTF.com/StarAwards to vote for the ITTF Fanโs Table Tennis Star players to determine who was the most popular table tennis players on earth. ZHANG Jike (CHN) added to his trophy collection by becoming the โ2013 Fanโs Male Table Tennis Star presented by TMS Internationalโ, while team mate and world number one LIU Shiwenโs (CHN) legion of international fans ensured that she was the โ2013 Fanโs Female Table Tennis Star presented by Nittakuโ.
In addition to awarding the worldโs best players for their achievements in 2013, the โ2013 ITTF Star Awards Driven by GAC Motorโ also raised $246,000 for ITTFโs corporate social responsibility program, Dream Building, which will be used for Para Table Tennis, Development and Junior Table Tennis initiatives.
Full list of ITTF Star Award Winners
Male Table Tennis Star presented by Ping Pong Dubai โ ZHANG Jike, China
Female Table Tennis Star presented by Vision Magazine Dubai โ LI Xiaoxia, China
Para Male Table Tennis Star presented by Tinsue โ MA Lin, China
Para Female Table Tennis Star presented by Stag International โ Anna-Carin AHLQUIST,ย Sweden
Fanโs Male Table Tennis Star presented by TMS International โ ZHANG Jike,ย China
Fanโs Female Table Tennis Star presented by Nittaku โ LIU Shiwen, China
Table Tennis Star Rally presented by TMS International โ Timo BOLL, Germany, at 2013 World Table Tennis Championships
