by Simon Daish
China has been at the forefront of T2 APAC news recently with Ding Ning, Wang Manyu and Shi Xunyao all signing up for the event and now a further seven of the country’s representatives are on board for the season.
Men’s Singles runner-up at the Seamaster 2017 ITTF World Tour Hungarian Open Shang Kun is one of the new additions to the league, and is one of the four Chinese male contestants who have joined the T2 APAC.
Wang Chuqin is also confirmed to be participating, while the two Junior Boys’ Singles finalists from the 2015 World Junior Championships Liu Dingshuo and Xue Fei will also compete in the competition.
Over in the women’s roster three further Chinese players have also been added to the T2 APAC lineup.
World no.11 Wu Yang is another star addition to the player list, and is joined be fellow compatriots Liu Fei and Sun Yingsha.
The squad lineup is completed by two Japanese players as Hina Hayata and Miyuu Kihara sign for the league.
Hina Hayata recently took part at the Liebherr 2017 World Championships in Düsseldorf where she successfully won a bronze medal in the Women’s Doubles event, and teenage star Miyuu Kihara is another exciting young Japanese talent who could benefit immensely from the T2 APAC experience.
“We are delighted to have these top players from China and Japan completing our list of paddlers for the first ever T2 APAC season. We believe we have strong international representation that will resonate with audiences from around the world, and we look forward to kicking-off a great event” T2 APAC CEO, Jeff Chue.
Click here for the 2017 T2 Asia-Pacific League player roster
The T2 APAC is set to feature a whole new approach to the sport’s league structure with men’s, women’s and mixed-team championships all set to take place alongside a 24 minute time limit per match being introduced.