Timo Boll in driving seat but must steer carefully

by Ian Marshall, Editor

The player in question is Germany’s Timo Boll, he is one of five seeded players in Linz in need of a good performance to reserve his place in the Grand Finals.

Colleagues Dimitrij Ovtcharov and Patrick Franziska are already guaranteed places, as is China’s Liang Jingkun, Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yun-Ju and Sweden’s Mattias Falck; all appear amongst the seeded names in Linz. Also the name of Wang Chuqin like Liang Jingkun can be added to the list; however he must start his quest in the qualifying tournament as he did in early October when he won in Sweden.

Mattias Falck is very much the yardstick. On the standings he is listed at no.12 (388 points), currently he is the lowest named player guaranteed a place in Zhengzhou.

Mattias Falck already qualified for Grand Finals (Photo: Rémy Gros)

In own hands

Timo Boll, occupies the no.15 spot (344 points) and like Japan’s Jun Mizutani alongside Korea Republic’s Jeoung Youngsik and Jang Woojin, the future for one of the 16 places is in his own hands. Jun Mizutani occupies the no.13 spot (377 points), followed by Jeoung Youngsik (354 points) and Jang Woojin at no.16 (298 points).

In Linz, Jun Mizutani is the no.11 seed, Jang Woojin, the no.12 seed; for Jeoung Youngsik, like Wang Chuqin, he must qualify. Also listed amongst the seeds in Linz are the names of Japan’s Koki Niwa, the no.8 seed and Hong Kong’s Wong Chun Ting, the no.14 seed. If they are to qualify for Zhengzhou, they must excel. Koki Niwa is named at no.19 (256 points) on the standings. Wong Chun Ting one place higher (263 points).

Similarly, on the brink appear the names of Lee Sangsu, like Jeoung Youngsik and Jang Woojin from Korea Republic; presently he is named at no.17 (271 points) on the standings.

Could there be three Koreans in the men’s singles event in Zhengzhou; could there be a further Chinese player? Note the name Sun Wen, in June at the ITTF World Tour Lion Japan Open he caused quite a stir; he reached the men’s singles semi-finals. On the standings he is named at no.20 (233 points. Required to qualify in Linz, if he is to reserve his place in Zhengzhou, he may well have to repeat his Japanese exploits.

Lee Sangsu on the brink (Photo: Rémy Gros)

Top seeds

The future for Jeoung Youngsik and Lee Sangsu somewhat in the balance in the men’s singles event; the top seeds in the men’s doubles in Linz, they are listed at no.2 (750 points) on the standings and are home and dry. It is the same for Timo Boll and Patrick Franziska who, by simply competing in Linz will meet the four appearance criteria; on the standings they appear in the third eligible position (488 points).

Also, present as partners in Linz and also from Germany, Benedikt Duda and Qiu Dang could do their case no harm at all; of those eligible, they are named at no.6 (344 points) but in Linz must first qualify.

Two German pairs in the Grand Finals, could there be two pairs from Chinese Taipei? Liao Cheng-Ting and Lin Yun-Ju occupy the no.7 spot (289 points), Chen Chien-An and Chuang Chih-Yuan are listed two places lower (232 points). In Linz, Liao Cheng-Ting and Lin Yun-Ju are the no.2 seeds, Chen Chien-An and Chuang Chih-Yuan, the no.6 seeds.

Looking for an outsider to qualify for the Grand Finals, note the pairing of Poland’s Jakub Dyjas and Belgium’s Cédric Nuytinck, semi-finalists in Sweden, they appear in an effective no.9 spot on the Standings (163 points), just one place below the cut off line.