11 Aug 2020

Welcome to another exciting edition of Player Watch, bringing you the latest news surrounding the table tennis stars of the world. A royal appointment, making the most of some downtime and a special proposal, this week’s round-up has it all!

by Simon Daish

Princess Zeina Rashid of Jordan joins ITTF Foundation Board

There was exciting news surrounding the ITTF Foundation during the week with Her Royal Highness Princess Zeina Rashid of Jordan joining the ITTF Foundation board of members.

A competitor at the Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, Princess Zeina Rashid was the flag bearer for her country at the latter event’s opening ceremony and currently sits on the Jordan Olympic Committee as a member of the Board of Directors. You can read the full story here.

Princess Zeina Rashid pictured at the Bejing 2008 opening ceremony
Enjoying the free time

What have the stars been up to recently? How about we let the players answer that question themselves with a look at their official Instagram pages.

Mattias Falck has been spending some downtime at the beach:

 

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Swedish summer ☀️🇸🇪

A post shared by Mattias Falck (@mattiasf91) on

Members of Team Germany reunited for a special BBQ party:

Omar Assar’s putting skills appear to be just a handy as his racket excellence:

 

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🏌️ ⛳️

A post shared by Omar Assar عمر عصر (@omarassar) on

Yana Noskova paid a visit to the ‘Dream Island’ amusement park in Moscow:

 

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Остров Мечты 😻 Не забывайте мечтать ❤️

A post shared by Yana Noskova (@yana_noskova_) on

While 2005 World Championships bronze medallist Michael Maze unleashed his wrath to claim victory in his first-ever tennis division contest:

 

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Today I played my first ever division match in tennis- and of course with a win 🤩💪🏻🎾

A post shared by Michael Maze (@maze.michael) on

Going all out

Regulars to Player Watch will be aware that the pros have been working hard over the past few months, whether it be fitness related drills or time on the table, the stars will be ready when match action returns.

Here’s just a handful of training clips posted by the players over the past week that caught our eye:

 

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힘들어하는 우지니 3탄>< #피칭 #서킷훈련 #미래에셋대우탁구단 #탁구선수 #운동선수 #tabletennis

A post shared by jangwoojin10 (@jangwoojin10) on

 

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Another great training session today with @arielbarbosa01 🏓️💪 #tabletennis #luxembourg #letsmakeithappen #victas

A post shared by Ni Xia Lian (@nixialianofficial) on

 

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Con distancia, pero FIRMES! 🔥🇵🇷 . . . #brianafanador #themagician #puertorico #tabletennis #hardwork

A post shared by Ᏼriαn Afanador, OLY (@briantmpr) on

 

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Tough session to end a good week 😈🔥 #tabletennis #Leuven #summervibes #ielwarm #sweatitout

A post shared by Margo Degraef ➵ (@margodegraef) on

Birthday celebrations and a proposal

Time to celebrate with more birthdays to report from the table tennis stars. This week we pass on our best wishes to Kristian Karlsson, Margaryta Pesotska and Quadri Aruna:

 

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What was your most memorable #TableTennis moment of him??

A post shared by ITTF World (@ittfworld) on

 

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Birthday weekend 🥳

A post shared by Margaryta Pesotska (@pesotskamargaryta) on

Finally, we have wonderful news of a successful proposal from Simon Gauzy. Congratulations, or rather, Félicitations to the happy couple!

 

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She said YES 🥰❤️💍

A post shared by Simon Gauzy (@simongauzyoff) on

General News Quadri Aruna Omar Assar Kristian Karlsson Mattias Falck Simon Gauzy Jang Woojin Minnie Soo Wai Yam Brian Afanador Yana Noskova Margaryta Pesotska Michael Maze Ni Xialian Chantal Mantz Margo Degraef Princess Zeina Rashid