(ATR) The 2017 International Table Tennis Federation World Championships featured familiar singles and doubles champions, along with the end of a decades-long title drought.
China once again dominated the tournament, winning four out of five disciplines in Düsseldorf, Germany. Gold medals in the men’s and women’s singles and doubles all went to China.
Ma Long, in men’s singles, and Ding Ning, in women’s singles, both repeated as champions from the 2015 championships in Suzhou, China. Ning, along with compatriot Liu Shiwen, won their second straight women’s doubles championships to round out the tournament.
For the men’s doubles Xu Xin won a second straight gold medal, albeit with a different partner. Xin teamed up with Fan Zhendong, who won silver in the same event in 2015.
The only major deviation from the 2015 championships was in the mixed doubles event. Japanese pair Maharu Yoshimura and Kasumi Ishikawa secured the gold medal after winning silver in 2015. It was the first time a Japanese mixed doubles team won gold at a world championship in 48 years, according to the ITTF.
Ning became the third woman to ever win three world championships joining Deng Yaping and Wang Nan. After her victory she told the ITTF that she felt "Germany is also a lucky place" for her.
"I came here not expecting to win the World Championships for the third time," Ning added. "I’m really thankful to all my fans who have been cheering on for me throughout, giving me a lot of encouragement during my match."
ITTF Establishes Ethics Commission
The ITTF’s board of directors approved the establishment of an ethics commission and confirmed the next two world junior championships, on the sidelines of the world championship.
The ethics commission will begin its mandate immediately, and on July 1 the ITTF Ethics Code comes into effect.
The 2018 World Junior Championships will be held in Bendigo, Australia and the 2019 edition will go to Nakorn Ratchasima, Thailand.
Written by Aaron Bauer
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