The world No. 1 men’s doubles team of Jang Woo-jin (28, Mirae Asset Securities) and Lim Jong-hoon (26, Korea Exchange) were named to the inaugural Waldner Cup Team Asia on Sept. 14 (KST).
The Waldner Cup is a table tennis competition between world all-stars (Team World) and Asian all-stars (Team Asia) named after Jan Ove Waldner (58-Sweden), the men’s singles gold medalist at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain.
Table tennis is dominated by Asia, including the reigning champion China. Across all disciplines, Waldner is the first and still only non-Asian champion in Olympic table tennis history. China happily recognizes him as a living table tennis legend.
“Table tennis needs an event like the Ryder Cup,” Waldner said in December 2021. Since 1927, the Ryder Cup has been played annually between American and European all-stars.
The inaugural Waldner Cup, which was delayed due to COVID-19, will take place on November 25-26, 2023, in Stockholm, Sweden. Waldner will captain the World All-Stars, while Marung (35-China), who won back-to-back Olympic men’s singles titles in 2016 and 2021, will captain the Asian All-Stars.
Ukraine’s 2012-2021 Olympic men’s singles bronze medalist Dmytro Oucharow (35-Germany) and 2021 World Championships men’s singles silver medalist Trulse Møregård (21-Sweden) have also been selected by Waldner as World Table Tennis All-Stars.
“Jang Woo-jin (No. 13) and Lim Jong-hoon (No. 16) are also top 20 men’s singles players in the world,” Marung said of the Asian Table Tennis All-Stars. Also included were Tokyo Olympics women’s singles gold medalist Chen Meng (29, China) and 2023 World Championships men’s singles silver medalist Wang Chuchin (23, China).토토사이트
Jang Woo-jin and Lim Jong-hoon were silver medalists in men’s doubles at the 2021-2023 World Championships. At the Asian Table Tennis Championships, they won silver in 2021 and bronze in 2023.
Wang Chuqin is ranked No. 2 in the world in men’s doubles with Fan Zhendong (26). Zhang Wujin-Lim Jonghun and Pan Zhendong-Wang Chuchin will compete for the title at the 19th Hangzhou Asian Games in China from Sept. 22-Oct. 2.