by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Editor
Situated in Jiangsu Province, the province in which the city of Suzhou is located, the host of the Qoros 2015 World Championships, it is where the likes of Chen Qi and Xu Xin honed their skills.
It is also where Frank Ji, the Chair of Seamaster was born.
“It is a great honour for Seamaster to get the Asian Championships title sponsorship. In 2016, Seamaster successfully sponsored the Women’s World Cup, Star Awards and Grand Finals. This year we also sponsor the ITTF World Tour. I was born in this beautiful city, Wuxi. So I feel very proud that the Asian Championships will be held in my birthplace. I hope the Asian Championships can help the city gain international fame”, Frank Ji
The city is no stranger to continental tournaments; staged in 1983, it was the home for the first ever Asian Cup.
Notably, on that occasion there was a most pertinent champion. Cai Zhenhua, now President of the Asian Table Tennis Union, won the Men’s Singles title, he beat Jiang Jialiang in the final; the bronze medal finished in the hands of Xie Saike.
Gold, silver and bronze for China; it was the same in the Women’s Singles title. Cao Yanhua was crowned champion, silver finished in the hands of Tong Ling with Jiao Zhimin being the bronze medallist.
Now at the Seamaster 2017 Asian Championships will China dominate as they did 34 years ago?
Current World rankings suggest a repeat is not out of the question.