by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Editor
Defeat for Ding Ning but it does mean a return to the global order after some five months absence; she appears at no.3 behind compatriots Zhu Yuling and Chen Meng who retain the respective top two positions.
The effect of the return of Ding Ning is that the Japanese duo of Kasumi Ishikawa and Miu Hirano each drop one place; Kasumi Ishikawa is now at no.5, Miu Hirano at no.6; next in the order of merit is the Chinese duo of Sun Yingsha and Wang Manyu, each climbs two places.
Conversely, Singapore’s Feng Tianwei drops three places to no.11; Chinese Taipei’s Cheng I-Ching falls five positions to no.12. Likewise it is a drop down the order for Germany’s Han Ying and Japan’s Hitomi Sato, both fall two places. Han Ying is now at no.13, Hitomi Sato at no.14.
Notable progress for Chen Xingtong but the most dynamic rise is reserved for their colleague, Sun Mingyang, the runner up in the Under 21 Women’s Singles event in Stockholm; she climbs from no.206 to no.66. Similarly, there is major progress for Chen Ke; she advances from no.61 to no.30 as China’s next generation makes their presence felt.
Also, there are notable Chinese names returning to the ranking. Wu Yang appears at no.16, Feng Yalan at no.29, Li Xiaodan at no.47; similarly, Wen Jia returns at no.54, Sheng Dandan at no.69 and Liu Xi at no.80. In addition, amongst the top one hundred names Li Xi enters at no.80, Li Jiayi at no.84.
Names to note and one name certainly to note is that of Japan’s Miyu Nagasaki, impressive at the recently concluded 2017 ITTF World Junior Championships, Miyu Nagasaki advances from no.103 to no.73.
Climbing the ladder, conversely there are prominent names moving in the opposite direction.
Korea’s Yang Haeun drops from no.32 to no.44, Britt Eerland of the Netherlands from no.60 to no.75, Japan’s Kyoka Kato from no.53 to no.79 and Poland’s Natalia Partyka from no.65 to no.82. Similarly, Chinese Taipei’s Hung Yi-Hua drops from no.69 to no.86, Portugal’s Shao Jieni from no.74 to no.87; also China’s Shi Xunyao falls from no.79 to no.97 and Russia’s Maria Dolgikh from no. 85 to no.98.
Meanwhile, on both the Under 21 Women’s World Ranking list and Under 18 Girls’ World Rankings, the top three names are the same. Miu Hirano continues to lead both lists with Sun Yingsha and Wang Manyu each climbing one place to be the respective next in line. Mima Ito drops to no.4; in the opposite direction, most significantly on the Under 21 Women’s list, Chen Xingtong advances from no.14 to no.5.
No change at the very top of the order, on the Under 15 Girls’ World Rankings, there is no change amongst the top three places with Japan to the fore; Miyu Nagasaki leads the list followed by colleagues Miyuu Kihara and Satsuki Odo.
November 2017: Latest World Rankings