by Simon Daish

Happy Mother’s Day!

Mother’s Day celebrations were held in many countries around the world on Sunday 10th May and the stars were quick to show their appreciation on this very special day.

Here’s Singapore star Yu Mengyu celebrating with her mum:

 

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Happy mother’s day 🌸 Thanks, mom🌹

A post shared by Mengyu Yu (@yu_mengyu.818) on May 9, 2020 at 11:16pm PDT

Sathiyan Gnanasekaran put together a touching collage:

 

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Happy Mother’s Day❤️❤️ #ironlady #momlove❤️ #happymothersday #sathiyantt @malarkodi_g

A post shared by Sathiyan Gnanasekaran (@sathiyantt) on May 9, 2020 at 9:59pm PDT

Kasumi Ishikawa passes on her thanks to mother and coach Kumi:

 

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*** 母の日🌹 #普段は言えない感謝の気持ちを😆 #thankyoumom #母亲节快乐〜 #祝所有妈妈都开心快乐😊💕

A post shared by Kasumi Ishikawa (@kasumi.ishikawa_official) on May 9, 2020 at 9:59pm PDT

Tomokazu Harimoto posted a throwback photo of his mother:

 

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今日は母の日🤱 僕を生んでくれてからこれまで、たくさん褒められてたまに怒られて良い思い出しかありません😊 そしていつでも一番の好物はお母さんの料理です！ お母さんいつも本当にありがとう☺️ 今年一番の喜びをあげることはできないけど来年は必ず喜ばせれるように頑張ります💪 #母の日 #お母さんいつもありがとう #16年前の写真 #まだ1歳未満 #我ながら可愛い笑

A post shared by 張本 智和 Harimoto Tomokazu (@harimoto__tomokazu_1711) on May 9, 2020 at 8:45pm PDT

While Marcos Madrid shared a wonderfully heartwarming slideshow of his own:

 

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Feliz dia de las Madres ,miss you mama,mi campeona 😍 #happymothersday #felizdiadelasmadres #loveyou

A post shared by Marcos Madrid Mantilla OLY 🇲🇽 (@marcosmadrid_tt) on May 10, 2020 at 6:44am PDT

Jura Morez adds Paul Drinkhall to player roster

Another club signing to report, this time surrounding English player Paul Drinkhall.

Six-time English national champion and a key member of his country’s bronze medal winning campaigns at the 2016 World Team Championships and 2018 Team World Cup, Drinkhall arrives at French Pro A League club Jura Morez TT after a two-year stint at TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt in Germany.

 

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After a couple of fantastic years in Germany, I’m really happy to have signed for @juramoreztt playing in the Pro A in the French League. My team mates are Zhai Chao from China, @kirskachkov87 from Russia and @olahbenedek from Finland, and the team coach is Salvador Uribe. I’m looking forward to the challenge of competing for the title, and can’t wait to get started with my new team! @bribartabletennis @tibhar_crew

A post shared by Paul Drinkhall (@paul_drinkhall) on May 10, 2020 at 7:16am PDT

Get well soon

A couple of the stars have undergone hospital visits recently to address medical concerns. The ITTF passes on its best wishes to Sofia Polcanova and Ricardo Walther for a speedy recovery.

Get well soon Sofia:

 

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Still a long way to go, but the first step is done✅💪🏻 I‘ve been struggling with my injury for a long time now. I remember first time when I had real pain in my hip was at the Team Europeans in September 2019. Since then there were many ups and downs (mostly downs), you know like having pain almost all the time and not able to practice normally. But I stayed motivated because I know that after darkness there is always light😊When the Olympics got postponed, I decided almost immediately to have the surgery. It went well and I am very happy about it!👍 P.S. Many people asked me why I didn’t compete in the „Best of Austria Challenge“ last Saturday. Now you know why😉 My outfit is on top, right?😂 #surgery #firstday #feelingpositive #comeon #comebackstronger

A post shared by Sofia Polcanova (@sofia.polcanova) on May 6, 2020 at 11:37pm PDT

You too Ricardo:

 

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Leider musste ich mich gestern Abend ganz plötzlich aufgrund einer Pneumothorax (Luft in der Lunge) im Krankenhaus operieren lassen! Mir geht es jetzt aber soweit ganz gut und die Ärzte sind guter Dinge das ich in wenigen Tagen wieder aus dem Krankenhaus entlassen werden kann! Natürlich werde ich mich dann erst einmal erholen müssen und habe leider auch noch ein paar Wochen Sportverbot! #pneumothorax #krankenhauslife

A post shared by Ricardo Walther (@ricardowalther91) on May 5, 2020 at 6:35am PDT

Birthday celebrations

Finally, we have a couple of birthdays to celebrate in this week’s edition of Player Watch.

First of all, we extend our congratulatory messages to England’s Sam Walker, who was 25 on Thursday 7th May:

 

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Thank you for all the birthday messages! I’ve had a great day at home eating a lot of cake 😳😅

A post shared by Sam Walker (@samwalker_tt) on May 7, 2020 at 1:29pm PDT

We then follow with Suh Hyowon, the Korean defender celebrating her 33rd birthday on Sunday 10^th May:

 

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축하를 너무 많이 받아 오늘 너무 행복합니다 생일 축하해주신 분들 너무 감사합니다☺️😉 🎂🎂 Thank you 🥰😉

A post shared by 서효원 (@suh_hyowon_) on May 10, 2020 at 5:47am PDT