Hu and Tapper qualify for ITTF World Cup

After months of hard work and preparation in lockdown, Australian table tennis athletes Heming Hu and Melissa Tapper are getting ready to don the green and gold once again at the ITTF World Cup in China this November. 

The ITTF World Cup in China will be the first event on the international table tennis calendar since Covid-19 put competition to a startling halt, and the event is set to be a celebration as the global table tennis community reunites in a safe and secure manner. 

The event will see the best 20 male and female players from all over the world fight for prize money and coveted world ranking points, with a global audience of 1.1 billion expected to tune in. 

This will be the third World Cup appearance for Rio 2016 Olympian Heming Hu, who was narrowly defeated in last year’s event by Sweden’s Kristian Karlson, while Australia’s only dual Olympian and Paralympian Melissa Tapper will make her World Cup debut as the Oceania wildcard. 

“It’s always an honour when an athlete qualifies for a World Cup event, and even more so when that competition represents the start of a new chapter in international table tennis,” said Table Tennis Australia (TTA) Head Coach John Murphy. 

“We are incredibly proud that both Heming and Melissa have qualified for an event as significant as the World Cup, but there is a bit of unknown for us and many other countries  ahead of this competition.” 

While many of the 19 other male and female athletes have begun competing, with the European League commencing this month, and China staging their own Olympic-style event broadcast live on television, the Australians have not competed since the 2020 Australian Olympic qualifiers in January.  

“We’ve not seen the best in the world in one place since December 2019 and the magnitude and weight of the event will therefore put extra pressure on athletes to succeed,” Murphy said. 

“Regardless of results, the tournament will be a great indicator of how athletes have handled training in lockdown, and their performance will act as a base line to reassess training techniques ahead of other world ranking events next year, and of course the Olympic Games in Tokyo.” 

With support of State and Federal Governments and partners, TTA have continued to prepare its athletes for key benchmark events and have utilised the time as best as possible with domestic training continuing across the country.  

The ITTF World Cup men’s and women’s events will be split up for health and safety reasons, with the ITTF Women’s World Cup taking place from 8-10 November, while the Men’s World Cup will take place from 13-15 November. 

Posted: 16/9/2020