(by Steve Hopkins)

Its almost time for the three ITTF events that are collectively being called the ITTF RESTART events. The ITTF has selected 21 male and 21 female athletes to come to China to participate in the Women’s World Cup, the Men’s World Cup, and the 2020 ITTF Finals.  The first of these events will be the Women’s World Cup which is scheduled to begin on November 8, just 6 days away. We continue to provide articles highlighting some of the elite players who have been selected to compete.  The ITTF RESTART will begin in TT Minus 6 Days.

RESTART PROFILE: Cheng I-Ching

Chinese Taipei’s Cheng I-Ching will enter the tournament as the 4th seed.  She qualified by having the fourth highest World Ranking from the Asian Cup list.  She competed in the 2016 Olympics, and has been a solid performer in tour events for several years.  The World Cup is a big opportunity for her, as each country is limited to two entries, effectively raising her by four spots in seeding (up to No. 4 from No. 8).  She plays an aggressive shakehands attacking style should be one of the 5 or 6 players with a legitimate chance of winning the event.  She’ll be looking to maximize her opportunity to close out 2020 on the highest of notes.

Cheng I-Ching uses a special Arylate Carbon blade, Dignics 09c on her backhand, and Tenergy 05 Hard on her backhand.

The video below shows Cheng I-Ching’s win at the Hungarian Open, one of the few tour events of 2020.  Both players on the video will participate at the Women’s World Cup, with Kasumi Ishikawa is the 5th Seed.  Incidentally, according to Tabletennis-reference.com, Ishikawa uses a Viscaria blade with Tenergy 64 on her backhand.

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Visit ButterflyOnline.com during the events for coverage and results.