Simulation Games draw to thrilling conclusion in Lingshui

Last week we brought you news from the Tokyo 2020 Preparation for China Table Tennis – Olympic Simulation Games in Lingshui City, highlighting Liang Jingkun and Sun Yingsha’s singles successes. One week on it’s the team events that took the spotlight.

In the race for men’s team glory the top step of the podium was reserved by Fan Zhendong, Xu Xin and Ma Long. You can relive the story of the final here.

The trio of Chen Meng, Wang Manyu and Sun Yingsha emerged victorious in the women’s team event. Read the story of the final here.

Patkar and Batra recognised for sporting excellence

Following in the footsteps of many a prestigious name before her, Madhurika Patkar has been recognised for her outstanding achievement in sport with confirmation of the Arjuna Award.

Manika Batra has also been honoured for her services toward sport, receiving the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, India’s highest sporting honour. Congratulations to Madhurika and Manika!

Upping the pace

Fans will undoubtedly know by now that the professional club season is closing in fast – unsurprisingly the pros have been pushing themselves hard.

Making up for lost time in the early months of the year, players are taking full advantage of valuable table time as they attempt to fine tune their game in search of peak performance:

Meanwhile, two of the sport’s, now retired, all-time greats Jean-Michel Saive and Jörg Rosskopf have been keeping active while taking in the views.

Enjoying the fresh air

What else have the stars been up to away from the action?

Thiago Monteiro embraced his athletic ability, making light work of a huge sandy hill during his vacation in Lacanau, France:

Another Brazilian star, Bruna Takahashi has been hitting the great outdoors with a new form of transport:

Mima Ito has also been out and about enjoying the wonderful sights of Japan:

While Marcos Freitas and his father visited the magnificent Portuguese city of Braga: