Five players to watch out for at the Seamaster ITTF World Tour India Open
New Delhi is all set to host the inaugural edition of Seamaster 2017 ITTF World Tour India Open and all eyes will be glued to the top players, who are geared up to set the arena on fire with their swift skills, speed and tenacity. The tournament, which commences on February 14 and will be played at the Thyagaraj Stadium, will see the best of the players in action from India and across the world.
It is going to be country’s first ever World Tour event. 11Even Sports Private Limited (ESPL), under the auspices of Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) have entered into a 10-year agreement with the Federation to develop the sport from the grassroots to the professional level. ESPL had played a key role in bringing this prestigious tournament to India.
It will be the most lucrative TT tournament in the country ever. The India Open is part of the elite Seamaster 2017 ITTF World Tour, with only 11 other countries hosting this event. Apart from Hungary that has already hosted the first leg in January, Qatar (Feb. 23-26), Japan (Jun. 16-18), Korea (Apr. 20-23); China (Jun. 22-25); Australia (Jun 29-Jul. 2); Czech Republic (Aug. 24-27); Austria (Sep. 1-3); Bulgaria (Sep. 7-10); Germany (Nov 10-12) and Sweden (Nov. 16-19 Nov) will see action at its highest level.
With the top players already confirmed their appearance at the US $120,000 tournament, let us take a look at five players to watch out for:
#1 Dimitrij Ovtcharov (Germany)
Dimitrij Ovtcharov is the top seeded player in the Seamaster 2017 ITTF World Tour India Tour. He comes into the tournament on the back of a very good season, which included a bronze medal in the team event at the Rio Olympics. The 28-year-old seasoned campaigner has recently moved into the top five rankings and will start the tournament as the firm favourite.
He has already seen success in India back in 2010 when he won the ITTF Pro Tour event. Ovtcharov has won multiple championships across the world. He is also an individual bronze medalist at the 2012 London Olympics apart from winning two team bronze medals in London Olympics as well as 2008 Beijing Olympics.