New 2019 ranking is published

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In January of this year, only ITTF tournament in Hungary ....


Women Singles - China, including the entire top.... Japan and Korea are not participating ...
In the women's top 10 for February, a maximum of 3-4-5 places may change ...
 
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What was all the fuss about Ovtcharov being no 1 with the new system about?
I think it was not connected with new ranking system, but most people who hated him beein no 1 try to convince that he did not diserve to be no 1. They said he and boll defeat chinese because of new ball.
Anyway ovtachrov had great run 2017 but since then he got some injury and did not play high level. Although I saw his match against FZD few days ago from chinese league and he was very close to defeat FZD. He is now 14 in the ranking.
 
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And Fzd is currently not in his best form, quite a few losses lately in CSL. But it was at least an entertaining match between Dima and Fzd.

I think it was not connected with new ranking system, but most people who hated him beein no 1 try to convince that he did not diserve to be no 1. They said he and boll defeat chinese because of new ball.
Anyway ovtachrov had great run 2017 but since then he got some injury and did not play high level. Although I saw his match against FZD few days ago from chinese league and he was very close to defeat FZD. He is now 14 in the ranking.
 
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Harimoto is truly a genius. He's so young, yet is already dominating table tennis.

He will indeed most likely be one of the most dominating players for the next 10 - 15 years to come. Regarding his age: If you look at some of the all time greats (starting from the early 80s), the vast majority of them was not able to crack the Top 10 before they were 20, so from that perspective it is very impressive.
BUT: He is NOT a genius. Sorry, he is not (yet). I'm not trying to romanticide it too much, but I firmly believe that Waldner - even though he was somewhat inconsistent at times - is the one true genius of TT. Watching a hightlight reel of him is basically like watching a highlight reel of MJ!
 
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He will indeed most likely be one of the most dominating players for the next 10 - 15 years to come. Regarding his age: If you look at some of the all time greats (starting from the early 80s), the vast majority of them was not able to crack the Top 10 before they were 20, so from that perspective it is very impressive.
BUT: He is NOT a genius. Sorry, he is not (yet). I'm not trying to romanticide it too much, but I firmly believe that Waldner - even though he was somewhat inconsistent at times - is the one true genius of TT. Watching a hightlight reel of him is basically like watching a highlight reel of MJ!
There can be more than one genius you know..
 
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I think it depends on what someone means by "genius". Waldners style of play simply isn't possible in the current stage of TT. At least not if you're aiming to be the best in the world. In my eyes Koki Niwa is a similar "genius" if you're comparing to the Waldner style of play. Then I think Niwa is the closest you'll get and is a pleasure to the eyes to watch.

But then again, FZD, Ma Long, Xu Xin are also geniuses in their own way.. and so is Harimoto.. I think we're all just looking at the word genius differently. If we just look at one of the definitions of the word: "an exceptionally intelligent person or one with exceptional skill in a particular area of activity."

How do any of the players mentioned above not fit this description? They're all geniuses in their own right. Waldner was absolutely exceptional at the time no doubt, with a unique, non chalant type of playstyle which made everyone fall in love. I don't think there's a player today that has such an elegant playstyle, but that's partly because the game doesn't really allow it. Niwa tries and does a good job, it makes you wonder what Niwa would be like if he was born in Waldners era.

Harimoto is exceptional as was Waldner and several other players. Waldner induced incredible feelings in people from his playstyle which is why I think many romanticize him, and rightfully so! I do think some people misunderstand Harimoto. All I see in this kid is a burning passion for the game, which he expresses on the court.. which unfortunately and understandably gets taken the wrong way. I can feel his passion and while I have mixed feelings about his choing I can't help but like and root for him as well as want the very best for him in TT.

It's very difficult to make these comparisons x player is a genius and y is not. They're walking different paths in different eras. It's unfair to compare Harimotos type of genius to Waldners.
 
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