The table tennis equivalent of the ATP World Tour Finals will take place in Dubai as the GAC GROUP 2013 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals and there will be a Canadian on the court; on the Men's side, table tennis' richest tournament - prize money of $1,000,000 - will feature table tennis players from 9 countries. Wang's strongest opposition will come from China (with 6 qualified players).
"It has been my dream to qualify for this competition," asserted the 28-year old Canadian who calls Ottawa, ON his home. "I am so looking forward to the Grand Finals," beamed Wang.
Bad Luck, Good Luck
The Canadian needed a bit of luck to make it into the GAC ITTF World Tour Grand Finals. In August, Wang was scheduled to compete in the Belarus Open to gather points. He was among the top four seeds when the Belarus visa authorities delayed his visa by 4 days, Wang had to withdraw from the competition.
Without the Belarus Open points, chances to qualify were small. When the International Table Tennis Federation announced the point standings, Wang was in 17th position, one place away from qualifying, first reserve. "I hate the feeling of being first reserve," he said when rankings came out, "My responsibility, I should have played better in one of the competitions."
But when the entry deadline had come and gone, the good news came in an e-mail from the ITTF and it had the magic words 'Eugene Wang' and 'confirmed' in it.
Eugene Wang, who is currently training in Europe, will prepare in one of Table Tennis Canada's partner centers in China for the event.