Ding Ning vs Jörgen Persson | 2012 Chicago International Table Tennis Festival

Ding Ning (CHN) vs Jörgen Persson (SWE)

Ding Ning, Women's Singles World Champion in 2015 and 2017 takes on the 1991 Men's Singles World Champion Jörgen Persson in this classic battle not only of the sexes but of the generations.

In September 2012, Killerspin organized a series of events to promote table tennis and the City of Chicago. It was called the Chicago International Table Tennis Festival.

Some of the top players in the world were invited to play, among them several World and Olympic Champions. They competed in various types of competitions, in which different formats were tried out - women playing against men, a “rotating” team format that included substitutions, and the “41” match format, which consists of 4 quarters. Each quarter end when the first player reaches 10, 20, or 30 points. The last quarter - and the match - ends at 41.

Two competition events were held, one on Navy Pier and one in the lobby of the venerable Palmer House. They were produced in a look that at that time was revolutionary in table tennis, with center stage lighting and a single table used throughout the event.

The competitors were:
Biba Golic (USA)
Ariel Hsing (USA)
Ding Ning (CHN)
Jessica Yamada (BRA)
Chen Qi (CHN)
Wang Liqin (CHN)
Wang Hao (CHN)
Ma Lin (CHN)
Ilija Lupulesku (USA)
Ryu Seung Min (KOR)
Kim Min Seok (KOR)
Jörgen Persson (SWE)
Zoran Primorac (CRO)
Aleksandar Karakasevic (SRB)
Kalinikos Kreanga (GRE)
Chen Weixing (AUT)
João Monteiro (POR)
Bojan Tokic (SLO)
and two US juniors - Este Ackerman and Michael Tran