China's Ding Ning likely to have Hirano rematch

DUSSLDORF, Germany, May 28 (Xinhua) -- World number one and defending champion Ding Ning of China is likely to have a rematch of Asian Championships encounter against Japanese teenager Miu Hirano after both have been drawn in the same half at the world championships here on Sunday.

Ding, also the Olympic champion, was shocked by the 17-year-old Hirano at the Asian championships last month when she became the first non-Chinese champion since 1996.

"Winning many titles has made the media to give me many positive names and I think this is good for me as it will motivate me to aim for more titles," said the Japanese sensation. "Also playing in the Chinese league made me to learn how to play against the Chinese players and this is what helped me to be where I am today."

The men's singles could see a classic clash between grand slam champions Ma Long and Zhang Jike, both from China, in the final. The long-term rivals' last match was at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, where Ma dethroned Zhang to claim his first Olympic singles title.

China's Xu Xin will be looking to set up a quarterfinals meeting against Japan's Jun Mizutani to revenge his loss in the Olympic team final last year in Rio.

The 2017 world championships features 613 players from 108 countries and regions fighting for the five titles up for grabs.

With the draw concluded, qualification for the remaining 64 spots available in the singles main draw of 128 will start on May 29, with the main draw starting May 31. The women's champion will be crowned on June 4 and the men's on June 5.