Birthday boy Ma to kick off ITTF World Cup campaign against Egypt's Assar

LIEGE, Belgium, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- China's table tennis world champion Ma Long, who celebrated his 29th birthday on Friday, was drawn to face Egypt's Omar Assar in Saturday's round of 16 at the 2017 ITTF Men's World Cup.

The two-time winner is targeting at possessing titles of three major table tennis tournaments, namely Olympic Games, World Championships and World Cup, at the same time, just as he did following his triumph at the Rio Olympic Games last year.

Ma heard a birthday song from crowds in Country Hall de Liege ahead of Friday evening's drawing ceremony, joking that he was quite happy to enjoy 30 hours for his birthday due to a six-hour time difference between Belgium and China.

For Ma, winning the trophy here was absolutely the best birthday gift for himself, but he admitted that every top-level player wanted to move forward until the end.

"I just want to do my best, carry on the motivation and desire, and the most important thing is to avoid injuries," he added.

Ma and teammate Lin Gaoyuan, who rose to fame in September with Asian Cup and ITTF Austrian Open victories, were drawn into the top half to expect a possible duel in the semi-finals.

Lin, 22, will face wildcard Marcos Freitas of Portugal in round of 16.

"I will not consider too much about my opponents. The most important thing is to play to my best in every match," commented Lin.

If Ma advanced to the quarter-finals, his potential opponent could be either Lee Sangsu of South Korea or Japan's fifth-seeded Koki Niwa.

Lin needed to overcome German veteran Timo Boll or Brazil's Gustavo Tsuboi for an all-China semi-final.

No. 2 seed Dimitrij Ovtcharov of Germany will meet Ukraine's Kou Lei in his World Cup opener, and could next face the winner between Chuang Chih-Yuan of Chinese Taipei and Alexander Shibaev of Russia.

Jun Mizutani of Japan booked a round of 16 clash with Quadri Aruna of Nigeria, before possibly facing South Korea's Jeong Sangeun or France's Simon Gauzy for a last four spot.

The 38th edition of the ITTF Men's World Cup will see its winner through Sunday's semi-finals and final.