Top Table Tennis awards go to China's Fan Zhendong and Ding Ning in glitzy ceremony
The men's world number one and the Rio 2016 women's gold medallist won best individual prizes at the 'ITTF Stars' event in Incheon, South Korea.
Table Tennis
China dominated the annual ITTF Star Awards in Incheon, South Korea, with Fan Zhendong and Ding Ning taking the prize of best male and female table tennis player of the year.
Their compatriot Xu Xin was awarded for the best point, while India's 23-year-old sensation Manika Batra was named '2018 Breakthough Star'.
Male Table Tennis Winner
World number one Fan Zhendong became the third player from his country to receive the Male Table Tennis Star award after Zhang Jike and Ma Long.
The Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic champion ended the year with three singles ITTF World Tour titles (Hungary, Qatar, Stockholm), the men's World Cup and two gold medals at the Asian Games in Indonesia.
Female Table Tennis Star
Rio 2016 gold medallist Ding Ning snatched a record fourth Female Table Tennis Star award.
In 2018, the 28-year-old became World Cup champion in both singles' and team event and also clinched the World Team Championships title.
Table Tennis Breakthrough Star
The Breakthrough Star award went to India’s Manika Batra: the 23-year-old stole the show at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast claiming four medals, including the first-ever gold medal for India in the women's singles category.
The Indian star also led her country to a bronze medal in the mixed doubles at the 2018 Asian Games.
Table Tennis Star Point
This sensational around-the-net shot from Xu Xin snatched the 2018 Star Point award.
The Rio 2016 team gold medallist stunned Austria's Stefan Fegerl during the the quarter-finals of the 2018 World Team Table Tennis championships.
Table Tennis Star Coach
Massimo Costantini received the Star Coach award for leading the Indian national team to record-breaking results at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and 2018 Asian Games.
The Italian helped the Asian country claim a total of eight medals at the Commonwealth Games including three gold medals. He also added another two bronze medals at the Asian Games.
Female Para Table Tennis Star
Kelly van Zon took the Female Para Table Tennis Star award after becoming 2018 Class 7 World Champion.
This year, the Dutch talent also clinched the Slovenian, Spanish and Lignano Master Open and completed 35 months as the top ranked player in the world.
Male Para Table Tennis Star
Jordi Morales was awarded the Male Para Table Tennis Star award.
Last October the Spaniard took a surprise Class 7 men's singles gold at the 2018 ITTF Para World Championships, where he started as an unseeded competitor.