Site Products
Jishan Liang Captures 2016 Butterfly Badger Open Crown

Jishan Liang Captures 2016 Butterfly Badger Open Crown

Jishan Liang Captures 2016 Butterfly Badger Open Crown

by Barbara Wei

Tension was high at the 2016 Butterfly Badger Open as 47 players battled it out for the top $3,000 prize in the Open Singles event. Upsets abounded throughout the event, but Jishan Liang survived a few close calls to solidify his top seed status and clinch the title.

Starting in the preliminary round robins, Rajat Hubli, the number 6 seed fell to Lindenwood’s Danny Dulkin in 3 straight games. In the first round of elimination (where matches are best of 7), Danny Seemiller led 3 games to 0 against Mississippi College player & coach Cheng Li before losing 11-9 in the 7th. In the same round, newcomer to the USA table tennis world and new player for the University of Minnesota, Pu Li took down Qingwei Sun from Mississippi College 4-2. Pu Li, who plays with short pips on his backhand, would continue his slew of upsets in the next round (quarterfinals) by beating MDTTC player-coach Bowen Chen 4-0 before coming back from down 1-2 and 2-3 to beat number 2 seed Yutian Wang in the semifinals in a very close 7 game encounter.

On the opposite side of the draw, Jishan Liang breezed through his opening encounters until the semi-final where he faced Tong Zhang from Mississippi College. Confident and poised, Jishan looked in control of the game but Tong continued to fight back, changing the pace of his forehand loops to force errors from Jishan. A huge sigh of relief from the number one seed when he finally won the 7th game 11-9.

Jishan and Pu split the first two games of the final. At 1-1 in games and 11-11 in the third, Jishan pulled out a few important crucial points to win the game and change the momentum of the match. Now at a 2-1 lead and with momentum on his side, Jishan dominated the last two games to win 4-1 and claim the 2016 Butterfly Badger Open title.

Continual coverage of the Butterfly Badger Open and stories about the athletes will be available at ButterflyOnline.com, or via Butterfly North America’s Twitter and Facebook pages. For Live Stream, Photos, & Results click here.

Latest News

The First Butterfly Training Camp in Ecuador Has Successfully Concluded / Finaliza con exito el primer Butterfly Training Camp en Ecuador

October 30, 2025
(By Geovanny Coello – Butterfly America Sponsored Coach) Two intense days of learning, hard work, and athletic growth.… Read More

Jha Headlines Upset Filled First Round in Montpellier

October 29, 2025
(by Steve Hopkins, photo WTT) The top seed is out, and USA’s Kanak Jha now enters the Round… Read More

Anticipate….

October 29, 2025
Serve, short game, flip with defense to offense (wait function) Jhon serves short backspin, robot plays short backspin… Read More

Puerto Rico Shines At The 2025 ITTF Pan-American Championships

October 29, 2025
(By Edgardo Vazquez – Puerto Rico National Coach / Butterfly America Sponsored Coach) The Puerto Rico national team… Read More

Death of the Kill

October 28, 2025
(By Larry Hodges) There was a time that the smash, especially on the forehand side, was considered the… Read More

Right Shoulder Rotation Into the Table

October 27, 2025
Serve, short game, flip with defense to offense (wait function) Jhon serves short backspin, robot plays short backspin… Read More

MLTT Week 4 Recap: Chicago Wind Steady at Home, New York Slice Make Their Mark

October 26, 2025
(by Steve Hopkins, photo MLTT) The Fourth Major League Table Tennis (MLTT) event was played in Bensenville, Illinois… Read More

WAB CLUB FEATURE: Joyous Table Tennis Club

October 26, 2025
(By Steve Hopkins) Joyous Table Tennis Club provides 8 professional tables in one of the largest professional table… Read More
View All News

Get the latest from Butterfly

Stay “In The Loop” with Butterfly professional table tennis equipment, table tennis news, table tennis technology, tournament results, and We Are Butterfly players, coaches, clubs and more.