Ma Long, five-time International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Tour Grand Final champion from China, will not attend the 2018 Grand Finals in S. Korea's Incheon due to injuries, the ITTF announced today on its official website.

Yuya Oshima from Japan will take Ma's place. Ranking 17th on the ITTF World Tour standings, Oshima is the first reserve player for the World Tour Grand Finals and he will join his compatriots Tomokazu Harimoto, Jun Mizutani and Koki Niwa to chase the men's singles title.

This is not the first time 30-year-old Ma has had to quit an event due to injuries. In August, he withdrew from the 2018 ITTF Men's World Cup in Paris. Then he quit the ITTF World Tour Swedish and Austrian Opens in November for knee problems.

The 2018 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals will take place between December 13 and 16.