QNA
The 25th edition of the Asian Table Tennis Championship for men and women, a qualifying event for the World Championships in China next year, will kick off at the Lusail Sports Hall today.
The event, hosted by the Qatar Table Tennis Association (QTTA), will continue until October 5 with the participation of 194 players representing 30 countries.
Qatar team will be represented by nine players, the men’s team includes four players: Ahmed Khalil Al Mohannadi, Muhammad Abdul Wahhab, Ahmed Muthanna Al Awlaki and Fahd Al Mughni. The women’s team includes five players - Maha Flamerzi, Aya Magdy, Maha Ali, Maryam Ali, and Shawq Abdullah.
The AFC general assembly will also be convened on the sidelines of the Asian Championships. The AFC general election to select the president will witness a competition between the President of the Qatar Table Tennis Association, Khalil Al Mohannadi and President of the UAE Association Daoud Al Hajri, and members of the Executive Office and the Board of Directors.
It is noteworthy that Qatar had won the honour of hosting the Asian Championships for the second time in a row in its history after the 2000 edition as the first Arab and Gulf country, after withdrawal of China and India.
Al Mohannadi, who is also the First Vice-President of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), underlined that Qatar’s hosting of many continental and international table tennis tournaments as big as Asian Championships this year is important and will enhance the confidence of the International Federation in Qatar’s organisational capabilities.
Al Mohannadi also noted that the tournament is considered a mini-world championship due to the participation of the best players in the world, mainly from East Asian countries, such as Japan, South Korea, India, Hong Kong and China Taipei.