DOHA - (QNA) - President of the Qatari Table Tennis Association (QTTA) and president of the Arab and Asian federations, First Vice-President of the International Table Tennis Federation Khalil Al Mohannadi revealed that the official preparations for hosting the 2025 International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Table Tennis Championships will get underway on Jan. 25, 2024.
In an interview with Qatar News Agency (QNA), Al Mohannadi said the federation is due to begin the preparations for the tournament as a committee has been created for that purpose. He added that the official preparations will start out once the hosting contract is signed with ITTF, along with the launch of the game's logo on Jan. 5, 2024, in Doha.
He said the official regulatory operation will commence once the hosting flag is handed over to Qatar during the world championship due to be held in the Korean city, Busan next February.
Commenting on the preparations for hosting the World Table Tennis (WTT) tournaments at Lusail Multi-Purpose Sports Hall during January 2024, Al Mohannadi indicated that Qatar will host the combined tournaments of the table tennis for the third time, emphasizing the significance of this event because it will be held before Paris 2024 Summer Olympics.
He added that all world champions are keen to participate in order to elevate their points credits, affirming that the supreme organizing committee is ready to launch the tournament, as all preparations have been finalized and the committee is expecting the arrival of guests and players in Qatar.
QTTA has become one of the best associations and the first one globally in organizing the tournaments, Al Mohannadi confirmed, adding that the tournaments organized in Qatar and China are the best ones globally and this is corroborated by the testimonies of players and all people, he affirmed.
He outlined that QTTA has succeeded in overcoming the crisis of COVID-19 pandemic which engulfed all countries of the world, during which QTTA's activities were suspended, but communications were underway with officials in Qatar and the Ministry of Public Health, he said.
Subsequently, 6 or 7 international tournaments were organized in Qatar via the quarantine system for one moth and half with the participation of over 800 people and world's champions and were good experience full of success albeit the hard slogs experienced, he noted.
Al Mohannadi recalled that 2026 marks the centenary anniversary of the establishment of ITTF, as it prepares for this occasion by holding the celebration event.