Adham Sharara (right), President of International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) and Khaleel Al Mohannadi, President of Qatar Table Tennis Association (QTTA) during a press conference in Doha yesterday.Picture by: Abdul Basit
Doha: Qatar Table Tennis Association (QTTA) will bid for the 2020 World Championship, it was announced here yesterday.
Speaking at a press conference here yesterday Adham Sharara, President of International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) said host cities till the 2018 edition have been decided.
“Qatar can bid for the 2019 and 2020 world champions as all the other championships till 2018 have been allotted to different cities,” said the ITTF official, in response to a question whether Qatar is planning to bid to host the top-tier event.
Khaleel Al Mohannadi, President of QTTA, who also addressed the press conference said the FIFA 2022 World Cup hosts will bid for the 2020 one.
“The 2019 edition will be an individual championship, while the subsquent one will be a team championship. We have given is a deep thought and we plan to bid for the event which will take place two years before the football world cup,” said Al Mohannadi, who has been president of QTTA for the last 20 years.
Shahara said Qatar is planning to host the team event as they want to derive more mileage from the event two years ahead of the football showpieve event.
“If Qatar bid for the 2019 event, which is an individual championship, the focus will be on a few players from a few countries, while in the team event, the focus will be on different countries and will reach a much wider audience. Qatar also plan to field a strong team in 2020 championship,” he added.
The bidding process for the 2020 championship will begin in 2015. The Peninsula
