South Africa to Host 2023 World Table Tennis Championships

Doha, September 28 (QNA) - South Africa has been awarded the hosting rights for the 2023 World Table Tennis Championships after beating the rival bid from Germany at the International Table Tennis Federation's (ITTF) Annual General Meeting, held on Monday evening in Doha in the presence of HE Secretary-General of Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) Jassim Rashid Al Buainain. South Africa won 90 votes (69.77 percent) to beat off competition from the other candidate Germany, who had 39 votes (30.23 percent). Khalil Al Mohannadi, President of the Qatari and Arab Table Tennis Federations and First Vice President of the Asian and International Table Tennis Federations, welcomed the participants, especially HE QOC Secretary-General of Qatar Olympic, the Members of the Executive Office of ITTF, and the guests of Qatar, expressing pleasure that Doha hosted the ITTF Annual General Meeting for the second time after 2004. Al Mohannadi thanked HE the President of Qatar Olympic Committee Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al-Thani for the tremendous support to organizing this event in such a difficult time. He explained that 2019 was a great year for ITTF at the level of events and achievements, while the COVID-19 caused the suspension of all activities during the current year after Qatar hosted the 2020 Qatar Open in March. (QNA)