25th Edition of the Asian Table Tennis Championship Kicks Off Tuesday in Doha

Doha, September 27 (QNA) - The 25th edition of the Asian Table Tennis Championship for men and women, which qualifies for the World Championships in China next year, and hosted by the Qatar Table Tennis Association (QTTA) at Lusail Sports Hall until October 5, will start on Tuesday with the participation of 194 players representing 30 Asian 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 election of the general assembly of the AFC will be convened on the sidelines of the Asian Championship to select the president which will witness a competition between 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 honor of hosting the Asian Championship 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. The President of Qatar Table Tennis Association, the First Vice-President of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) and Asian Table Tennis Union, Khalil Al Mohannadi underlined that Qatar's hosting of many continental and international table tennis tournaments as big as Asian Table Tennis Championship this year is important and will enhance the confidence of the International Federation in Qatar's organizational capabilities, which has become well-known for its sports facilities, stadiums and sports halls equipped with the latest technical and sports equipment in accordance with the highest international standards, noting that the tournament is considered a mini-world championship due to the participation of the best players in the world, and players of East Asia countries, such as Japan, South Korea, India, Hong Kong and China Taipei. On the other hand, the Qatari team table tennis duo (under 13 years) Ahmed Eid and Sultan Al Kuwari continued their progress in the world rankings issued by the International Federation of the game monthly, Ahmed Eid came in sixth place globally for the month of September, after gaining 156 new points, to rise 30 places at once, his colleague Sultan Khalid Al Kuwari ranked eighth globally after scoring 124 points, to rise 14 places from the classification of the previous month. (QNA)