Doha, Qatar, December 24, 2020: World Table Tennis is excited to announce that Doha, Qatar, will host the WTT Middle East Hub, with two events to take place consecutively at the Lusail Sports Arena between March 3-13, 2021.
The brand-new series of events now becomes reality with WTT – the commercial and events company of the International Table Tennis Federation – designed to revolutionise the sport. Players and fans are being positioned at the core of WTT’s mission to drive table tennis into the future.
“We are honoured to be hosting the first-ever WTT events in Qatar,” said Khalil Al-Mohannadi, Qatar Table Tennis Association President and ITTF Deputy President.
“We have made many special table tennis memories over the years and we cannot wait to kick off the WTT era on our shores. This confirms Doha as a truly global sports hub and demonstrates the QTTA’s commitment to establishing WTT,” Al-Mohannadi added.
Three WTT ‘Hubs’ are planned for 2021 – Middle East, China and Europe.
The Middle East Hub will feature two tiers of the new WTT event structure. A WTT Contender event, from March 3-6, will get the 2021 calendar underway before players move to the first WTT Star Contender event, from March 8-13, providing the perfect setting for some of the world’s leading stars to be challenged by the best up-and-coming athletes in table tennis.
Olympic double gold medallist Liu Guoliang, WTT Council Chair and President of the Chinese Table Tennis Association, said: “Congratulations to Doha upon becoming host of the WTT Middle East Hub. As one of the most established host cities on the international table tennis circuit, Doha is certain to bring the first WTT events of 2021 to life.”
The new table tennis era also heralds a landmark moment for the sport with all event prize money funded and paid to players exclusively by WTT. The combined prize pool for the two Middle East Hub events will be US$600,000.
“We have made no secret about our desire to take table tennis to the next level through WTT,” Steve Dainton, WTT Director and ITTF CEO, said.
Source: Qatar Olympic Committee