Dubai: Five of the top-10 in the men’s section and four of the top-10 women’s category will be competing in the Nakheel Table Tennis Asian Cup that gets underway at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) from Thursday.
A total of 11 countries are being represented at this championship, including China, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, India, Iran, Japan, South Korea, Qatar, Singapore and Thailand along with hosts UAE fielding three players — Abdullah Al Beloushi, Noura Al Maazmi and Majid Al Beloushi.
The event will be a fascinating affair with men’s defending Asian Cup champion and World No 3, Xu Xin of China and teammate and 2012 Olympic champion, Zhang Jike still chasing qualification for the Rio Olympic Games.
Their compatriot Liu Shiwen, who is yet to be selected for Rio is also likely to present a strong challenge to Asian Cup defending champion, Feng Tianwei of Singapore, and Olympic singles defending champion, Li Xiaoxia of China, who have both booked their tickets to the Rio Games.
The players were to discover who they are drawn against at an opening ceremony that was scheduled to be held at Dragon Mart, one of the world’s biggest Chinese trading hubs outside mainland China.
Taking place from April 28-30 in Zabeel Hall 1 at DWTC, the competition is the final ranking tournament before the Rio 2016 Olympic Games that is now just 100 days away. For many of the players it will be their last chance to accrue ranking points and qualify for the Olympics.
Saeed Hareb, General Secretary, Dubai Sports Council (DSC) welcomed the players to Dubai. “We are delighted to welcome some of the world’s best table tennis players to Dubai. This event is an important addition to Dubai’s calendar of world-class sporting events and further strengthens the emirate’s position as a sporting destination. At the Dubai Sports Council we understand the power of sport to unite cultures and Dubai has sponsored the China table tennis team since 2013, and this is a sign of our passion for sport as well as our strong links with China,” Hareb remarked.
“Our sponsorship of this prestigious event highlights and further reinforces our strong and long-standing relationship with China and the growing Chinese community in Dubai. We look forward to welcoming the players and fans for the competition this weekend,” Ali Rashid Lootah, Chairman, Nakheel, added.
Admission to the three-day competition is absolutely free with action getting underway at 10am Thursday. After the first session till 12 noon, the second one will be from 3 to 5pm and the final one from 6 to 8pm.
On Friday, the games will commence at 10am and run through till 7pm. The finals will be held on Saturday, with the bronze medal matches from 10 to 11.30am and the finals from 4 to 6pm.
