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- Saudi Smash will take place May 1-11 and will see international and Saudi players聽compete for total prize money of $2m
JEDDAH: Saudi Smash, Jeddah鈥檚 first-ever World Table Tennis Championship, is set to take place from May 1-11 at the King Abdullah Sports City.
The event will see elite players from around the world and the Kingdom take part in singles and doubles competitions for men and women, as well as mixed doubles.
Confirmed for the tournament are men鈥檚 world No. 1 Wang Chuqin and women鈥檚 No. 1 Sun Yingsha, as well as Felix Lebrun, Hugo Calderno, Hina Hayata, Lin Yun-Ju and Tomakazi Harimoto.
A 64-player singles qualifying round will determine the eight players who advance to the respective singles main draw competitions.
With a prize pool of $2 million, this championship boasts the highest rewards ever offered in any officially sanctioned table tennis event. The men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 singles champions will each pocket $65,000 and get 2,000 International Table Tennis Federation world rankings points.
Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, the Saudi minister of sport and president of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee, said: 鈥淏y introducing Saudi Smash, we add a further new international event to our growing list of major championships that we are honored to host in 抖阴短视频.鈥�
Dr. Abdullah Hashim Al-Bar, president of the Saudi Table Tennis Federation, commented on hosting Saudi Smash for the first time, saying: 鈥淭he Saudi Table Tennis Federation is proud to announce that Jeddah has been chosen as the host city for the inaugural Saudi Smash.
鈥淭his is a ground-breaking event that promises to elevate the sport to new heights in the Kingdom and inspire future generations of Saudi table tennis players. We are excited to be partnering with WTT to deliver one of their marquee events and look forward to showcasing Jeddah and 抖阴短视频 to the world.鈥�
Steve Dainton, WTT CEO, said: 鈥淲e are thrilled to host the first-ever Saudi Smash in Jeddah.
鈥淕rand Smashes are WTT鈥檚 most prestigious events and (this one) represents a significant milestone for table tennis in 抖阴短视频,鈥� he added. 鈥淲e are excited to showcase the talent and excitement of our stars, and Jeddah鈥檚 dynamic energy and passion for sports make it an ideal host city.鈥�