MUSCAT, JAN 9
As many as 200 participants representing more than 30 countries will take part in the 2025 WTT contender Muscat which will begin on January 11, Saturday, at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Muscat. The seven-day event is organised by Oman Table Tennis Association (OTTA) in coordination with World Table Tennis (WTT) and will conclude on January 17.
The major TT event will feature participation from paddlers, referees and officials representing countries from around the globe including: Australia, Maldives, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Spain, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Iran, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Nigeria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Sweden, Slovakia, Thailand, Chinese Taipei, Türkiye, the United States, Wales, and the host nation, the Sultanate of Oman.
OTTA is all set to kick off the competitions on Saturday as the qualifications will start on Saturday and will end on Monday while the finals will begin on Tuesday and will finish on Friday. The paddlers and officials from different parts of the world arrived to Muscat and commenced their training sessions ahead of competitions start during the evening session on Monday. The competitions will begin at 10:00 am in the morning session and will run until 19:00.
The OTTA had organised 2024 WTT contender last November where the Chinese paddlers dominated all the titles. This is the first international event for 2025 and all the paddlers will compete in singles, doubles and mixed doubles event. The event will offer a total cash prize of $80,000 in five disciplines including men’s and women’s singles/doubles and mixed doubles.
Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto (World No 3) will be the top seeded player in the men’s events besides German’s Dimitrij Octcharov (World No 19), Nigerian Quadari Aruna (World No 21) and Chinese Xiang Peng (World No 24). On the other side, the top women's seeds who will take part in the event will include Japan's Satsuki Odo (World No 8), Brazil’s Bruna Takahashi (World No 19), France’s Prithika Pavade (World No 20) and many other top players.
Oman will be represented by the national team players in this world-class event including Muhannad al Balushi, Ghasan al Ghassani, Mohammed al Mutaa and Bilal al Rashdi. The national team players took part in comprehensive training camps under the watchful eyes of Iranian coach Omid Shams Sharhabaki, who has been focusing on a range of technical and tactical training areas. This championship represents a major opportunity for Oman’s players to gain experience and improve their international rankings. Oman's players will vie in singles and doubles qualifications events.
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