Qatar to Host Rise2Tokyo World Olympic Qualification Events

Lausanne, May 30 (QNA) - The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) officially announced Wednesday that the organization of the table tennis qualifiers for Tokyo Olympics 2020 will be held in the State of Qatar and Portugal next year. The World Team Qualification Event will be held in Gondomar, Portugal between 22 - 26 January 2020. The World Singles Qualification Event will take place in Doha, Qatar between 26 - 29 May 2020. The two countries' successful bids are set to bring tens of thousands of fans through the gates to watch the world's top athletes battle it out to qualify for Tokyo 2020, with many more benefits for the host cities. The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) said in a statement: "Qatar is one of the most established host countries of major international table tennis events, with the ITTF World Tour Platinum, Qatar Open consistently on the ITTF World Tour map. We are therefore highly confident that the World Singles Qualification Event in Doha will be another resounding success." ITTF added in the statement: "Portugal's standing in international table tennis has grown significantly with the development of several eye-catching talents in recent years and the Portuguese Table Tennis Association put forward a highly competitive bid to stage the 2022 World Table Tennis Championships, with Chengdu, China ultimately winning out as host city for that event. However, hosting the Rise2Tokyo World Team Qualification Event represents an opportunity for the country to place itself higher on the international events map and could provide them with the experience to ensure they stage more table tennis events of even greater stature in the future." The World Team Qualification Event will see nine national teams qualify directly for the Tokyo 2020 Teams competition, accounting for over half of the total 16 available spots. The World Singles Qualification Event will contribute between two and eight athletes for the Tokyo 2020 Singles competition, which in turn will feature a total of 64-70 athletes, the remainder of which will qualify through a variety of avenues. (QNA)