(MENAFN- The Peninsula)
The Peninsula
Doha: Three Afghan athletes will compete in WTT Star Contender Doha and the Asian Table Tennis Championships when the two events start later this month at the Lusail Sports Arena in Qatar.
Mustafa Bakhtiyari and Mohammad Hosseini will participate in the Men's Singles and Doubles Qualifying rounds while compatriot Behrooz Daneshmand will feature in the Men's Singles Qualifying round.
WTT Star Contender Doha will be held from September 20-25, with the Asian Table Tennis Championships starting the following week on September 28 and concluding on October 5.
The Qatar Table Tennis Association (QTTA), as many times before, proved their devotion to the empowerment of Table Tennis and reacted with the noblest gesture – the Afghan trio that was originally planned to attend the Asian Championships were granted wildcard spots enabling them to be part of a stellar field at WTT Star Contender Doha. The WTT Contender Series event features Germany's Dimitrij Ovtcharov and Jeon Jihee from the Republic of Korea, as the top seeds for the men's and women's singles competitions respectively.
President of Qatar Table Tennis Association and ITTF Vice President, Khalil Al Mohannadi, said:“In times like this, we want to provide an opportunity for our Afghan table tennis players to compete and continue their professional table tennis journey.
“We are delighted to award them wildcards where they now have the opportunity to compete against some of the best table tennis players in the world. We are also assisting them with their visa and travel documents so that they will be ready to join us in Qatar as we get ready to showcase table tennis to the world again.”
As part of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Foundation“Solidarity through Table Tennis” initiative, the table tennis community stands united in ensuring the well-being of fellow athletes and that the preparation and participation of the Afghan national team at international events continue to run smoothly.
Steve Dainton, ITTF Group CEO, said:“We are happy to have the Afghanistan team participating at the WTT Star Contender and the Asian Championships together with other nations. One of the most remarkable things that sport can do is to bring people together. And the ITTF vision, Table Tennis. For All. For Life, is truly reflected by the us being inclusive and our joint efforts to bring them to Doha.”
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