China's Chengdu bidding to host 2022 World Table Tennis Championships

Chengdu, March 9 (Xinhua) -- China's Chengdu is facing fierce competition in bidding for the hosting of the 2022 World Table Tennis Championships Finals, according to the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) on Saturday.

The ITTF was evaluating Chengdu during the past three days before its final decision to be made at its annual general meeting in Budapest, Hungary next month, where all the three final bidders, namely Chengdu, Lisbon and Kitakyushu, will be invited to give a 10-minute presentation.

"The competition within the three strong bidding cities will be unprecedented fierce," Matthew Pound, the marketing director of ITTF said. "Portugal has a very big Table Tennis market in Europe, so they have the whole European supporting them. Japan is a strong Table Tennis nation. And China as a strong country is also truly determined."

"Table Tennis can be seen as a symbol of China. We have a top-level professional team as well as a large population of enthusiastic local fans," said Liu Yi, the vice president of the Chinese Table Tennis Association.

Chengdu is qualified and prepared, as it is equipped with advanced infrastructure, high-level economic development, and fascinating culture, according to Liu.

Vicky Eleftheriade, the ITTF competition director also had her confidence in China, saying "the country has a key market in Table Tennis and the best players in the world. And Chengdu has great infrastructure and development plans."

The 2022 World Table Tennis Championships Finals will be a team event featuring the world's best 32 men's and women's teams respectively.