World Table Tennis has announced that Qatar will host the WTT Middle East Hub in March next year.
Doha is all set to host the WTT Middle East Hub for the 2021 season in the upcoming year.
The 2020 edition of the tournament in South Korea was cancelled and moved due to the pandemic.
The Middle East Hub will feature two rounds of the new event: the WTT Contender event on March 3-6, and the WTT Star Contender scheduled for the following week. The final match is confirmed for March 13.
“We are honoured to be hosting the first-ever WTT events in Qatar. We have made many special table tennis memories over the years and we cannot wait to kick off the WTT era on our shores. This confirms Doha as a truly global sports hub and demonstrates the QTTA’s commitment to establishing WTT,” said Khalil al-Mohannadi, the President of the Qatar Table Tennis Association (QTTA) and ITTF Deputy President.
Read also: 2021 GCC Aquatics Championships to be hosted in Qatar
As expected, the tournament will provide protection against the novel coronavirus by implementing strict precautionary measures and proper travel schedule for players.
Winners will claim prize money funded and paid to players exclusively by WTT. The prize pool of the two events combined is estimated to be $600,000.
“We realise it will be another impacted year in 2021 with a limited number of events, however the additional prize money for Doha shows we will deliver on our promise and proves how we at the ITTF and WTT are motivated to grow prize money for our most important stakeholder in our sport – the athletes,” stated Steve Dainton, WTT Director and ITTF CEO.
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