Table Tennis

Nguyễn Khoa Diệu Khánh (left) defeats veteran Mai Hoàng Mỹ Trang to win the women's singles gold medal at the National Table Tennis Championship 2022. — Photos nhandan.vn

HÀ NỘI — The 2023 National Table Tennis Championship promises a competitive tournament as all the strongest athletes have registered to compete.

The 41st edition by Nhân Dân newspaper, also known as the Petrovietnam Cup, will be organised from July 3-9 at the Đại Yên Gymnasium in Quảng Ninh Province.

It will feature 152 competitors, including all 32nd SEA Games participants, from strong table tennis teams nationwide such as Hà Nội, Hà Nội T&T, Military, HCM City and Hải Dương. They will compete in seven categories for men's and women's singles, doubles and teams, and mixed doubles.

Among the notable players are former SEA Games winner Nguyễn Đức Tuân, SEA Games bronze medallist Nguyễn Anh Tú and SEA Games defending champions Đinh Anh Hoàng and Trần Mai Ngọc.

Seedings and drawings will be based on athletes' results from last year's championship.

In addition to medals for the top three players, organisers will also present awards to the best young male and female athletes, one for the hosts of the tournament and one for the city and province with strong table tennis development.

Medals and trophies will be given to high-ranking competitors and teams along with a purse of VNĐ350 million (US$14,900) in which the singles winner will walk away with VNĐ30 million while the winning team will receive VNĐ50 million.

Vũ Quang Hiền secures the men's singles title after his final rival Nguyễn Đức Tuân withdraw due to injury.

"The championship is the highest-level tournament in the nation. Nhân Dân newspaper is proud to be a partner with the Việt Nam Table Tennis Federation to organise such a prestigious event for the last 41 years," said Quế Đình Nguyên, deputy head of the organising committee.

"The championship is held at a time of strong table tennis development in the country. Athletes won remarkable achievements at the 32nd SEA Games. We brought home a mixed doubles gold medal after 26 years of waiting. Our young players defeated powerful rivals at the continental level. It was the fourth SEA Games in a row that Việt Nam secured gold.

"After young players' outstanding results last year and their great performance at the 32nd SEA Games, we believe that this year's competition with many new faces will promise surprises. We expect interesting overthrows from the youngsters," he said.

He added that the participation of new teams such as BTS Quảng Ninh, Hải Phòng and HCM City Police along with two teams each from Hà Nội and HCM City proved the growing momentum of table tennis as a sport around the country.

The championship will be a key base for the Việt Nam Sports Administration and the federation to pick athletes for the national teams to compete in international tournaments later this year.

As usual, organisers will hold a vote for Miss Table Tennis with the ballots coming from the organising board, teams' representatives, referees and reporters.

This year, a photo contest entitled "Beautiful Moments of the 41st Nhân Dân newspaper National Championship" will be held for all people with valuable prizes.

Organisers will also conduct charitable activities delivering gifts to local communities.

The championship will be broadcast live on Nhân Dân TV and Quảng Ninh Television.

Information, results, images and video clips will be updated on the tournament's fanpage. — VNS