Table tennis 

The Nhân Dân (People) Newspaper National Table Tennis Championships started with matches in the men's and women's team events on May 19 in Đà Nẵng. Photo of courtesy of the organisers

ĐÀ NẴNG — The Nhân Dân (People) Newspaper National Table Tennis Championships officially began on May 19 in Đà Nẵng with a record number of participants.

More than 200 athletes from 22 teams are taking part in the annual tournament at the Tiên Sơn Sports Complex.

Among the competing teams, Hà Nội, Hải Dương, HCM City, Khánh Hòa, Military and People's Police T&T are national powerhouses.

"This year's tournament promises high professional quality and thrilling competition, because it features all the best national players who have just undergone long training and competition abroad, along with young athletes who have just achieved high results at the 2025 Southeast Asian Youth Championship," said Lê Quốc Minh, editor-in-chief of the newspaper and member of the organising board.

"The tournament also has several new teams participating, showing the increasingly widespread popularity of table tennis in Việt Nam. The rapid rise of young competitors and the improvement of famous athletes are expected to bring new surprises and changes to our tournament."

The men's and women's teams are the first categories to play. Last year, Hà Nội won the men’s title, while HCM City took the women’s gold.

Teams are divided in four groups of three and four groups of four on the men's side and eight teams of three for the women's side. They compete in a round robin format, with the 16 strongest advancing to the knockout stage.

The finals will be held on May 22.

Doubles and singles events will follow, with gold medal matches on May 23 and 25, respectively.

High-ranking players will walk away with prizes of up to VNĐ500 million (US$19,300). VNS