Hosting the ITTF World Cup shows ‘trust’ in Macau, ID president says

The soon-to-be-hosted International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Singles World Cup “shows the trust that international sports authorities have in Macau and the local capacity of hosting large-scale international sports events,” the president of the Sports Bureau (ID), Pun Weng Kun said yesterday on the sidelines of the press conference that launched the event.

Speaking to the media, Pun noted that it is very flattering that a world federation like ITTF trusts Macau for hosting such an important global event; at the same time, this recognition, “gives local organizers confidence” to continue to do more and better.

After having hosted for several years the World Table Tennis (WTT) event, Macau is now ready to level up and host one of the most important events in this sport, with the world’s finest table tennis talents converging to Macau in less than one month to compete not only for USD1 million (MOP8.1 million) but, as noted by the ITTF Deputy Secretary General, Mounir Bessah, for the world ranking positioning just before the Olympic Games in Paris this summer.

“As we are in an Olympic year, the performances of the players in the Macao World Cup hold immense weight, directly impacting their world ranking points and, consequently, their standing in the upcoming Paris Olympic Games,” Bessah said during the opening speech at yesterday’s press conference, held at the Galaxy International Conference Center.

The locally hosted event will also have the attraction of being the first time that the Table Tennis World Cup presents its new competition format, which Bessah noted to be a kind of “rebirth” of the ITTF World Cup.

Bessah also noted the attribution to Macau of the honors of hosting this year’s World Cup as a recognition of the city’s recent dedication to the promotion of this sport.

According to ITTF, the decision to resurrect the ITTF World Cup underscores the vision and dedication to revitalizing the sport’s illustrious heritage that is soon (in 2026) reaching its centenary celebrations.

The event will take place over a week from Apr. 15 to 21 and will be hosted at the Galaxy Arena, which besides affording the players and spectators much better conditions will also allow it to cater to a much larger audience than the WTT events hosted at the Tap Seac Multisport Pavilion.