BUSAN, South Korea, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- As it marks the first time that South Korea has hosted the World Table Tennis Championships, the chief of the sport's governing body, local organizers and host paddlers have been anticipating the kick-off of the team worlds in Busan.
"I am extremely excited about the next 10 days. Not only we are about to witness the supreme talent and dedication of our players on the grandest stage of them all, but we are on the eve of a historic World Championships," ITTF president Petra Sorling told a press conference here on Thursday.
The ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals will be held from February 16-25.
The ITTF chief said she had witnessed the growing fervor for table tennis in South Korea, as "it was here, almost four decades ago, that table tennis was welcomed onto the Olympic program, changing the course of our sport until now and hopefully for many more years to come."
"This event has the power to inspire. It is more than just a competition; it symbolizes unity and the collective celebration of our shared love for table tennis," commented Sorling, also an IOC member.
Busan had initially been scheduled to host the 2020 table tennis team worlds, but the event was postponed several times before eventually being canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ryu Seung-min, co-chair of the Busan 2024 organizing committee, said he felt upbeat about the tournament's preparations over a longer period.
"Usually for the World Championships like this, it takes two or three years to prepare, but for us, we have six years, which means this adds to my confidence," said Ryu, who clinched the men's singles gold medal at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.
"I walked from my hotel to this venue, and I was able to check all the promotional banners on the street. Now we have a lot of athletes in the venue and I have chances to talk with them. They told me that they are very satisfied with the restaurants, hotels, as well as the arena and practice hall. This has also added to my confidence.
"I'm not complacent, and I still carry the sense of nervousness because we are going to start tomorrow, but we will make sure that it will become successful," Ryu remarked.
There are up to eight Olympic quota spots in each respective team competition at Paris 2024 at stake, and these will go to teams who reach the quarterfinals in Busan that have not previously won quota berths.
Also present at the press conference was Shin Yu-bin, the eighth-ranked South Korean female player, who underlined the collective efforts in achieving the goal in a team event.
"This is a team match, so everyone should do well," said Shin, the current highest-ranked South Korean player in the singles world rankings. "We need to go through the group stage and then proceed to the next round in order to get the tickets to the Olympic Games. When we do well together as a team, I believe that we can have a good result."
Ryu revealed that the tickets for the finals have been sold out, adding that organizers have achieved 70% of their ticket sales target by this time.
In addition to a highly-anticipated event, its legacy has already been in the organizers' mind.
"The passion for table tennis in Busan is the best," commented Ryu. "With this World Championships being held in Busan, we have a plan to support young table tennis players. Because of this plan, we really need the success of this game."
"We will also continue to have a very close conversation and communication with head of Busan education agency to foster more young players. After this event, we will ensure that people who love to play table tennis as a daily sport can get support too. I hope we will make some efforts so that this event can continue to be remembered as a great games," he explained.
"I'm very sure here as we have already heard on the ticket sales for the final days and activation program with the event ongoing, there will be a legacy after this event and everybody will dream and think about table tennis after having seen this around the city but also here in the venue," concluded Sorling. ■
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