China to Take Part in N. American Teams Table Tennis ChampionshipBaltimore will play hosts to the North American Teams Table Tennis Championships for the third consecutive year over the Thanksgiving weekend.From November 24 to 26, a total of 187 teams will vie for the coveted title slated on Sunday, as the tournament is the only international team event held in America for an essentially individual sport, said tournament president Richard Lee. "In 1998, we had nothing but compliments from the players, coaches and international officials who attended," said Lee, "And the USATT (USA Table Tennis) confirmed a four year sanction for the tournament due to the overwhelming satisfaction players expressed for both the tournament organizers and the choice of site." Among the outstanding players in the competition are US men's and women's champions Cheng Yinghua and Gao Jun, and former world's doubles champion Chen Longcan, also a former member of the Chinese national team. Teams from China, Germany, Hungary, Mexico, Canada and Pakistan will be competing in the largest Table Tennis tournament in North America, sanctioned by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) and USATT. In the last two editions, teams from Sichuan province of China returned home with the titles. |
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