S. Korea to bid for individual table tennis world championships after successful team event

BUSAN, Buoyed by the success of the first world table tennis championships on its own soil, South Korea will make a push to host another one in the future, the country's ping pong chief said Saturday. Ryu Seung-min, head of the Korea Table Tennis Association, made the remark on the eve of the final day at the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Team Table Tennis Championships in Busan. Ryu served as a co-head of the organizing committee, along with Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon. The competition opened in the southeastern port city on Feb. 16, some four years after Busan had been originally scheduled to host it. The 2020 event was rescheduled multiple times and then canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. South Korea then won the bid for the 2024 event three years ago, and Ryu, the 2004 Olympic men's singles gold medalist, called the long-awaited event a resounding success that demonstrated the power of South Korean table tennis. "Based on our attendance numbers through yesterday, we should be able to exceed the gate revenue target by over 90 percent," Ryu said at his wrap-up press conference. "Matches were streamed live online and generated a great deal of interest. This tournament also was a boon to the economy in the city of Busan during what's normally a slow month for tourism." The ITTF holds team championships in even-numbered years, and the individual championships take place in odd-numbered years. Doha will be the stage for the 2025 individual competition, followed by London for the 2026 team event. Ryu said Busan ran the competition so well that officials from Doha and London asked to share the South Korean city's operational guidelines. Kim Taek-soo, secretary-general of the organizing committee and two-time Olympic bronze medalist, spoke of the challenges of hosting a sporting event at a venue not built for sports. Special courts, plus training tables, were set up inside the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center. "Having this competition here was the most difficult part of our opera tions, but we more than made up for that with great facilities all around," Kim said. "I think we made a strong impression on everyone here." Hyun Jung-hwa, executive director of the committee and 1988 Olympic women's doubles champion, thanked the city of Busan for being a good host. "The city and our sponsors have said the tournament played out even better than they'd expected," Hyun said. "We couldn't have enjoyed such success without their dedication." Ryu, also a member of the International Olympic Committee, said there is more than enough impetus for South Korea to put together a bid for the individual worlds down the road. "Since we were hosting a world championship for the first time, we had doubts ourselves as to how well we could run it. And I think we proved our worth as the event progressed," Ryu said. "And I've become convinced that, by hosting the individual world championships at the earliest date possible, we can further spread the value of table tennis. And I would also like to give our fa ns another opportunity to enjoy a world championship at home. "We don't know exactly when and where we'd like to have the competition next," Ryu continued. "But we will leave all possibilities open as we prepare for our bid." Source: Yonhap News Agency