ITTF AGM opens

The Annual General Meeting of International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) started at the Suzhou International Expo Centre here on Tuesday.

The important issues on the agenda for the meeting are discussions on upcoming competitions and the final presentation of Dusseldorf's bid to host the 2017 World Championships, reports Xinhua.

The meeting opened with remarks by ITTF president Thomas Weikert who congratulated the Chinese organisers of the ongoing World Championships here for providing "fantastic conditions for table tennis" and expressed his condolences for the people of Nepal.

"Our hearts are with our friends from Nepal because of this devastating earthquake. I spoke with the coach of the team of Nepal and again, there is full support from the ITTF to our friends in Nepal. We are hoping all is getting better and there are no more deaths in Nepal," said the German.

Merit awards were presented to the Chinese Table Tennis Association, host city representatives, and the organisers of other ITTF events over the past year.

ITTF federation members then heard presentations from future events -- the 2016 World Team Championships to be held in Kuala Lumpur, and competitions of the 2016 Olympics and Paralympics.

The German Table Tennis Association made their final bid presentation for hosting the 2017 World Championships in Dusseldorf. If the bid is successful, the event will be held from May 29 to June 5 in 2017. The competition will be staged in two halls with a total of 32 courts.

The final decision will be announced after the conclusion of the AGM.