Here is all you need to know about WTT Star Contender Goa 2023 and its schedule
India will host its first World Table Tennis (WTT) series competition in Panaji, the capital of Goa and here are all the details one requires. India has never hosted a World Table Tennis Series event before.
WTT Star Contender Goa 2023 schedule, date, venue, players list and tickets price
A galaxy of the world’s finest table tennis players will converge on India for the World Table Tennis (WTT) Star Contender Goa, including table tennis legend and current Olympic champion Ma Long and current women’s Olympic champion Chen Meng, both from China.
The competition will also have a supporting partner in the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI), which is the governing body of the sport in India. The tickets which start at Rs.49 can be bought from BookMyShow.
WTT Star Contender Goa 2023: Players to eye for
Men’s category
The two-time Olympic champion Ma, 34, is largely regarded as the best player to have ever played the game. He will face off against his fellow countryman and competitor Fan Zhendong, the current world champion and No. 1.
The legendary Indian TT players Sharath Kamal and Sathiyan Gnansekaran will also compete.
World No. 4 Tomakazu Harimoto of Japan, World No. 6 Truls Moregard of Sweden, World No. 8 Lin Yun-Ju of Chinese Taipei, and World No. 9 Darko Jorgic of Slovenia are among the top men’s players who will be seen in action.
Women’s category
In the women’s division, in addition to Chen, her nation’s No. 1 player in the world Sun Yingsha, the No. 5 player in the world Hina Hayata of Japan, the No. 8 player in the world Kasumi Ishikawa of Japan, the No. 9 player Doo Hoi Kem of Hong Kong, China, and the No. 10 player in the world Ying Han of Germany have all confirmed their participation.
Manika Batra, the number one player in India and the 34th-ranked player in the world, will also attempt to challenge them on home soil.
WTT Star Contender Goa 2023 format, groups
The WTT Series is a calendar of official, professional table tennis competitions where the greatest players in the world compete. The top-tier competitions in the WTT Series are four Grand Smashes, which are comparable to tennis Grand Slams.
The other three WTT Series tournament tiers are Cup Finals, Champion Series, and Contender Series.
The Contender Series is further subdivided into two groups: 14 lower-tier WTT Contender tournaments and six top-tier WTT Star Contender events.
48 men and women compete in their individual singles main draws at the six Star Contender tournaments. The top 30 players in the world are allowed to compete, and four of them must be in the top 20.
Men’s and women’s doubles main draw each consist of 16 teams, and the mixed doubles main draw has eight teams.
While the host countries are also given enough wild-card spots in both the singles and doubles divisions, eight qualifiers in each of the singles and doubles categories also get to advance to the main event.
When and where the WTT Star Contender Goa 2023 will be held?
The Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium, part of the Goa University campus in the southern Taleigao neighbourhood, will host the WTT Star Contender Goa 2023 competition from February 27 to March 5.
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