Opening of the 2023 Vietnam Journalists Association Cup Table Tennis Tournament

On December 13, the 16th Vietnam Journalists Association Cup Table Tennis Tournament 2023 opened at Trinh Hoai Duc Gymnasium, Hanoi.

Overview of the opening ceremony of the Vietnam Journalists Association Cup Table Tennis Tournament 2023. (Photo: MH)

The tournament was organized by the Vietnam Journalists Association in coordination with the Hanoi People's Committee, in response to the Campaign "All people exercise following the example of great Uncle Ho".

Attending the opening ceremony were: Mr. Le Quoc Minh, member of the Party Central Committee, Editor-in-Chief of Nhan Dan Newspaper, Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda Department, President of the Vietnam Journalists Association; Mr. Nguyen Duc Loi, former member of the Party Central Committee, Permanent Vice President of the Vietnam Journalists Association, Head of the Organizing Committee of the Tournament; Ms. Le Thi Hoang Yen, Deputy Director of the Department of Physical Training and Sports, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism; Mr. Pham Anh Tuan, General Secretary of the Vietnam Table Tennis Federation; Mr. Pham Tuan Tai, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism; Mr. To Quang Phan, President of the Hanoi Journalists Association, along with representatives of central and local newspapers and radio stations and athletes.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Permanent Vice President of the Vietnam Journalists Association Nguyen Duc Loi emphasized: “For a long time, the Award has become an important event for journalists nationwide, receiving the attention, active response and participation of members - journalists. This is truly a useful playground through which spiritual strength, solidarity, professionalism are created, contributing to improving the quality of the Association's activities.

The tournament is not only an opportunity for members and journalists to compete, but also an opportunity to arouse passion for sports, improve health, and motivate journalists to love their profession more, strive to fulfill well the political tasks and responsibilities of journalism to society."

Permanent Vice President of the Vietnam Journalists Association Nguyen Duc Loi speaks at the ceremony. (Photo: MH)

The 16th Vietnam Journalists Association Cup Table Tennis Tournament in 2023 will be organized with 14 events: Men's team; women's team; men's singles from 45 years old and above; men's singles under 45 years old; women's singles from 45 years old and above; women's singles under 45 years old; men's singles with leaders and women's singles with leaders; men's doubles; women's doubles; mixed doubles from 45 years old and above; mixed doubles under 45 years old; men's doubles with leaders and women's doubles with leaders.

This year’s event attracted 190 players from 40 press agencies to register. To ensure fairness in the competition, the Organizing Committee stipulated that players who had achieved the level of Grandmaster or National Level I from 2018 and earlier could only participate in the team competition, and from 2018 onwards were not allowed to participate.

This year's tournament format for teams is Swaythling 5 singles (AX, BY, CZ, AY, BX). Doubles and singles events are 5 games to 3.

The Organizing Committee will award trophies, flags, medals, and cash prizes to the first, second, and third place teams and individuals in each category. The total prize money is worth 119 million VND.

On the Opening Day, the teams entered the competition. (Photo MH)

Also at the Opening Ceremony, Captain of the People's Army Newspaper Table Tennis Team Trinh Viet Cuong shared: "This year, the team has 8 athletes participating in the tournament. This is a useful playground to help journalists both work professionally and improve their health, and is an opportunity to exchange and learn from colleagues. I see that the tournament is increasingly improving in terms of professional quality and facilities. Compared to previous events, at this event, the competition tables and courts are newer, meeting national standards."

On the opening day, the teams competed in the events they had registered for. The tournament lasted until December 15.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/khai-mac-giai-bong-ban-cup-hoi-nha-bao-viet-nam-2023-253640.html