The first WTT Grand Smash in China, held last week in Beijing, marks a major moment for table tennis, enhancing the sport's global profile following its success at the Paris Olympics, said Steve Dainton, CEO of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Group.
Dainton, CEO of the ITTF Group and director of World Table Tennis (WTT), shared his thoughts on China hosting the World Table Tennis China Smash 2024, its first major table tennis event since the 1961 ITTF World Championships, as well as the sport's growing global popularity, in a recent interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN).
Reflecting on Beijing's significance, Dainton expressed his pride in returning to China's capital, the site of the first ITTF World Championships held in China back in 1961.
"We're very proud and very happy that we could come back to the capital of China, Beijing. As you said, 1961, we had the first ever ITTF world table tennis championships in China, in Beijing. And now we have the first ever WTT grand smash in China also in Beijing. So it's a wonderful moment, a historical moment. And we're very happy to be here in this most important city in this wonderful country," he said.
Dainton also emphasized the symbolic value of hosting the event at Shougang Park, a former steel plant that has been transformed into a cutting-edge venue, linking it to the evolution of the sport itself.
"Shougang is really interesting. It's where the past meets the future. And we can see this old industrial steel factory that's been turned into this wonderful modern place and using a lot of green ideas, modern ideas, innovative ideas. And we think that table tennis is a little bit the same. Table tennis is a very traditional sport, been around for almost a hundred years at the ITTF. And WTT is also trying to be modern and innovative and show the world a different form of table tennis. So combining the two, Shougang and WTT is just been a perfect place," remarked the CEO.
He further highlighted the momentum the sport has gained since the Paris Olympics, noting that interest in table tennis is expanding beyond its traditional fan base.
"When we were in Paris, the Olympic games every four years is a wonderful barometer for us to see where the sport is. And we could really feel in Paris this time not only like what we talked about with the top players from different parts of the world doing well, but also just the fans, the spectators, the wonderful media interest," he said.
He noted the sport's expanding global reach and praised the WTT Grand Smash in China for building on the heightened interest.
"We've seen the ratings after Paris in terms of having excellent results in parts of the world where we would normally not maybe get such big results for the sports, like India, USA, even some countries, Kazakhstan and some very different places that we could see the media results being excellent for our sport. And that gives us a feeling that the sport is on a much higher level. And now when we're here in Beijing and having the Grand Smash, we make sure then after this wonderful result at the Olympics that the attention paid to our sport remains at a very high, high level. And here in Beijing they've done a wonderful job to make sure that is remaining," he continued.
As the premier event on the World Table Tennis circuit, this year's WTT Smash took place from Sept 26 to Oct 6 at Shougang Park, a revitalized industrial park in the city's western suburb that hosted skiing events during the 2022 Olympics.
This is the first time in over six decades that Beijing has hosted a top table tennis event under the ITTF. Champions received 2,000 world ranking points. Beijing has secured the rights to host the WTT China Smash from 2024 to 2028, all set to take place at Shougang Park, making full use of its Winter Olympics legacy.
ITTF CEO highlights table tennis growth as WTT Grand Smash concludes in Beijing
