Nine delegations representing Vietnam and other Asian countries will compete in the 21st Golden Racket International Table tennis tournament for M-Kitech 2007 Cup scheduled for Ho Chi Minh City from July 18-22.

As one of the most reputable sport tournaments in Vietnam, the Golden Racket table tennis tournament draws 99 players, including 43 women, from China, India, the Republic of Korea (RoK), Thailand, Singapore and host Vietnam.

The organizing board told at a press briefing on July 13 that India and Thailand brought the best teams to this year’s tournament, including India’s male player Sharath Kamal of 73rd world ranking, Thailand’s female players Nanthana Komwong and Anisara Muangsuk of 91st and 130th world ranking, respectively.

The strongest candidates are still from Singapore, the RoK and China. The RoK is considered the leading candidate in the men’s group with the appearance of Yoon Jae Young (72nd world ranking), Lee Jung Sam (110th) and Jo Ji Hoon (134th).

Host Vietnam places high hopes on the men’s players of the national team, including Doan Kien Quoc, Tran Tuan Quynh and Nguyen Nam Hai.

To encourage Vietnamese table tennis players, sponsor M-Kitech announced individual prizes of VND50 million, VND30 million and VND20 million for gold, silver and bronze medalists, respectively, while the champion team also receive VND9 million in cash.

Source: VOV