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China, Korea, Japan, India, Cuba and Russia top International Field
(San Francisco) August 8, 2007: Officials with the Bay Area Sports Organizing Committee (BASOC), International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), and U.S. Table Tennis Association (USTTA) announced today the teams and players that will compete at the World Junior Table Tennis Championships (WJTTC) at Stanford University, December 8 - 15. This is the first time the event will be held in the United States, with the best boys and girls age 18 and under competing for a total of seven world titles.
"We're very pleased to be able to announce the teams and players coming here in December," said BASOC President & CEO Anne Warner Cribbs. "We guarantee they will find an outstanding venue in Stanford to compete, and for spectators we say plan on being truly amazed at the skill and excitement you're going to witness in this World Championship."
Sixteen girl's teams and sixteen boy's teams, a total of 96 girls and 96 boys, will play for world titles in Singles, Doubles, Mixed Doubles and Boy's and Girl's Teams categories. The most recent WJTTC was held in Cairo, Egypt.
ITTF President Adham Sharara said, "We are looking forward to the first Table Tennis World Championship ever in the United States. The 192 boys and girls coming to Stanford have competed for years to play in this event. They are incredible athletes who will represent our sport, themselves and their countries with distinction."
As host country, the United States automatically fields a team. Players expected for the U.S. are girls; Judy Hugh, Olena Sowers, Stephanie Shih, Atha Fong, Ariel Hsing and Lily Zhang. The boy's team may include: Joe Cochran, Steven Chan, John Leach, Justen Yao, Marcus Jackson and A.J. Brewer.
"The U.S. Table Tennis Association is honored and proud to be working with our International Federation, BASOC and Stanford University in hosting this tournament for the first time in our country. The popularity of the sport in the United States is growing and the caliber of our play is increasing. We're confident that our Juniors will continue to improve and eventually compete at the highest levels of the game," said Teodor Gheorghe, Executive Director, USA Table Tennis.
Teams and players will participate in the WJTTC from Algeria, Russia, Germany, Slovakia, Egypt, England, Latvia, Serbia, Canada, Turkey, Ukraine, Portugal, Australia, Czech Rep, Hungary, Indonesia, Brazil, USA, Belgium, Greece, Cuba, France, Hong Kong, Switzerland, China, New Zealand, India, Croatia, Chinese Taipei, Colombia, Sweden, Japan, Romania, Denmark, Korea Rep, Poland, and Singapore.
The WJTTC will take place at Stanford University starting on Sunday, December 8th to Saturday, December 15th, utilizing Roscoe Maples Pavilion. Bloc and single game tickets are priced from $10 to $100 and are available by calling 415.946.8730 and/or through the WJTTC website www.2007wjttc.org
** The San Francisco Bay Area Sports Organizing Committee (BASOC) was established in 1987 to bid for the 1996 Olympic Games. Since then, BASOC has successfully bid for and helped stage several major international events including the 1992 World Figure Skating Championships, 1994 World Cup, 1999 Women's World Cup, 2005 Hardball Roller Hockey World Championship and the 2006 FINA Masters World Championships. BASOC earned the "silver medal" in the 2012 domestic bid competition for the Olympic Games. BASOC will host the National Senior Games, with 15,000 athletes aged 50 and over, in the summer of 2009.
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