Bhubaneswar, Odisha is all set to welcome the finest table tennis talent from across Asia as it hosts the 28th IITF-ATTU Asian Table Tennis Team Championships at the Athletics Centre of Kalinga Stadium starting this Saturday. This prestigious tournament marks the return of the Asian Team Championships to India after a gap of 16 years and is also the largest international table tennis event ever organized in Odisha. The five-day championship is being jointly organized by the International Table Tennis Federation, the Asian Table Tennis Union, the Table Tennis Federation of India, the Odisha Table Tennis Association, and the Odisha government’s Sports and Youth Services Department. Around 500 players and support staff from across the continent are expected to compete for top honors in both men’s and women’s categories, showcasing world-class table tennis talent and thrilling matches for spectators.

Apart from the host nation India, 21 other countries will participate in the championship, including China, Japan, Republic of Korea, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Singapore, Macau, Bangladesh, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, Oman, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Uzbekistan. The top teams from this championship will qualify for the ITTF World Table Tennis Team Championships scheduled to be held in London next year, adding greater significance and competition to the event. The Indian contingent features a strong lineup with Sreeja Akula, Manika Batra, Diya Chitale, Yashaswini Ghorpade, and Swastika Ghosh representing the women’s team, while Ankur Bhattacharya, Payas Jain, Manush Shah, Snehit Suravajjula, and Manav Thakkar make up the men’s team. Their participation reflects India’s growing strength in international table tennis and the efforts to promote world-class talent from the country.

State Sports Minister Suryabanshi Suraj expressed pride and optimism ahead of the championships, saying that for the first time, Odisha is hosting the prestigious Asian Table Tennis Team Championships while simultaneously organizing a national event, the 40th Junior Nationals, at the same venue. He highlighted that conducting two major events at the same time would strengthen the state’s capacity to manage large-scale sporting events efficiently and enhance the experience of the organizing team both physically and administratively. In the lead-up to the championship, organizers undertook several promotional activities including the trophy unveiling on October 6, followed by a trophy tour across colleges, shopping malls, and other key locations in Bhubaneswar, generating significant excitement among sports enthusiasts. Tickets for the event are available online through BookMyShow, allowing fans to secure their seats for this international sporting spectacle.