Hai Duong is ready for the Con Son Cup International Table Tennis Tournament

Trust from experience in organizing SEA Games 31

In 2022, Hai Duong is one of 12 provinces and cities assigned by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as the venue for the competition. As a locality with a strong tradition and movement, Hai Duong is trusted to successfully organize table tennis. At the 31st SEA Games, in addition to host Vietnam, there are also teams: Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Laos, Cambodia; the Indonesian team announced their withdrawal at the last minute.

Despite the large number of athletes, sports officials, and spectators and the event lasting many days, Hai Duong successfully organized table tennis in many aspects, especially in terms of expertise, investment in facilities, reception, etc.

With that experience, Hai Duong Table Tennis Federation is confident that it will successfully organize the Con Son Cup International Table Tennis Tournament in 2024 even though the number of domestic and international athletes is larger than the 31st SEA Games.

Hai Duong Sports Gymnasium was once again chosen as the venue for this tournament. This is a unit with experience in successfully organizing many national and international sports tournaments. The facilities of Hai Duong Sports Gymnasium are currently of good quality. The electrical, sound and lighting systems ensure the standards for organizing table tennis. The gymnasium has a large and experienced service team.

Mr. Nguyen Van Tu, Vice President of Hai Duong Table Tennis Federation, in charge of facilities and decorations of the tournament, said that the members of the Organizing Committee are experienced in organizing table tennis tournaments, and the national referee team runs the tournament.

At this year's tournament, Double Fish Sports Company confirmed that it will provide European standard table tennis tables, similar to those used at the recent 2024 Paris Olympics. In addition, the company also provides all stadium carpets and European standard zing (ball blocking equipment). "The Organizing Committee is rushing to complete the reception and decoration stages of the stadium area and some main streets," said Mr. Tu.

According to the Organizing Committee, the opening ceremony of this year's tournament is scheduled to take place at 8:00 p.m. on September 8 (Sunday). Therefore, it is expected that there will be a large number of spectators coming to watch and cheer. The opening program is expected to be short as a message from the Organizing Committee to domestic and international friends about the image, products, land, people, relics, landscapes, and potential for economic and social development of the heroic and cultural land of the East.

By September 4, the preparation of professional equipment, checking of documents, personnel, professional meeting locations, drawing lots for competition schedules, press areas... were basically completed. It is expected that on September 6, the first delegations of athletes and officials will arrive in Hai Duong.

Affirming Hai Duong table tennis brand

At the first Con Son Cup International Table Tennis Tournament in 2023, against very strong Chinese players and strong domestic players, the two table tennis teams Hai Duong 1 and Hai Duong 2 did not compete as expected. In this year's tournament, the professional quality is even much higher, due to the appearance of more international teams. In addition to the 8 localities and industries with the strongest table tennis movement in the country today, including: host Hai Duong, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Army, People's Public Security T&T, Da Nang, Khanh Hoa and Dong Nai, there are currently 4 international delegations confirmed to participate in the tournament: Guangxi, Taiwan (China), Thailand and Singapore. All 4 international delegations are currently considered extremely strong, especially the Chinese delegations. In addition, most of the Singaporean players have also naturalized as Chinese, while the male and female athletes of Thailand have been the strongest and second strongest teams in Southeast Asia for many years.

Although the achievements of Hai Duong teams in this year's tournament may be very difficult, the focus on the Con Son Cup International Table Tennis Tournament once again shows that Hai Duong is always a locality that pays great attention to investing in table tennis. At the same time, the tournament also affirms that Hai Duong always welcomes domestic and international friends with the most hospitable spirit.

During the tournament, the Organizing Committee will arrange transportation for domestic and international athletes to participate in tours to visit historical sites, scenic spots, and tourist attractions in Hai Duong. The Organizing Committee has also arranged for volunteers from the Hai Duong Provincial Youth Union to accompany the athletes throughout the tournament.

During their stay in Hai Duong, the athletes will be introduced to stay at hotels with experience in welcoming international delegations and guaranteed facilities such as Nacimex, Asean, Kim Son, Huu Nghi, Lotus, Kim Bao, Truong Thanh...