Saturday 15 / November / 2025
MUSCAT: The global table tennis spotlight turns to Muscat as Oman hosts its first-ever WTT Star Contender, a major milestone that elevates the nation’s fast-growing reputation on the world sporting stage.
Beginning Monday, more than 300 elite athletes will converge at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex (SQSC) for six days of top-tier competition, marking one of the largest WTT Star Contender events on this year’s calendar.
The championship, organised by the Oman Table Tennis Association (OTTA) in partnership with World Table Tennis (WTT), will take place across both main halls of the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Bausher and continues until Saturday.
The event builds on Oman’s strong track record of hosting several successful editions of the WTT Contender tournaments in recent years.
Leading the list of world-class athletes arriving in Muscat is World No.5 Felix Lebrun of France, one of the sport’s most exciting young stars.
Lebrun is scheduled to arrive on Monday and headlines a powerful men’s singles field that includes Slovenia’s Darko Jorgic, Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yun-Ju, France’s Alexis Lebrun, and Germany’s Dang Qiu.
The women’s draw promises equally thrilling competition, featuring Japan’s Satsuki Odo and Hina Hayata, Romania’s Bernadette Szocs, Japan’s Miyu Nagasaki, and Chinese Taipei’s Cheng I-Ching.
Pre-qualification rounds will be played on Monday and Tuesday, with the main draw kicking off on Wednesday.
This year’s edition welcomes athletes from 32 countries, reflecting the event’s global stature and Oman’s rising credibility as a world-class host. Participating nations include China, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Chinese Taipei, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, England, France, Germany, India, Iran, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Luxembourg, Nigeria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, Wales, Yemen, and hosts Oman.
Competitions will take place across five categories - men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles—with a total prize purse of US$300,000.
Oman’s national squad will also compete, and comprise Muhannad al Balushi, Ahmed al Riyami, Ghassan al Ghassani, Luqman al Farsi, and Bilal al Rashdi. Their participation provides valuable competitive exposure and opportunities for development and ranking progression on the international stage.
Tournament director Sajjad al Lawati emphasised that preparations have surpassed all required standards, noting that integrating two halls with advanced broadcasting systems was among the event’s most complex technical challenges.
He expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth for its continuous support, affirming that the championship is fully prepared to deliver a world-class experience befitting Oman’s growing reputation as a premier host of global sports events.
