Dishang Group has signed on as the title sponsor for next month’s 2020 International Table Tennis Federation Men’s and Women’s World Cups. It is one of China’s largest manufacturers and exporters of apparel and textiles.
Shandong Province is set to host the global table tennis events. Dishang also has its headquarters in the same city. The women’s World Cup takes place on November 8-10, while the men’s tournament is scheduled during November 13-15.
Both events will be held at the newly opened, 4,000-capacity Weihai Nanhai Olympic Center. It also hosted the 2020 China National Table Tennis Championships in October.
The ITTF tournaments are part of the federation’s Restart series, marking the return of international table tennis after months of suspended activity due to the Covid-19 pandemic. China was announced as the host for the ITTF’s major events in September. The men’s and women’s World Cups have been relocated to China from Germany and Thailand, respectively.
The ITTF World Cups are amongst the most prestigious annual international table tennis events, featuring the best players. It also begins the countdown toward the Grand Slam.
Kimberly Koh, ITTF head of partnerships, said, “Dishang Group is a global leader in their field, who have shown excellence in what they do, as well as a great enthusiasm for staging the upcoming ITTF World Cup. Therefore, we are very pleased to have them on board for this exciting and highly significant return of international table tennis events.”
Zhu Lihua, Chairman of Dishang Group, said, “We are very proud to work hand in hand with the ITTF to contribute to the development of table tennis. I sincerely wish this event a complete success. Hopefully, the World Cups will give courage to everyone around the world to combat the pandemic and increase confidence in restoring economic growth, and encourage them to pursue a better life.”