Photo: ULTM

Havana, January 7 (RHC/JIT)-- Cuba is preparing to host the 62nd edition of the Caribbean Table Tennis Championship from March 3 to 8, a competition in which qualifiers for other important events in the continent will be distributed.

The announcement of the event already appears on the digital site of the Latin American Union (ULTM) and the president of the Cuban federation, Bárbaro Oliva, confirmed to JIT that they are working from now on to achieve the best possible organization.

The event summons all the countries of the Caribbean region to compete in the team, singles and doubles modalities in each gender, as well as in the mixed doubles.

Oliva ratified that the event will grant a ticket to attend the Pan American Championship next October and the World Individual Championship in 2023.

In addition, it will be a good opportunity for the hosts to present more players and get points in the world ranking.

"We are also going to premiere all the equipment we received as a donation and have not been able to use because of the pandemic," said the director, referring to the material support given to Cuba by the International Federation (ITTF) in recent years.

"That includes 18 tables, a thousand square meters of synthetic floor, show fences, referee tables, screens for the scores... everything of first level and that will allow us to make an event at the same rank of the rest of the world," assured Oliva, who also advanced that the actions of the contest will take place in the facilities of Pabexpo, in the capital.

The tournament was initially scheduled for 2020, was then moved to 2021 and due to the permanence of the pandemic had to be postponed for the second time.

"We are very attentive to the current situation and we hope that there is no need to change what is planned now," commented the Cuban federator.

Regarding the possible assistants, he confirmed Daniela Fonseca, since the plan is for her to join her club in Germany once her participation in the event is over. Others with commitments away from home, such as Moisés Campos, Andy Pereira and Liván Martínez, are also called up.

"We will field a first team with all our main players and we will make eliminations to include youth players and also give them a chance to practice," Oliva added regarding the participation strategy for the hosts.

As usual, the representatives of Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic should be the most demanding rivals for the Cubans, without discounting some individuals from other Caribbean islands, especially Guyana.