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The first-ever World Table Tennis Championships is coming to Durban in 2023 and to the African continent for the first time since 1939.
The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) on Monday said Durban won 90 votes (69.77%) to beat off competition from the other candidate city, Düsseldorf, Germany, which won 39 votes (30.23%).
Germany has hosted the event on six previous occasions, including twice in the past eight years.
The KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Nomusa Dube-Ncube, has since expressed gratitude to the South African Table Tennis Board (SATTB) for working with the KwaZulu-Natal government, eThekwini municipality and other key role players during the bidding process.
“With Durban being selected as the next host city, we flatter ourselves to believe that this is because South Africa and KwaZulu-Natal, in particular, have in the past proved to be worthy and competent hosts of a number of national, continental and international events of diverse interests,” she said.
Dube-Ncube said the province is overwhelmed by the enthusiastic response and interest that has been shown by the sport-loving community from across the
