18th August, 2015
The International Table Tennis Federation, ITTF, has announced that the 2015 ITTF Star Awards will take place in Lisbon, Portugal on 9 December.
The 2015 ITTF Star Awards is the third edition of the annual year-ending table tennis awards, and it promises to build on the immense success of the two previous editions.
Nigerian table tennis icon, Haruna Quadri, won the ITTF Star Award for 2014 during an elaborate ceremony held at the Armani Hotel, Dubai, UAE.
Quadri won the award as he beat world number one, China’s Xu Xin, his compatriot, Fan Zhendong, and Portugal’s Marcos Freitas.
The 2015 ITTF Star Awards will be held prior to the GAC Group 2015 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals, and will recognize and celebrate the stars of table tennis, the players and coaches.
The evening of glitz and glamour will take place in the centre of Lisbon in the historic Patio de Gale, Lisbon, as the table tennis stars dress up in their finest to attend.
ITTF Marketing Director Steve Dainton stated: “The ITTF Star Awards has grown into a yearly event with great stature and an important date on the calendar for all of the world’s top table tennis players. This year, we head to the beautiful city of Lisbon, in conjunction with the World Tour Grand Finals, to recognize the stars of our sport for what will be a classical and elegant evening!”
Portuguese interest in table tennis is at an all time high, on the back of their national team’s gold medal feats at the TMS 2014 European Team Table Tennis Championships and the 2015 European Games.
A record of eight ITTF Star Awards will be handed out in Lisbon, with the ITTF Star Breakthrough being the new addition in Lisbon.
The full list of eight ITTF Star Awards that will be on offer in Lisbon are Male Table Tennis Star, Female Table Tennis Star presented by Nittaku, Para Male Table Tennis Star presented by Tinsue and Para Female Table Tennis Star presented by Stag International.
Others are Table Tennis Star Point presented by DHS, Table Tennis Star Coach presented by Butterfly, Table Tennis Breakthrough Star and Fair Play Star.
The ITTF says nominees for the awards will be announced shortly.