The 2023 Seoul Geumcheon Open Asia Youth Table Tennis Championships, a two-day event for table tennis aspirants from Korea, China, Japan and South Korea, will be held at the Doksango Table Tennis Center in Geumcheon, Seoul, starting today.A total of 108 “little players” from Korea, China, and Japan, ranging in age from 6-year-old kindergarteners to 4th graders, will compete in team and individual events.The winning players will receive certificates and table tennis equipment, and their coaches will receive a small cash prize.The tournament is organized by the KUMITANARA Table Tennis Support Group, a voluntary group of table tennis enthusiasts based in Geumcheon-gu. The KUMITANARA Table Tennis Support Group started in 2009 when a group of table tennis enthusiasts who enjoyed playing table tennis in elementary school sponsored young players.

As the players grew, it led to the establishment of a middle school team (Moonseong Middle School – 2010), a high school team (Doksan High School – 2013), and an unemployed team (Geumcheon-gu Office – 2017).The Geumbitnara Table Tennis Foundation successfully held the ‘Geumbitnara Children’s Table Tennis Tournament’ last year, and this time, it will hold the second tournament in an international format.According to the sponsor, about 40 million won was spent on the tournament, which was raised by table tennis enthusiasts in Geumcheon, ranging from 50,000 won to 500,000 won.Choo Gyo-sung, head of the tournament’s organizing committee, said, “Geumcheon-gu is taking the lead in spreading grassroots table tennis culture like never before. As this is a small but 스포츠토토존 meaningful tournament, we ask for your interest and support so that it can grow further.”