Ceremony signals start of weeklong table tennis competition ‘It is wonderful to be here in Saudi Arabia,’ Egyptian Omar Assar says JEDDAH: The draw for the ITTF World Table Tennis Championships Saudi Smash 2024 took place on Thursday. For the latest updates, follow us @ArabNewsSport The draws for the men’s and women’s singles, each of which has 64 players, and the doubles categories, with 24 pairs in each, were held at the Infinity Arena, Sports Hall King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah. The tournament, which opens on Saturday and runs through May 11, is part of the WTT Grand Smash series. Among the notable names in the draw were the men’s and women’s world No. 1s Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha of China, Brazil’s Bruna Takahashi and Egpyt’s Omar Assar. Assar, who made history by becoming the first Egyptian player to reach the quarterfinals of a World Championship, said: “It is wonderful to be here in Saudi Arabia and looking forward to being part of this eagerly awaited tournament.” Wang said: “It is really a tough competition but I am ready to compete until the end.” The competition’s total prize pool of $2 million is the highest ever for an officially sanctioned event. Other top players taking part include Felix Lebrun of France, Shin Yubin of South Korea, Hana Goda of Egypt and Dang Qiu of Germany.