The ITTF Kuwait Open for table tennis was hailed as "one of the most distinguished and hugely popular in the world" by Minister of Information and State Youth Minister Sheikh Salman Sabah Salem Al-Humoud Al-Sabah on Sunday.
Speaking to reporters, he expressed pride at representing His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah at the inauguration of the event in its tenth edition.
In his capacity as Minister of State for Youth Affairs, he also commended the efforts of the organising committee, chaired by Sheikh Duaij Fahad Al-Duaij Al-Sabah.
In turn, Sheikh Duaij praised His Highness the Amir's patronage of the competition along with the cooperation between the sport's global body, ITTF, and the Kuwait Open organising committee, both of which, he said, has made the event a huge success.
Thanks to this cooperation and the participation of some of the best in the sport it has slowly become one of the most highly categorized events on the table tennis calendar, he suggested.
China's Ma Long and Olympic and World champion, Li Xiaoxia, took the men's and women's singles titles respectively, with Chinese Taipei's Chiang Hung-Chieh and Huang Sheng-Sheng winning the men's doubles and China's Ding Ning and Zhu Yuling clinching the women's doubles.
Some 237 competitors are taking part in the event - including eight Kuwaiti women - which also includes under-21 men and women's singles and doubles events.
Source: KUNA