By David Gold

Table_tennisMay 11 - Japanese capital Tokyo has been announced as the host of the 2014 World Team Table Tennis Championships, which will be the sixth time the country has hosted the tournament.


The competition, the biggest event in the world of table tennis, will be taking place at the Yoyogi National Stadium.

The Japan Table Tennis Association (JTTA) hosted the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF)'s' Individual World Championships back in 2009 in Yokohama.

ITTF President Adham Sharara said: "This move was strongly encouraged by the ITTF and after discussions with the JTTA we were pleased to reach a positive outcome.

ITTF also indicated that their decision had been in part influenced by the fact that the earthquake and tsunami which hit Japan in March had meant that other sporting events due to take place in the country had to be held elsewhere, including the World Skating Championships, which were relocated to Moscow.

Sharara said: "It is important for Japan to display courage in adversity and host world-class events.

"We wanted to ensure the ITTF could provide an opportunity for such an event."

The year 2014 was the earliest opportunity to give the tournament to Japan with the 2012 and 2013 tournaments being held in Germany and France respectively.

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