ITTF President Sorling Backs Dominican Republic as Potential Hub for Pan-American Table Tennis Development
The President of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), Petra Sorling, recently visited the Dominican Olympic Committee (COD) to discuss potential development opportunities for table tennis in the Dominican Republic and across the Americas. Accompanied by ITTF General Secretary Raúl Calin, ITTF Américas President juan Vila Reinoso, and Dominican Table Tennis Federation President Gary hernández, Sorling met with COD President Garibaldy Bautista.
sorling emphasized the Dominican Republic’s strong table tennis tradition and expressed the ITTF’s desire to contribute to its continued growth. “Coming to the Dominican Republic is to see how we can contribute to the development of table tennis, for being a country of tradition,” she stated. She also noted the importance of infrastructure development to foster young talent, mirroring successes seen in other nations.
A key focus of the discussions was the possibility of establishing a high-performance training centre for table tennis in the Dominican Republic. Bautista highlighted Sorling’s enthusiasm for the project, stating, “It is indeed a great initiative for table tennis to continue growing in the country. A high performance center should be a great contribution to development.”
Hernández suggested the table tennis pavilion in Eastern Park as a viable location, noting its existing suitability. Sorling agreed, adding, “If you place air conditioning, the East Park Table Tennis Pavilion will be a high performance center for America.”
Vila Reinoso further explained the characteristics and importance of a high-performance center for the continent,and underscored the Dominican Republic’s beneficial location for such an initiative. The potential center would serve as a crucial resource for developing table tennis talent throughout the Americas.
