Kirt Chantharith was re-elected President of the Cambodian Table Tennis Association

General Kirt Chantharith was re-elected to the leadership of the Cambodian Table Tennis Association (CTTF) for four years.

Chantharith was re-elected to lead the organization during the CTTF General Assembly a few days ago at the headquarters of the Cambodian National Olympic Committee (NOCC) in Phnom Penh.

The new 17-member CTTF Executive Committee also includes Lieutenant General Doung Heng, First Vice-Chairman; Te Sok Hong, Second Vice President; and Sun Sothearith, Secretary General.

The new mandate for CTTF officers will run from 2021 to 2025.

Sothearith said that despite the difficult situation everyone faced, the union managed to achieve many things during its previous terms.

“We worked hard to promote and develop table tennis in Cambodia. Our efforts have yielded positive results, he stressed.

According to him, there are now 24 table tennis clubs and associations in Cambodia with more than 170 male and female athletes. The association now also has 25 local referees and one international referee.

The CTTF had also, according to Sothearith, set up a technical committee to train athletes and staff for local and international table tennis competitions.

In October last year, the CTTF hosted the 2020 National Table Tennis Championships in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. About 173 players and staff from 23 clubs from Siem Reap, Preah Sihanouk, Kampot, Kandal, Kampong Cham and Phnom Penh took part in the national championship.

Cambodia has also previously hosted the 16th SEA Table Tennis Championship. The tournament was attended by more than 120 players from Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines, according to local media.

Chantharith, for his part, said he is committed to continuing his mission to promote and develop the sport here.

“I thank everyone, especially the board members, for their support,” he said.

Chantharith said the seventh mandate is very important, especially when it coincides with the hosting of the 2023 Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia.

“We are committed to achieving better results in Cambodia this time around,” said Chantharith, who is also the director general of immigration.

Table tennis is one of the sports in which Cambodia has a good chance of winning medals at the SEA, sports observers said.

In 2014, Cambodian table tennis players won four gold and bronze medals at the Southeast Asian Table Tennis Championships. Two years later, Cambodia won bronze in table tennis at the ASEAN School Games.

NOCC President Thong Khon, NOCC Secretary General Vath Chamroeun and Ouk Sothecheyat, Director General of the Sports Department of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, also attended the meeting.