February 26, 2008	Tuesday	Safar 18, 1429

GUANGZHOU, Feb 25: The Netherlands will host the 2011 world table tennis championships after Qatar withdrew its bid, the sport’s governing body has announced.

The premier event will be held in Rotterdam after Qatar decided to bid instead for the world championships two years later, the International Table Tennis Federation said in a statement.

“The Qatar Table Tennis Association announced in a personal letter to the ITTF president Adham Sharara the withdrawal of its bid for the 2011 world table tennis championships,” the statement said.

The Rotterdam bid is expected to be endorsed by the ITTF at its annual general meeting on the sidelines of the world team championships here.

The 2009 world championships will be held in Yokohama in Japan and Moscow will host the 2010 world team championships.—AFP