PARIS, Feb 23: A delegation of table tennis players from Kosovo is set to participate in a first international sports competition since Kosovo unilaterally proclaimed its independence from Serbia last week.

The two teams composed of three men and three women will however be competing at the world table tennis team championships, from February 24 to March 2 in Guangzhou, in rather familiar circumstances.

For the past few years the Kosovan table tennis federation has been formally recognised by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF). Last year a team of paddlers represented Kosovo at the table tennis world championships in Zagreb.

Under current rules a national or regional federation can be formally recognised and compete under the auspices of an international sports federation, independent of whether that country or region is formally recognised by the international community.

As such, world football’s ruling body FIFA counts more members than the United Nations, allowing federation members like Tahiti — a part of semi-autonomous French Polynesia — to participate in qualifying rounds for the World Cup. —AFP