The said tournament will run from October 10 to 12 on Tinian.
This is according to Budhi Gurung, sports coordinator and a member of the Marianas Amateur Table Tennis Association.
Gurung told Variety that Hiroyuki Abe, 53, will land on island today at the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport at about 3 p.m.
Abe is among 11 Japanese table tennis players who will compete in the upcoming table tennis matches in CNMI, Gurung said.
Abe is a 10-time single champion in the last ball table tennis tournament in Japan.
Table tennis, or pingpong, now uses a small ball (40mm) and a big ball (44mm).
Gurung mentioned that Abe and his fellow players will stay for about an hour on island and will fly immediately to Tinian to participate in the games.
Gurung said that he is one of four players from Saipan who will play in the tournament. His co-teammates are Steve Lim, Sudong Li, and Jean Shi.
Tinian will send six of its own players, Gurung said, adding that Guam will pit one delegate – Hamamoto-san.
The table tennis tournament is a team competition but three will also be a single and doubles matches as well, Gurung said.
Teams will have to compete in nine matches, and win five games in order to be declared winner.
The tournament will award medals to the top three teams.
The table tennis tournament is slated from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
