KARACHI: The first edition of the PSO Carient Inter-Firm Table Tennis tournament will be held here at the Islamia Club from January 16 to 20.
In the five-day event in which 29 teams will show their worth, competitions in men’s team event, men’s and women’s singles and men’s doubles will be held.
The organising secretary Arif Khan announced this during a press briefing at the Islamia Club on Saturday.
Also present were the Managing Director of Pakistan State Oil (PSO) Shaikh Mohammad Minhas, former table tennis top player Arif Nakhuda, secretary of the Sindh Table Tennis Association (STTA) Salim Ahmad Shaikh and members of the Islamia Club Governing Board.
The participating teams include: PSO (Team A and B), State Bank (Team A and B), State Life, Allied Engineering (Team A and B), Hino-Pak Motors Company (Team A and B), Glaxo Smith Kline, Sanufi Aventus (Team A and B), Popular Industries, Asia Petroleum, CDC Pakistan (Team A and B), AKD Securities, Pakistan Mercantile Exchange Limited (Team A and B), Sui Southern Gas Company, Mansha Brothers, Wi-Tribe (Team A and B), Pak Suzuki, Trans Express and Orient Pakistan.
In the men’s team event, there will be eight groups. The first stage will be held under round robin system and the leading team from each group will qualify for the quarter-finals.
Khan said that the basic purpose of the tournament is to involve different firms in the game in which the country once had a prestigious standing in Asia and in the world.