The opening ceremony of the European Table Tennis Championship for Veterans was attended by 200 performers in a rich cultural and artistic programme, and the attendees at the Master Centre of the Novi Sad Fair were addressed by the Mayor of Novi Sad, Žarko Mićin, Minister of Sports, Zoran Gajić, Provincial Secretary for Sports and Youth, Dane Basta, President of the Table Tennis Federation of Serbia, Predrag Nicic, as well as the President of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) and member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Petra Sorling. The opening ceremony was also attended by the celebrated table tennis players Borislava Perić Rankovic and Slobodan Grujić.
“At this European tournament, we celebrate the spirit of sport and cosmopolitanism, celebrate the highest human values and abolish all borders. Sport is not just a competition, sport is much more than that, it is also a lifestyle and a school of life, and that is why the City of Novi Sad is investing 988.5 million dinars in the development of sports this year. Our city is officially aspiring to the title of European City of Sport for 2026, and I am sure that the image from this mega event will complete our presentation, i.e. candidacy. I would like to thank the European Table Tennis Union, the Table Tennis Federation of Serbia and all other actors who contributed to Novi Sad once again showing how good it is to host sports events of the highest rank – said Mayor Mićin and added – Table tennis in a way wrote our history, because one of the symbols of Novi Sad, our SPENS, was built for the needs of the World Table Tennis Championship in the 1980s. Novi Sad is also recognizable for the best table tennis player with disabilities in the world, Borislava Perić Ranković, who brought Olympic gold to our country, but also for other very successful table tennis players such as Slobodan Grujić.
The prestigious European competition will be held from 15 to 22 June at the Novi Sad Fair. The most massive sporting event in Serbia, after the World Universiade in Belgrade, will gather over 6,000 guests, or 3,360 participants in 11 categories, from 40 to the oldest category over 90 years old. In addition to the competition, which is played on as many as 150 table tennis tables on almost 10,000 m2 in the two largest halls, guests have access to almost 100,000 m2 of indoor and outdoor space of the Novi Sad Fair with stalls of various food and drinks, souvenirs and other items, as well as the counters of tourist and other organizations where Novi Sad, Vojvodina and Serbia are more closely represented. Among the competitors from Serbia there are many former champions, but also amateurs. Our most famous name is Aleksandar Karakašević in the men’s competition, and Stanislava Stanić Dimanić in the women’s competition.