The Minister of Sports, engineer Kelvin Cruz, said that the Dominican Republic has great potential in sports, while highlighting the commitment of the country’s table tennis directors.
Cruz, who assumed the direction of the Ministry of Sports on Monday, issued his statements during the opening ceremony this Tuesday of the U-11 and U-13 Pan American Table Tennis Championship, which is being held in the pavilion of that sport in Parque del Este.
“We are celebrating this first of many inaugurations where we are going to be and support, always positive and open to work with an open heart with all sports leaders to together get the sport going,” said engineer Cruz.
The Minister of Sports highlighted the presence of the delegations of the 19 countries taking part in the championship, which began on Monday with the team competitions and then will give way to the singles and doubles competitions.
Cruz highlighted the interest of Gary Hernández, president of the Dominican Table Tennis Federation (Fedoteme), and Juan Vila, head of ITTF Americas, in working together to make possible this type of international event that contributes to tourism.
During the opening ceremony, Garibaldy Bautista also spoke in favor of working in unity with the Minister of Sports.
Meanwhile, the president of the Fedoteme, Gary Hernandez, highlighted the high competitive level in the presence of the best talents in the minor categories of the continent present at the championship.
The head of ITTF Americas, Juan Vila, said that the Dominican Republic breathes the table tennis of the continent, and said that by 2025 a High Performance Table Tennis Center will be opened in the country and will be available for all of the Americas.
Also present at the event were Franklin De la Mota, vice minister of Sports; Roque García, director of University Sports; Rafael Uribe, president of the Basketball Federation; Dr. Daniel Landrón, former president of the Fedoteme, as well as the members of the federation’s executive, Pedro Julio Polanco, Virgilio Abreu, José Enrique Rosario and Andrés Lora.
The Pan American Table Tennis Championship continues this Wednesday with the semifinal and final team competitions, both men’s and women’s.
Source:presidencia.gob.do
