GEELONG will be serving up the action on and off the courts when it hosts the Australian Open of Table Tennis in July.<\/p>\n
Minister for Tourism and Major Events John Eren joined Geelong MP Christine Couzens and table tennis champion Wade Townsend in Geelong earlier this week to make the announcement and promote the upcoming world tournament.<\/p>\n
The Australian Open of Table Tennis is one of six platinum series events of the World Tour of the International Table Tennis Federation.<\/p>\n
More than 180 athletes from more than 20 countries will converge on Geelong \u2013 including Australia, China, Japan, Korea, Germany and France \u2013 competing for $400,000 in prize money in the singles, doubles and mixed doubles events.<\/p>\n
The event is expected to draw thousands of spectators to Geelong and the surrounding region and will be broadcast to more than 80 countries, with more than 100 million viewers expected in China alone.<\/p>\n