Mr Levitin, who is also the Special Advisor for Sport to the Russian President Vladimir Putin and was recently elected as Vice President of the Russian Olympic Committee, invited the Sportsmaster Chairman Mr Ji to the Luzhniki Stadium to discuss table tennis topics and extend the well-known Russian hospitality to one of the key commercial figures in table tennis.

The two influential figures discussed the future of table tennis and how they can collaborate more to use their extensive business knowledge and experience to move table tennis, and the ITTF, to the next level under the new ITTF management.

The two also spoke about the new Sportsmaster and ITTF deal announced on July 2, which will see T2 come under the ITTF umbrella and will act as a testing laboratory for new ideas to fully professionalise the ITTF World Tour by 2021.

Both enjoyed the World Cup Final, which saw France beat Croatia in an amazing spectacle in Moscow. A thrilling occasion which Mr Levitin and his Russian colleagues can be very proud of.