Following the successful 2021 World Table Tennis Championships in Houston, Petra Sörling has arrived in Singapore to attend the inaugural WTT Cup Finals, the new season-ending event of World Table Tennis.
“I am delighted to be here and even more that Singapore plays host to the first-ever WTT Cup Finals. I want to express my gratitude to Sport Singapore and the STTA for their support. WTT has developed a modern and new event structure and aims to create a clear athlete journey, from Day 1 to World Number 1, and it only makes sense to end the season with a prestigious event gathering the world’s best players.”
For her first official visit to a WTT event as the new ITTF President, Sörling also met with the World Table Tennis team onsite and thanked them for their work to boost the commercial growth of table tennis, one of the key pillars of her manifesto.
For the first time, a virtual mixed zone was set up to live stream players’ first reactions after their matches, enhancing the fans’ experience and offering them exclusive behind-the-scenes access. Sörling asked WTT to continue innovating and transforming the events’ structure and drive the digital transformation of table tennis further.
As part of her campaign, the new President also committed to reinforcing the focus on sustainability within the table tennis community and exploring new opportunities for responsible consumption and production. She gave the thumbs-up to the partnerships department for choosing the Pan Pacific Hotels Group’s PARKROYAL COLLECTION Marina Bay as the Official Hotel Partner of the event.
The PARKROYAL COLLECTION Marina Bay is one of Singapore’s most sustainable locations, with more than 2,400 trees and shrubs indoors in public areas that help purify the air. It incorporates energy-saving and energy-generating systems, including solar panels, double-glazed glass, and motion sensors to help reduce waste.
The hotel also features an urban farm and a food digester, which converts food waste into waste water for responsible disposal into the sewage system, instead of the landfill. Solar panels and double-glazed glass windows and skylight maximise energy efficiency, estimated to save more than 250,000kwh per year. To minimise the impact on the environment, guests are provided with glass bottles, in-room premium filtered water dispensers, cruelty-free and paraben-free bath amenities in biodegradable pump bottles, further reducing the use of plastics.
Ms Cinn Tan, Chief Sales & Marketing Officer of Pan Pacific Hotels Group said, “The hotel has been a favourite among locals since it reopened as Singapore’s first “garden-in-a-hotel”. Sustainability is an urgent global priority, with concerted efforts across industries to prioritise green growth and clean energy. As a pioneer for sustainable hospitality, Pan Pacific Hotels Group is paving the way for a more sustainable future through its demonstrated success in sustainable, innovative design at its PARKROYAL COLLECTION brand of hotels.”
Follow the WTT Cup Finals Singapore on WTT website.