Zhengzhou International 国际乒联CEO史蒂夫·丹顿：感谢中国感谢郑州

 

 

The finals of Zhengzhou 2020 International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF)  kicked off in Zhengzhou Olympic Sports Center stadium on the morning of November 19.As the final game of the three major events restart this year ，the international Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) returned to Zhengzhou again a year's later.Table tennis was the first sport to restart international competition," said ITTF's chief executive Steve Denton in his opening speech. "We can all see the hard work that has been done by all of us and we are very excited."

中国·郑州2020国际乒联总决赛，11月19日上午在郑州奥体中心体育馆开幕。作为国际乒联今年重启的三大赛事的本年度收官之战，总决赛时隔一年之后又一次回到郑州，同时在今年这个特殊的年份里，比赛还首次迎来了观众。这一切让国际乒联首席执行官(CEO)史蒂夫·丹顿激动不已，他在本次总决赛开幕式的致辞中还“秀”起了中文：“乒乓球是最早重启国际比赛的体育运动，我们都能看到所有的人已经付出了很多努力，让我们感到非常激动。”

 

Denton, a China expert who speaks fluent Chinese, told reporters that the Chinese part of the opening ceremony speech was completely decided on the spot. "You know what? I was so excited, I cannot help to tearing. This year is really difficult for sports events, it is very different for table tennis events to restart. "It's a great honor to have the ITTF back in Zhengzhou and welcome the crowds." Denton said passionately.

丹顿是一个中国通，能讲一口流利的中国话，他告诉记者，开幕式致辞上说的那段中文完全是现场临时决定的。“你知道吗?我当时真的是太激动了，已经有一些眼泪了。今年对于体育赛事来说真的是太难了，乒乓球赛事能够重启，十分难得。国际乒联这项赛事又回到了郑州，而且还迎来了观众，我感到十分荣幸。”丹顿动情地说。

 

The first two of ITTF's three major events this year - the Men's and Women's World Cups - were held at the Weihai airfield.The final held in Zhengzhou welcomed the audience."The crowd in Zhengzhou heard their long-lost applause again, which was very cordial, indicating that the competition is slowly resuming."Denton said with a smile.

国际乒联今年重启的三大赛事中的前两项赛事——男、女世界杯是在威海空场举行。本次在郑州举行的总决赛，迎来了观众。“在郑州的比赛有观众，又听到了他们久违的掌声，很亲切，说明赛事慢慢在恢复了。”丹顿笑着说。

 

The 2019 ITTF World Tour Final was held at the Zhengzhou Olympic Sports Center in December last year, and the event has returned to Zhengzhou a year later."When I came to Zhengzhou last year, I already felt the enthusiasm," Denton says.I come to Zhengzhou this time, especially in this special period of this year. The service here, the protection here and the guarantee here have all done very well."It's not easy to go from suspension to restart, from empty to spectators. The ITTF, the China Table Tennis Association and the local government in Zhengzhou have done a lot of work to make this happen."

去年12月份，2019国际乒联世界巡回赛总决赛就是在郑州奥体中心举行，时隔一年之后，这项赛事又回到了郑州。丹顿感谢之情溢于言表：“去年来郑州的时候，我就已经感受到了这里的热情。这一次来郑州尤其是在今年这个特殊时期，这里的服务、这里的保护、这里的保障都做得非常好。从比赛停摆到重启，从空场比赛到迎来观众，能实现这一过程十分不易，国际乒联、中国乒协和郑州当地的政府为此付出了很多努力，做了大量的工作。”

 

"Thank you China! Thank you zhengzhou!" Denton couldn't stop his praising.

“感谢中国!感谢郑州!”丹顿不住地称赞道。

 

reporter/ Chen Kai GuoTaolue

记者 陈凯 郭韬略