STORY: Friendly table tennis tournament in Barcelona celebrates China-Spain relations
SHOOTING TIME: March 1, 2025
DATELINE: March 2, 2025
LENGTH: 00:01:22
LOCATION: BARCELONA, Spain
CATEGORY: SPORTS

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the tournament
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Catalan): JOAN BARBERA, Event organizer
3. various of the tournament
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (Catalan): LUCA KHIDASHELI, Spanish table tennis youth champion

STORYLINE:

The Zhonghui Cup table tennis tournament was held in the Spanish city of Barcelona on Saturday as a celebration of the friendship between China and Spain.

The friendly competition to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the establishment of China-Spain comprehensive strategic partnership, brought together 65 players representing 10 teams from Spanish clubs and six teams made up of Chinese residents in Spain.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Catalan): JOAN BARBERA, Event organizer
"Today, for the first time, we have Chinese players who live in Catalonia against local players. It is a Spain-China, China-Spain duel to celebrate the relationship and the anniversary of the relations between Spain and China."

Luca Khidasheli, who became Spain's table tennis youth champion last week, was invited to participate in an exhibition match at the start of the event.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Catalan): LUCA KHIDASHELI, Spanish table tennis youth champion
"The Chinese always win in many competitions, and the truth is that the level, the quality they have, the physique they have, the mentality they have is quite different from here, and it shows a lot, and it was good to play against them to gain this experience and learn more about this sport."

Table tennis is a growing sport in Spain, where some 15,000 players are now registered with the Spanish federation, according to its officials.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Barcelona, Spain.
(XHTV)