7 March 2013
　

Announcing Press Conference

Hong Kong Table Tennis Association is glad to be sanctioned by the Asian Table Tennis Union to host the GAC Group 26^th Table Tennis Asian Cup 2013 from 12^th to 14^th April 2013 at Queen Elizabeth Stadium with the support from the Home Affairs Bureau and Leisure & Cultural Services Department.  This event is title sponsored by GAC Group.

An official announcement were made at a Press Conference staged in the function room of the South Pacific Hotel on Wednesday 6^th March 2013, the official hotel for the three day Tournament.

Present at the occasion was Mr. Tony Yue (Chairman of the Hong Kong Table Tennis Association and Chairman of the Tournament Organizing Committee) alongside Mr. Leo Wong (Senior Leisure Manager for Sports Funding at the Leisure and Cultural Services Department) and Mr. Li Gang (Assistant General Manager of the GAC Group, the event title sponsor).
　

Hong Kong Confirms Names for GAC GROUP 26^th Asian Cup

Jiang Tianyi and Tang Peng are the names confirmed by the Hong Kong Table Tennis Association to compete in the men’s event at GAC GROUP 26^th Asian Cup.  Tie Yana and Jiang Huajun are the players nominated to represent the host association in the women’s competition.
　

Added Importance

Undoubtedly a well-established competition with a special place on the calendar but in 2013 it has a new added importance.
　

Two Players Per National Association

A total of 16 men and 16 women compete in the GAC GROUP 26th Asian Cup; with the stipulation that applies to both the STARTS Women’s World Cup and Men’s World Cup being in place. Unless invited as a “Wild Card” selection, a national association is limited to two players in each event.
　

Invitees

The holder of the Asian Cup, the Asian champion plus the top ten players on the World Ranking list for January 2013 gain invitations. The remaining four places are allocated to four regions: South Asia, South East Asia, West Asia and Middle Asia.
　

Two Stages

Proceedings are organised in two stages. The leading 12 World ranked players compete in the first three groups; the four players from the regions compete in the fourth group, thus creating a Continental Cup.
　

Players finishing in first and second places in each of the first three groups progress directly to the quarter-finals, where proceedings are organised on a knock-out basis.
　

The players finishing in third place in each of the first three groups, plus the winner of the fourth group, compete in a play-off match to determine the remaining two places.
　

In the first stage, players in the first three groups will be drawn as per the accepted snake system with the second stage, seeing players from the same national association in opposite halves of the draw.
　

Prize Fund

A total prize fund is US$ 100,000 is on offer with the winners of the respective Men’s and Women’s Singles events each receiving US$ 14,000.