TIBHAR, one of the world’s leading brands of rubber for table tennis rackets, has signed a multi-year deal to become the Official Rubber Partner of T2 Asia-Pacific (T2 APAC). The innovative sponsorship package is not only a ground-breaking first for the sport of table tennis, but is premised on digital articulation via highly-stylised adaptive content that will be rolled-out across customised multimedia campaigns.To be launched in the second half of 2017, the 6-month long league will engage international audiences through 21 days of live telecast with over 118 hours of diverse content encompassing not only world-class table tennis action by 24 of the world’s leading players, but also human and inter-personal dynamic between these stars. With season-long activations, and out-of-competition engagement with players as never seen before, TIBHAR rubbers will be showcased to a community that stretches beyond the avid table tennis fans through multiple consumer-centric channels.
Roland Berg, Managing Director of TIBHAR, said:
“We are very proud to be the Official Rubber Partner of T2 Asia Pacific. Table tennis is the heart and soul of our business, and we are committed to playing a key part in bringing the sport to a whole new level. The unique concept and format of T2 Asia Pacific allows us to do just that, and we look forward to presenting our latest and exclusive rubber technologies to a much wider audience.”
T2 APAC recently announced the first batch of 13 players confirmed to participate in the pioneering table tennis league, including current women’s World No.5 and multiple Olympic medalist Feng Tianwei (Singapore), sixth-ranked Cheng I-Ching of Chinese Taipei, 2015 European women’s singles champion Elizabeta Samara, and on the men’s side, the evergreen World No.8 Vladimir Samsonov (Belarus), a six-time Olympian and semi-finalist at Rio 2016, World No.15 Joo Saehyuk of Korea, and former World Junior Table Tennis Championship singles champion Chen Chien-An (Chinese Taipei).
Jeff Chue, CEO & Commissioner of T2 APAC, commented:
“T2 Asia Pacific is delighted to have TIBHAR on board as our Official Rubber Partner, the first sponsor for the inaugural season of the elite table tennis league, which features some of the very best players in the world. TIBHAR shares our vision for the sport, and we believe that our game-changing partnership will set new benchmarks for sponsorship in table tennis, and heralds a new era of consumer engagement in sport.”
The inaugural T2 Asia-Pacific Table Tennis League 2017 will feature 24 world-class players (12 men’s and 12 women’s players) hand-picked from around the world, with the players competing in separate but concurrent men’s, women’s, and mixed-team league competitions.
Showcasing a unique competition model and presentation format, as well as innovative features such as a player draft system, 24-minute matches and a unique scoring system to ensure a level playing field and unpredictability of outcome, audiences and fans around the world can expect edge-of-your-seat competitive excitement throughout the season.
Touted as the richest competition in today’s professional table-tennis calendar, the players will be battling for an unprecedented prize purse of more than USD 1.5 million in the inaugural season. With 13 of the 24 players announced, only 11 slots (4 women’s and 7 men’s) in the inaugural T2 APAC player roster remain, and more players are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
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