The World Championships were held in Budapest's Hungexpo venue from April 21 to 28.

"The ITTF, together with the Hungarian Table Tennis Association, showed the world that great things can be achieved with a professional operation," said Dainton.

"The performance of the Chinese team was simply amazing.

"Off the table, the World Championships was also a wonderful success, expected to be the most followed and reported table tennis event in history. 

Dainton also spoke of his delight at the awarding of the 2021 World Championships to Houston in the United States, which was announced last month. 

"This was a historic moment for the ITTF because it meant that the World Championships will be hosted in the USA for the first time, and it will be the first time our event will be hosted outside Asia or Europe since 1939 when the event was held in Cairo, Egypt. 

"It is really something to be proud about.

"The 2022 event was awarded to Chengdu, China and whilst the World Championships have been hosted in China 5 times previously, it will be the first time to be held in Chengdu. 

"It was also for the first time there was a competition in the number of bids.

"Chengdu had to fight off serious challenges from Lisbon, Portugal and Kitakyushu, Japan for the hosting rights."

The ITTF will now prepare for for the 2020 World Championships in Busan and continue its search for a long-term strategic partner.

"We look forward for the rest of the year to achieve what we believe will be the biggest success for our sport with a new commercial future to start in 2021, which we must prepare now," said Dainton.