ULAN BATOR, April 28 (Xinhua) -- The first table tennis friendly competition involving teachers of middle schools and universities was held here Saturday, with the aim to promote friendship between Mongolia and China.

The event, attracting eight teams with three members each, was co-organized by the Confucius institutes at the National University of Mongolia and Ulan Bator University, and Ulan Bator city bank.

"The competition is being held under the framework of the development of sports relations between Mongolia and China. We will organize the tournament every year as a way to further strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries in sports sector," S.Chinbat, head of the Department of Physical Education and Sports at the ministry of education, culture, science and sports of Mongolia, said at the event.

The first place team award was 300,000 Mongolian Tugrik (125 U.S. dollars). The second and third place team awards were 240,000 and 150,000 Mongolian Tugrik, respectively.