CHINA will stage yet another major world sporting event, with Shanghai winning the right to hold the 2011 world swimming championships.

Shanghai, which hosted last year’s short course world championships, beat out Doha, Qatar, to hold the 14th edition of the swimming worlds. FINA, the international body governing all swimming, announc-ed the decision Saturday.

It is the first time a Chinese city will host a world swimming championships, and the second time for an Asian host. Japan hosted the 2001 championships in Fukuoka. The 2008 Olympics will be held in Beijing.

Doha, which has announced plans to bid for the 2016 Olympic Games, was the venue for the 2006 Asian Games.

“I would like to thank the two bidders,” FINA president Mustapha Larfaoui said at Rod Laver Arena, the main venue for the ongoing world swimming championships. “They were both very, very good presentations.”

The 2009 world swimming championships will be held in Rome.

(SD-Agencies)