MEN MATTER
(Male Paddlers Want To Make Statement At SEA Games)
By Mark Koh, Team Singapore Student Reporter, NUS
With stars like Feng Tianwei and Wang Yuegu, our women's Table Tennis team, who clinched silver at last year's Beijing Olympics, inevitably gets the limelight. But spare a thought too for the men's team led by players like Gao Ning and Yang Zi as they get set for action at the SEA Games in Laos.
Campaign For Honours
Together with the women's team, they will start their campaign for honours today (Dec 8). They will play three round-robin matches, including one against Indonesia which has in its team the 2005 SEA Games men's singles champion Muhamad Hussein.
A good start matters. Which is why they want to win in their opening tie against the Philippines led by 2005 SEA Games singles silver medallist Richard Gonzales.
Record To Uphold
While our men cannot expect to dominate the way their female team mates do, they also have a record to uphold. At the SEA Games level, they are kings as they seek their fourth consecutive men's team gold. Apart from Gao and Yang, other members of the team are Cai Xiaoli (pictured), Pang Xue Jie and Lim Jie Yan. Chances of success depend a lot on the form of Gao, Yang and Cai but teenagers Pang and Lim will be closely watched as they represent the future.