Asian origin players form core of Canada’s table tennis squad

OTTAWA - Asian orgin players form the core of the eight-member Canadian table-tennis team that will take part in the Oct 3-14 Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

Olympians Pradeeban Peter-Paul and Mo Zhang will guide a young Canadian team in the men’s and women’s event. Both are Pan American Games medalists and have the experience of competing in the Commonwealth Games.

The team is being coached by, Yongjun Duan, a quadruple medallist at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester.

“I really enjoy the amazing athleticism of table tennis and we’ve got some superb players on this team. Table tennis is hugely popular in Asia, so the competition should be phenomenal,” said Chef de Mission Martha Deacon.’

“Our younger athletes will face a steep learning curve at the Games,” said Tony Kiesenhofer, director general of Table Tennis Canada.

“However, there are some legitimate medal chances in the women’s singles, where Mo Zhang will need to fend off strong opposition from the world champions from Singapore and from hosts India.”

“In women’s doubles, Mo Zhang and Sara Yuen have consistently performed well in the Commonwealth arena. The men are in a position to challenge for a medal in the Team event,” Tony said.

Hosts India will be a force to reckon with in the Oct 3-14 Games as it won the men’s individual and team gold in Melbourne 2006. The Indian eves won the bronze medal.

The table tennis event will take place Oct 4-14 at the Yamuna Sports Complex and have 21 medals at stake.

The Squad:

Men: Pradeeban Peter-Paul, Pierre-Luc Hinse Gatineau, Xavier Therien Gatineau and Andre Ho Richmond.

Women: Mo Zhang, Sara Yuen, On Carmen Lee Vancouver and Anqi Luo Mississauga.

Coaches: Junya Chen and Yongjun Duan.

–Indo–Asian News Service