Table tennis geared up for strong Games performance

By JACK AMI
THE national table tennis team, under Chinese head coach Zhe Feng, are geared up for the Samoa Pacific Games, which start on Sunday and end on July 20.
Feng, who trained the team at China’s Shanghai University of Sports for four months, said he was satisfied that they had all matured with a lot of confidence.
Feng was a member of China’s mixed doubles team who won silver at the 1999 World Table Tennis Championships in Eindhoven, Netherlands.
Feng’s appointment was made possible by the partnership between the university and the Papua New Guinea Table Tennis Federation, which is headed by George Shao.
Shao said the Loi brothers (David and Geoffrey), Gasika Sepa, David Jodi, Leah Taru and Geru Lohia were in peak condition and had improved their skills to become smarter players.
“This is a well-prepared team and I hope they all win medals at the Games,” Shao said.
“We also have one para-athlete, Haoda Agari, who has been training in Port Moresby.”
Team manager Michael Ligo said he had high hopes for the team to perform well in Apia.
Ligo said Moses Tolingling would be Feng’s assistant.