Young racquet ace to face career-defining challenge

 TEENAGER Geoffrey Loi is set to face the biggest challenge of his table tennis career when he dons the national colours at the Pacific Games in Port Moresby.

Loi, a talented exponent of the racquet sport, is from Tubusereia, Central, and has the makings of a champion. 

He holds national open men’s singles title and is ranked No.1 in the Pacific and third in the Oceania region in the Under-15 category, a ranking which he earned at the 2013 Global Junior and Cadet Championship in New Caledonia. Born on April 15, 2000, Loi started playing competitively at six and in 2007 won his first title in the national U11 singles and  was the doubles runner-up. 

Four years later, he tasted his first overseas competition at the 2011 Arafura Games as an 11-year-old. 

Later in 2012, he bettered his previous record and won the national U12 singles, U15 singles, junior doubles, and was the U18 singles runner-up and open men’s semi-finalist.

Father, Rea Loi, a former national champion who has represented the country at regional competitions, is the sport’s Pacific Games national team manager and coach.

“I am proud to be his coach and father.

“He performs very well against much older opponents and impresses his coaches,” father Loi said.

Loi has an impressive tally of achievements.

He represented Central at the PNG Games last November, winning silver in the open men’s singles and open mix-doubles, and gold in the open team event and open men’s doubles. 

He was part of the national team to the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, where he participated in team, doubles, and singles. 

He has qualified for international tournaments like the Oceania and Pacific Cup in Bendigo, Victoria and the Oceania U15 cadet team to the 2014 World Championships in Shanghai, China. Loi is the defending national champion in the open men’s singles, U15, men’s doubles and runner-up in the U18 division.