by Dion Kombeng – EM TV Sports, Port Moresby
The Table Tennis National Championships were held last weekend in Port Morseby.
Associations from Central province, National Capital District and newcomers Morobe turned out in numbers to take part in the championships.
After recently being introduced to the code at the 6th PNG Games last year, Morobe has seen a growing interest in table tennis and it showed, with the Morobe Table Tennis Association contingent competeing at the national championships.
The championship was used for final selections for the national table tennis squad who will compete in the Oceania Tournament in April and the Pacific Games in July.
The team are hoping to attend a training camp in China, where they will train and compete against quality competition to upskill their level of play before the Pacific Games. With many young players showing interest in table tennis, the Federation has set their target on developing their skills as they will be future representatives.
With 21 medals on offer in table tennis at the Games, Papua New Guinea’s medals prospects are young: 14-year-old Jeffery Loi and 15-year-old Geru Lohia are the top players in the country in the men’s and women’s divisions respectively.
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