Tuesday, June 2, 2009
12:45 AM
ASIAN Youth Games - Local Paddlers to Buck the Trend
The inaugural Asian Youth Games (AYG), which will be held in Singapore this coming June, provides a unique opportunity to showcase our efforts in grooming our local talents.

With the selection of an all-Singaporean youth team to represent our nation at the AYG, it can be considered as a step in the right direction. The team consists of four promising local players: Clarence Chew, 14; Tay Jit Kiat, 14; Isabelle Li, 14; and Chau Haiqing, 15.

The former three have already displayed glimpses of their potential, most recently at the 11th Thailand Sports School Games held last year. Chew and Tay got first and second place respectively in the Under 14 Boys Singles category, while Li was the champion in the Under 14 Girls Singles category.

Arguably the most promising member of the team, Li also came in 1st at the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games, besting a glittering field of 42 international competitors to clinch the title.

Chau, on the other hand, has been playing for the Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA). After earning 1st place in the mixed doubles category during the National B' Division Tournament, Chau clearly fancies her chances in the mixed doubles event that has been included for the sport at the AYG.

The AYG Table Tennis competition will consist of four events- Girls Singles, Boys Singles, Mixed Doubles and Mixed Team.

The Mixed Team event is seldom held at Table Tennis tournaments. With the choice of choosing all four paddlers to participate, the need to strategise and plan for match-ups in advance will add an element of unpredictability, making it a must-see event during this AYG.

The competition will be held at the newly furnished Toa Payoh Sports Hall, which had previously hosted the South East Asian (SEA) Games table tennis competition in 2003.

Playing at home, the team will certainly look to put in a good performance in front of their home fans. With a promising future ahead of them, the AYG will provide these local born and bred paddlers with a platform to put their skills to the test, and do Singapore proud at the Games.

Written by Joycelyn Poh
Source: AYG Official Website




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