FOUR TABLE TENNIS ATHLETES SET FOR ATHENS

The nerve-wrecking months for the Canadian table tennis athletes who qualified earlier this year for the Olympic Games in Athens are over - at least as far as the board room drama is concerned. Now, the athletes can finally focus on their preparation for Athens.     Johnny Huang - Faazil Kassam Last week the Canadian Table Tennis Association (CTTA) and the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) - after more than 20 months of negotiation - signed a Team Selection Agreement which includes the athletes' acceptance of the qualification procedure required by the COC. "I feel funny signing this," said Johnny Huang, a veteran athlete with a number of international titles to his credit signing the athletes' acceptance of the agreement. "In other countries you earn your spot and then you prepare and fight for a medal. Here I have to jump over additional hurdles. I know I can make the requirement, that's not the problem. I am a bit injured and I have to risk more injury because of this. I would have liked to do the best preparation but now we have to start two months later."     Petra Cada - Marie-Christine Roussy While not happy with the additional COC requirement all athletes signed on. Marie-Christine Roussy and Petra Cada had their Quarter Finals performance at the Egypt Open - ITTF Pro Tour recognized as meeting the COC standard. Faazil Kassam and Johnny Huang did not waste much time making the COC requirement. The first chance for the Men's Doubles to make the additional COC criteria presented itself at the Chile Open - ITTF Pro Tour. After two early round wins yesterday, the Canadians cannot finish lower than 9th place, which satisfies the COC criteria. Johnny Huang will try to cross the Singles 'hurdle' later today. All four athletes are at the Chile Open. "We will have a little celebration after the tournament," National Team Coach Christian Foisy explained on the phone from Santiago. "Everyone has been on edge because of this and finally we can focus on our real goal - a good result in Athens." - 30 -