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June 6, 2002 Canadian table tennis mixes youth and veterans for Commonwealth Games OTTAWA - Lijuan Geng of Ottawa and Johnny Huang of Toronto, headline an eight-member Canadian table tennis squad announced today for the 2002 Commonwealth Games July 25-August 4 in Manchester, England. It is the first time table tennis is on the Games program. Geng, a former world number-one with China now in her 14th season on the Canadian national team is one of the top players in the Brazilian pro league and recently she was third at the North American championships. Joining Geng on the women‚s squad are Petra Cada of Halifax, Chris Xu of Vancouver and Marie-Christine Roussy of Le Gardeur, Que. |
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Huang, fifth in men's singles at the 1996 Olympics, is one of the most sought professional players in the world. He currently shuttles between teams in Croatia and Japan and has beaten several of the world's top players over the past year. He is joined on the men's squad by two-17 year-old standouts, Bence Csaba and Faazil Kassam, both of Ottawa, who were the big story at the trials last weekend, and another young star Pradeeban Peter-Paul of Toronto. "This is a solid team and we have a good chance to comeback with medal results," said Tony Kiesenhofer, executive director of the Canadian Table Tennis Association. "Both Johnny and Lijuan are among the favorites in singles and there are some outside chances in doubles. Our young players are very strong and they re-enforced that fact at the trials last weekend." |
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Bence Csaba |
In men's doubles the combinations are Huang with Peter-Paul and Csaba with Kassam. The women pairs are Geng with Roussy and Xu with Cada. The mixed doubles are still to be decided. Peter-Paul is another Canadian player who is getting stronger and stronger on the international circuit. Last year at the World Cup finals in Italy, he played world number-one Wang Liqin of China. The Canadian stole a game and lost the other games by three points or less. "It's good to see we are catching up to the top players," said Peter-Paul. "Just to qualify for the World Cup finals was a tremendous success for me." |
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Marg McGregor, the Canadian Commonwealth Games team Chef de Mission welcomes the table tennis family to the Games. "This is a interesting team of experience, youth and a variety of cultural backgrounds," said McGregor. "There are players with Chinese, Sri Lankan, Czech, Hungarian, Kenyan and Canadian backgrounds. And they show us how we can all work together as one. It is also an underrated sport in terms of entertainment value. What these athletes can do is simply amazing." The 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester July 25-August 4 include 16 other sports: Aquatics (Diving, Swimming, Synchro); Athletics; Badminton; Boxing; Cycling; Field Hockey (Men and Women); Gymnastics (Artistic); Judo; Lawnbowls; Netball; Rugby 7; Shooting; Squash; Triathlon; Weightlifting; Wrestling. Known as the inclusive Games there will also be 8 full medal events for athletes with a disability. Approximately 5,250 athletes and team officials from 70 countries will compete at these 17th Commonwealth Games. Le 6 juin 2002
courier/email:louisdaignault@rogers.com -30- |
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