“… what's most important is that we perform well during the competition.” – Singapore’s AYG Table Tennis athletes

Story by REDintern Yvonne Yap. Photos by Marvin Lowe.

Clarence Chew, Tay Jit Kiat, Isabelle Li and Chau Hai Qing will represent Singapore in table tennis at the upcoming Asian Youth Games. The team has been training hard by going overseas for more competition exposure in the buildup to the Asian Youth Games (AYG).

Selections for the table tennis players began last year in November for the Youth Olympic Games team. Open competitions and trials were held, after which the number of players was narrowed down to eight.

From these eight players, four were picked for the AYG in March 2009. They were chosen based on factors such as competition results and attendance during trainings.

Clarence, who studies at the Singapore Sports School, started playing table tennis when he was just 5 years old, picking up the sport the earliest in the team. Family influence played a role in his early start as they play table tennis.

Isabelle, his mixed doubles partner, is the only right-hander in the team of four.

"It is an advantage to be a left-hander in table tennis as you can get better serves," admitted Isabelle, who studies at the Singapore Sports School.

However, this will not be a hurdle for Isabelle as she has shown her potential for the upcoming games. Last year, she clinched the top spot in the girls’ U-18 singles category at the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games.

Jin Kiat started playing the sport at the age of 9, and is the only one in his family who plays the game. Coincidentally, he was in the same primary school as Isabelle - Chongfu Primary School.

"I only knew Jit Kiat when I was in Primary 6," said Isabelle, as Jin Kiat is a year younger than her. Both the boys are aged 14 while the girls are 15.

For Hai Qing, who studies at Raffles Girls’ School, this will be her first major competition. Till now, she has only played in inter-school competitions and open competitions.

After picking up the sport at the age of 7, Hai Qing agrees that it is a childhood dream to be able to represent Singapore in the AYG and is honoured that her hard work had paid off after the rigorous trainings.

The table tennis players will be meeting some powerhouses in the AYG, namely China, Japan and Korea. On top of that, the young athletes will face off with older players as the age group for the athletes is 14-17 years old.

"STTA has been sending us for many competitions, so in terms of experience, we are definitely not lacking in it even though we might be up against older and tougher opponents," said Isabelle.

Past results show that our athletes can certainly hold their own against older opponents and they are capable of putting up a good fight on home soil.

When asked about what they hope to achieve at the AYG, they are realistic about their chances, knowing the high calibre of their opponents.

"On court, we might not always be on form and face challenges. When we make mistakes, we have to be calm and continue playing," said Isabelle.

Jit Kiat, also a Singapore Sports School student, also agreed with her, saying that he hopes to do his best in the competition and play his best game against his opponents.

Playing in front of the home crowd will be a new experience for them. They will have to live up to expectations and at the same time focus on the game.

The table tennis players have come this far through a combination of their talent and hard work, and gained exposure through international circuits and overseas training.

The stage is set for these four young athletes.

All the best in the upcoming games!