Ryan Koh Zhe Kai in action for Tiong Bahru Team B in the Men’s Doubles match. (Photo 1 © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)
Buona Vista Community Club, Tuesday, July 3, 2012 — “Even when he’s sleeping, he will play. He will wake up just to serve,” recalled Mdm Lee Quat Beng about how passionate her 10-year-old Ryan Koh is about table tennis.
Ryan had just teamed up with Simon Roehrs to beat Chen Xi and Lim Kik Sim of Radin Mas CC 3-0 (11-6 11-5, 11-6) to win a point for their team, Tiong Bahru Team B. Their team eventually beat Radin Mas to finish third in the Tanjong Pagar Cluster.
Ryan, a River Valley Primary student, plays for his school and has been playing for three years since the end of Primary 2.
“I watched Table of Glory on Channel 8. That made me interested. I picked up table tennis in school,” said Ryan.
“I was scared but after the game I’m happy cos I won,” recalled Ryan about his first time playing in such an event with a crowd looking on.
“It’s most fun playing in the competition. I find it exciting, very challenging. I played in six competitions for school and came in fifth in South Zone (Junior),” said Ryan.
Ryan credits his doubles partner, Simon Roehrs, with teaching him how to play.
“They make a very good team,” interjected Mdm Lee, whose husband and Ryan’s father, Koh Lay Han, was also present to watch their son play.
“Last time, he played for fun, just once a week at school as a CCA. The other two days he would be playing at Tiong Bahru CC. He also had an outside coach,” said Mdm Lee.
Ryan’s interest in the sport saw him selected for the Junior Sports Academy and he now trains at Ai Tong School three times a week, from 7-9pm in the academy.
His doubles partner, Simon Roehrs, 30, a Korean-born German, has been playing the last half a year with Ryan and had good things to say about the youngster.
“He’s a huge talent, humble. He’s eager to learn. He’s imitating me. When I play singles with him, he’s trying new strokes,” said Simon, who plays once or twice a week at Tiong Bahru CC.
Simon, who has been in Singapore for the last one and a half years for work as Application Support Specialist at Bohde & Schwarz, was a table tennis coach in Germany for eight to 16-year-olds.
When asked to compare the table tennis scene in Singapore and Germany, Simon said: “In Singapore, we don’t have a real league structure. In Germany, there are 16 levels. It’s a deep structure, so everybody can join. We have a lot of clubs. Hanover, where I came from, has 20-25 clubs.”
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