Identifying 21 players competing in the Olympic qualifying round of table tennis in Southeast Asia

Enough talent

The Asian Table Tennis Federation has announced the list of players participating in the Southeast Asia Olympic qualifying round to compete for tickets to the 2024 Paris Olympics (France).

According to the announced list, we have 4 players participating: Dinh Anh Hoang, Nguyen Anh Tu (men), Mai Hoang My Trang, Nguyen Khoa Dieu Khanh (women). In the men’s list, this Olympic qualifying tournament recorded 12 participating players. In addition to Vietnamese players, those who will attend are Izaac Quek, Pang Yew En Koen (Singapore), Nayre Jann Mari, Misal John Russell (Philippines), Niman Nikola, Susilo Braydon (Indonesia), Choong Javen, Wong Qi Shen (Malaysia) and the two host players from Thailand, Sanguansin Phakpoom and Thanmathikom Napat.

Regarding women, there are 9 players participating in the match. In addition to the two Vietnamese players, the remaining players are Aminah Siti (Indonesia), Zeng Jian, Zhou Jingyi (Singapore), Cruz Kheith, Laude Joyce (Philippines), Ho Ting, Chang Li Sian Alice (Malaysia).

Vietnamese table tennis will participate in the Southeast Asia Olympic qualifying tournament from May 8 to 10. According to the coaching staff of the Vietnamese table tennis team, according to regulations, we will only participate in the Olympic qualifying round of the Southeast Asian region, not the qualifying round of the Asian region. That’s why the match in Bangkok (Thailand) is the only tournament for four Vietnamese players to realize the opportunity to officially compete for the 2024 Paris Olympics (France).

Will Vietnamese table tennis be easier?

Players of the Vietnamese table tennis team are training in Nanning (China). Information shared from the training site of the Vietnamese table tennis team shows that in addition to professional training, the players also compete and improve their physical strength and tactics.

According to the regulations of the Olympic qualifying tournament of the Southeast Asian region in table tennis, only the athlete ranked first in the men’s event and first in the women’s event will be officially allowed to go to Paris (France). Thus, to be successful, the Vietnamese table tennis team must at least get a ticket to the final here. 12 male tennis players compete for 1 official spot at the 2024 Paris Olympics (France) and 9 female tennis players compete for 1 official spot, so in terms of competition ratio, it is not small.

In the announced list, we see familiar faces such as Sanguansin Phakpoom (SEA Games 31 men’s singles runner-up), Ho Ting (SEA Games 31 women’s singles bronze medalist) or Izaac Quek (SEA Games 32 men’s singles medalist), Zeng Jian (SEA Games 32 women’s singles gold medal). All of them have competed against Vietnamese players through regional tournaments and right at the SEA Games. Coach Doan Kien Quoc said that when not yet competing, the players still have equal opportunities, but in table tennis there is still one thing to grasp before the tournament takes place: the results of the draw for the competition brackets. Table tennis is a team that aims to win an official spot at the 2024 Paris Olympics (France). Based on the players registered to come to Bangkok (Thailand) this time, the Vietnamese table tennis team said our athletes have opportunities but you have to be cautious and treat each match like a final to be successful.

The Vietnamese table tennis team finished training in China and returned home on April 30, then went to Thailand to compete.

MINH CHIEN