Breaking boundaries: Hong Kong may expand its mixed singles table tennis event to mainland China after border reopens
- Pedrey Ng, the highest-placed woman in third place, hails the inaugural tournament, saying the clash of styles against men will prove beneficial
- Next time officials hope to include players from cities across China’s Greater Bay Area
Lam Siu-hang won Hong Kong’s first ever mixed singles table tennis event on Monday, as officials announced plans to hold another this year and expand it to mainland Chinese players, billed as the Greater Bay Area Challenge.
Tokyo Olympian Lam took the title at the Men’s and Women’s Mixed Singles Trial Tournament, defeating Louis Pau Yik-man in five sets at Boundary Street Sports Centre.
Pedrey Ng Wing-lam struck a blow for the 14 women’s players in the 59-strong event, as she beat men in each round to finish in third place.
Another first could follow this year, with Hong Kong Table Tennis Association executive director Sam Wong Tak-sum saying discussions had been held with his mainland counterpart Liu Guoliang about an expanded next event.
He said there had been positive feedback to a proposed tournament covering the Greater Bay Area – the central government development plan covering Hong Kong, Macau and nine municipalities of Guangdong province.
“Like the idea of this mixed singles, we hope to provide more opportunities for Division A players, who may be juniors or club players who lack overseas competition,” Wong said.
“It is beneficial for our elite players as well, because they can try a different style from facing their opponents in these matches between men and women.”
He said the association hoped to extend the format to bring in mainland players under a home-and-away format, “ensuring there will be more players and a higher standard”.
“All details will be finalised after the border with the mainland reopens,” Wong said. “It may be only mixed singles, or it may be men’s and women’s singles – it’s too early to decide.”
The event could serve as a warm-up for the Asian Games, set to take place in Hangzhou in September, or again take place at the turn of the year, and could potentially include legs in Hong Kong, Macau, Shenzhen and Guangzhou, he added.
Ng, the only woman in the quarter-finals, welcomed the mixed singles competition, saying it was “beneficial to her” to face men’s players.
The 19-year-old, who played for Hong Kong at the World Team Championships in Chengdu last autumn, recovered from 2-1 down to beat 42-year-old Cheung Yu-kit, who played for the city’s men’s team in the 1990s.
“I agree that there will be a ‘gender gap’ between male and female players, because the men have more power, and the spin achieved by the average woman is far less than for the average man,” Ng said.
“However, our speed is greater than men’s. It is a matter of getting used to different styles.”
