Paris Olympics: Hong Kong table tennis coach backing players to secure Games spot at World Team Championships
- Li Ching believes men’s and women’s teams can finish in top eight in South Korea
- Li is only acting head coach by wants to job on a permanent basis and believes he’s most qualified to do it
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Hong Kong table tennis coach Li Ching is backing the city’s players to secure their spots at the Paris Olympics by finishing in the top eight of the World Team Championships.
The acting head coach, who replaced the retiring Chan Kong-wah, also said he was the best candidate to lead the team on a permanent basis.
The championships in Busan, South Korea, start in a week’s time and run until February 25.
“We have reached the quarter-finals before so I have confidence, it’s not about any individual but the team effort,” Li told reporters on Thursday. “We can achieve that or even go after a medal if the players can perform on the match day.
“The good news is that [men’s player] Wong Chun-ting has been much better and more mature over the last six months, and the strategy for the women’s team is to have each of the players get a point, so as to reduce their pressure.”
Hong Kong’s women have been grouped alongside Portugal, Austria, Australia and Kazakhstan, while the city’s men’s team face some harder ties against Sweden, Slovakia, Puerto Rico and Serbia.
The eight group winners will advance to the round of 16, while teams who finish second and third are to battle for the remaining slots with a play-off in the last 32.
“We’ll be aiming for the [group] top spot because we will then face those runner-up teams in the round of 16, which will be easier and the chances for a quarter-final spot will be bigger,” Wong said.
With the men’s and women’s teams both including athletes making their debuts at a World Championships, Li acknowledged the turnover was something both groups would have to overcome.
“Some older and more experienced players may need time to find their form, and the youngsters may seize the moment right away,” he said. “I am happy because I see energy in the team.
“Zhu Chengzhu did really well in Chengdu in the last edition, I hope she can keep it up, or perform even better. Her ability and skills are unquestionable, but she needs more tactics and tricks up her sleeves.”
From his usual role as the women’s team coach to overseeing both teams, Li, who won a silver medal at the Athens Games in 2004 alongside Ko Lai-chak in men’s doubles, said he was confident he could take the team forward.
“I am an Olympic medal winner as a player, and guided the women’s team to the bronze medal at the Tokyo Games,” he said. “I know the team inside out and have the respect of other coaches.
“I think I am the best possible choice and hopefully the decision won’t be based only on the results at the World Championships and the Olympics, otherwise the pressure will be really high.”
Heading to South Korea with Wong, the city’s highest ranked men’s player, will be Ho Kwan-kit, Lam Siu-hang and two youngsters born in 2004, Baldwin Chan Ho-wah and Yiu Kwan-to.
World No 34 Doo Hoi-kem, who missed Thursday’s press conference because she was ill, will lead a women’s team, also including Lee Ho-ching, Zhu, Lam Yee-lok and Ng Wing-lam.
