Table Tennis Prepares for Mini Pacific Games

Following the conclusion of the National Championship on Monday, December 16th, 2024, at the Rita Flynn Court in Port Moresby, the Papua New Guinea Table Tennis Federation is now preparing to finalize its national team for next year.

National coach Rea Loi said this was in line with the current extended squad they have named to attend the high-performance training sessions at the Taurama Aquatic and Indoor Centre as part of Team PNG's preparations for the 2025 Mini Pacific Games in Palau.

“The extended squad commenced high-performance training and other required training to meet the Justification Committee’s requirements ahead of the 2025 Mini Pacific Games in Palau," Loi said.

"We have six females and six males who will vie for the final spots while undergoing training as per Team PNG's preparation plans."

Loi said as per the justification process, they had identified new young talents from their competitions and have placed them into the extended squad for further testing and screening before a final squad is approved for national duties.

“The PNG Olympic Committee has requested to see emerging talents in the team, hence our current squad is undergoing that process, especially for our new table tennis athletes. New talents are likely to make their debut in the mini-games,” he said. 

The national coach also confirmed that a para-athlete team would attend the games in Palau following their achievement at the 2023 Pacific Games in Honiara, Solomon Islands.

Loi confirmed his son and PNG’s current top table tennis player Geoffrey Loi was aware of the high-performance training, testing, and screening in Port Moresby and is currently training to meet the requirements.

“He is currently away for studies at the Shanghai University of Sports in China, but he is training for this as well to meet the requirements and make the team for next year’s game,” he added.

Meanwhile, coach Loi thanked the PNGOC, PNG Table Tennis Federation President George Shao, and the Chinese Community in PNG for supporting the code as it progresses each year.