Oceania Champ set to Enter the Fray at Intercontinental Cup

Karen Li (NZL)
Image from WTTA

It will be our sporting hero Karen Li (NZL) who will tangle with 3 others in the Intercontinental Cup Competition in Singapore starting this weekend. Those 3 are Wu Xue (Dominican Rep.), Dina Meshref (EGY) and Ariel Hsing (USA) who also qualified in their respective continents. Although not entering the competition as favourite, that is left with Wu Xue who has a world ranking of 56, Karen is the only competitor to have experienced the Intercontinental Cup before and in last year's competition in Kuala Lumpur she excelled in her match against the eventual winner Yang Feng, who she defeated, but unfortunately slipped into 4th position after losing her other two matches. Although now 176th in the World, Karen is a strong contender for the win if she hits that devastating form we all know her well for here in Oceania. Having won the 2010 Oceania Championships and 2011 Oceania Cup, Karen will be fighting hard for New Zealand to try and win her spot in the main Volkswagon 2011 Women's World Cup.

With Wu Xue the top contender, a left handed pengrip player from the Dominican Republic, it will be a tough task for Karen who also represented Oceania in the 2006 Intercontinental Cup. First she will have to beat her other two youthful opponents, 17 year old Dina Meshref from Egypt currently ranked 242, and of course the young United States Champion Ariel Hsing ranked above Karen now at 164th. We will all be sitting and watching eagerly to see if Karen's experience of international table tennis can pull her through.

Best of luck to Karen!

U.S Comeback Queen Carving Path to Olympic Qualifiers

Kim Gilbert was a player I just had to interview after seeing the first picture of her standing on a table at SPiN Milwaukee's Opening. Kim has a fantastic image as a table tennis player, that die hard passion for the sport which is hard to find these days. Kim in many ways is like the great fighter Jean Michel Saive, she's in the sport for life and competes hard and fair and aims for the highest pinnacles. Thanks so much for the interview Kim, she has put a lot of thought into her answers, hope you all enjoy. Please also take the time to visit Kim's site www.kimgilbert.com

Full Name: Kim Gilbert
Age: 46
Date of Birth: 12/13/64, Los Angeles, CA
Nation represented: USA
Highest US Ranking:

Highest US Ranking #11 – Women’s Singles at USOF

Highest US Ranking #1 – Women’s Doubles at USOF

Highest US Rating 1964 in TT Topics and 2013 at USOF

Equipment Used?
Blade: Butterfly Coubertin 7 Ply Double Carbon
FH Rubber: Tenergy
BH Rubber: Tenergy


Your Career:

How long have you been playing table tennis for, when and how did you start?
In 1979 at the age of 14, my father was having lunch with a business partner who had just returned from Sweden where he had competed at the World Senior Table Tennis Championships. A few months prior, my father had purchased a ping-pong table for my mother and me to play on, so he surprised me one night by taking me with his business partner to the Hollywood Table Tennis Club to play in a tournament, kind of as a joke! A top player at the club (Lim Ming Chui) pulled my father aside and told him he thought that with a little coaching I had potential. I took lessons at this club for 3 years and then won the CA State Junior Title. I then travelled to England and France to train further. I competed in the US and Canada up until my accident in 1992 when I was forced to retire due to a shattered right arm with severed nerves.

You were gone from table tennis for quite some time and in 2010 launched a comeback tour, what brought the new motivation and drive back?
In 1992 I suffered a horrible slip and fall injury that shattered my playing arm into 15 pieces, requiring years of surgeries and rehabilitation. The first surgery required an external fixator to be implanted to fuse my bones that ended up severing a main nerve causing partial paralysis in the arm. The doctors told me that I would never be able to compete again. I tried to play once 6 years after the accident just to see if I could, but it was so painful that I gave it up for good. Almost two decades went by without giving another thought to table tennis until I was hired as an executive and marketing assistant by Dial800 in 2009. Dial800 specializes in helping advertisers to optimize their direct marketing campaigns. Their management believes in a balance between work and life and even though I am a full-time employee, they understand the unique opportunity that table tennis and the Olympics represent for me. They are totally supportive as my corporate sponsor, for which I am eternally grateful.

Shortly after being hired, all Dial800 employees were given lifetime membership cards to 24 Hour Fitness because they had a fitness center in our building. So after being sedentary for so long, I really no excuse not to get some kind of exercise program going! On my first day at their facility I could have passed out from the smell of the place. I tried to endure it but I ended up returning the card (graciously) to our CEO. He suggested (jokingly) that I try ping-pong again, so I figured okay what could I lose? So I went for the first time to the Gilbert TableTennis Center and to my surprise I could play without experiencing too much pain. It really just snowballed from there! I was asked to host weekly events for SPiN Hollywood as a professional table tennis player. Soon after that, several other corporate sponsors wanted in the mix. I am currently the only US table tennis athlete (that I am aware of) that has secured corporate sponsorship (5 times) outside of our sport. I truly believe that this “Out of the Box” approach to marketing and advertising of table tennis is a major key for the growth and future of our sport. As a matter of fact, I recently finished filming a Dial800 commercial with Soo Yeon Lee that is soon to be released featuring table tennis in the mix with their marketing. It’s kind of like chocolate and peanut butter, nice individually - but explosive together!

What has been the highlight of your table tennis career so far?
I have a fire burning in my gut these days that keeps telling me the best is yet to come with my second table tennis career! Out of the first career highlights listed below, I have one memorable highlight that really stands out:

2011 Hawaii Island Open Women’s Champion

2011 U.S. Open Semi-Finalist Women’s Singles (O-40)

2010 U.S. Closed National Semi-Finalist Women’s Singles (O-40)

1991 Olympic Festival Coach (Women’s Team) 

1990 Olympic Festival Gold Medalist (Women's Doubles)

1989 World Corporate Games Women’s Champion

1989 Olympic Festival Bronze Medalist

1988 Olympic Trials Quarter-Finalist, Cedar Rapids, IOWA

1987 Olympic Festival Gold Medalist

1986 KCOP-Los Angeles Sports Star of the Year

1986 Olympic Festival Silver Medalist

1986 ESPN Olympic Record for Fastest Reflexes

1985 U.S. Closed National Champion (U-1800)

1983 Pacific Coast Open Women’s Table Tennis Champion

1983 California State Women’s Table Tennis Champion

1982 National Sports Festival Gold Medalist

1982 California State Junior Champion (Boys and Girls)

I made the 1990 US Olympic Festival team as an alternate player (as I was ranked 17th) and slated only to compete in the singles event that year in Minneapolis when there was an injury to a player who was scheduled to play in Women’s Doubles. By filling in for her, I knew this was my big chance and took it! After battling close match after close match, we finally made it to the finals at about 10pm!! It was a very close match that went to a final and deciding game. Our match point was a long one until I finished it off with a powerful smash that won us the title! I remember when I was called over to the media area for an interview after the match; I excused myself for 5 minutes in need of time to cool off. I ran out of the building into a thick wooded area of their campus and uncontrollably let out a yell that I will never forget. At that moment I finally knew what true victory felt like!

You regularly appear in SPiN clubs in the US, how successful do you feel they have been in promoting table tennis and what was your involvement with SPiN Hollywood?
After the Grand Opening of SPiN Hollywood in the summer of 2010 I was asked by their management to host weekly events at their Mondrian Hotel location, as well as off-site events and parties. There were a lot of private parties, corporate mixers, and celebrity events that I hosted there. SPiN franchises have served as an excellent platform that has successfully generated a social, corporate and entertainment industry buzz for table tennis. Making ping-pong chic and trendy is what our country needed as a catalyst to create awareness of table tennis as an amazing Olympic sport.

Holding a corporate event with ping-pong at one of the SPiN locations can benefit an entire company by enjoying an activity together that is not work-related and not just another boring company mixer or dinner. It is also ideal for networking with clients, vendors and new prospects. A lot of new business can be created at these events and they offer an ideal place to fundraise, entertain, mingle, socialize, exercise, unwind, and of course eat and drink! They are also perfect for your next corporate competition or group lessons for beginners and serious players.

SPiN clubs are a fun place where anyone can feel at ease socializing with friends, strangers, competitors, business associates, or even a blind date!! It’s a place where you can be yourself, whether that is a novice or professional player, a young person or old person, male or female. I am completely behind all the efforts of SPiN Galactic franchises. As a matter of fact, I have a corporate event to host and perform at coming up at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood for a media company throwing a posh mixer for their entertainment industry clients and prospects. You see the media firm knows the party attendees personally, but the client and prospects do not know each other. My job is to get everyone acquainted and comfortable around the setting of a ping-pong tournament. It works like magic, because all of a sudden people have a lot to talk about and become amalgamated through the love of the game! This event is direct result of business generated from an event at SPiN last year, which I am ever so grateful for AGAIN!

You have recently announced you will be participating in the U.S Olympic Trials, how do you feel about your chances there and what are you hoping to achieve?
At this point in time, I am focused on surviving the training and staying healthy for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials! The last time I tried out was 25 years ago, so just making it this far has pretty much surpassed anything that I dreamed of achieving, much less thought was even possible. I have a chance to make it through as a wildcard this February at the Qualifying tournament, but after that it will surely be an uphill battle. Or as I have been teased about lately... an over-the-hill battle!!! Whatever happens I am honoured to be a participant again in what I think is still such an amazingly intricate and exciting sport!

What do you think is lacking in women's table tennis around the world in terms of numbers and image?
Clearly our greatest lacking is that there are too few women who play table tennis seriously in the United States, much less worldwide.This is not just an image issue; there is a huge difference between earnings between men and women as professionals in the table tennis. Today some top women players can earn good money, but it is mediocre compared to that of men in table tennis and mere peanuts compared to that of women in other popular sports. Another major problem is that young players in many countries aren't exposed to table tennis growing up in schools. However, in countries like China table tennis is part of their culture and everyday well-being for their society as a whole. Now they have exemplified power in numbers for women's table tennis! Early exposure is the only way to increase the numbers, which will then produce a marketable image.

You have been strongly involved in promoting table tennis since your return to the sport, what kinds of things have you been doing and what do you think is needed around the world to put table tennis in cement on the map?

Since 2010 I’ve had a renewed passion to help table tennis, especially where it is needed most...right here in the USA. I think that my role today is to help show that it doesn’t matter what age, gender, size, or culture you are because table tennis is for everyone. I have exposed thousands of people to the thrill of top notch and fast paced table tennis so they can experience it live, up close, and in person. The more people that we expose to experiencing table tennis this way, the more fans our sport will have for life. The more events and exhibitions we provide with a wide variety of exceptional players, the broader the audience can become. We desperately need a bigger audience and these two types of marketing events can help get us in cement on the map.

What is the best thing about table tenis as a sport for you?
The best part about table is that it is fulfilling in so many different ways. It not only promotes outstanding health and growth as a person, but in general a life in sports provides an abundance of magical moments for both the athlete and the spectator. Table tennis is very unique from other sports because it also can improve your vision, coordination, and even cognitive thinking. At high level of play all parts of the brain are active, which seldom occurs in other sports. Several years ago a Japanese study conducted by Dr. Teruaki Mori and Tomohiko Sazto demonstrated that "table tennis" uniquely activates as many as 5 separate portions of the brain simultaneously - thus producing an increased awareness, an improved state of cognition, improvement of motor function, attentiveness, concentration and endurance. Other health benefits of ping pong are an increased and effective cardiovascular blood flow and an improved cerebral blood flow to the cerebellum and brain stem. It's a sport that (especially when played at a high level) involves both the body and brain to interact at much higher levels and as a matter of course, players utilize their eyes, develop a heightened reflex function, and improve their balance and coordination skills. Additionally, Oprah's favorite physician, Dr. Oz, dedicated a prime segment of his television show on the benefits of ping pong, describing it as his favorite "brain sport". With all these benefits I think my favorite thing about table tennis is that it is a sport played for life by everyone.

You mention you would like to create a full time career out of table tennis, do you think in the near future that will become a more viable option for more players globally?
It already is an option for some countries, the rest of us are still catching up!


Off the Topic Questions:

Who’s your favourite sportsperson of all time?
Michael Phelps

Favourite food?
Sushi, hands down!!

What do you do when you aren't playing table tennis?
Like most table tennis players, I work a full-time job too. I’m lucky that I just happen to work for my one of my corporate sponsors when I’m not playing table tennis. When I’m not working or playing table tennis (or pong as I refer to it), I’m still a California girl at heart and enjoy the beach and water at all other times. Beyond that these days, I am used complaining about how sore I am from training!!

Dream Car?1994 Ferrari 348 Spider Convertible

Ideal holiday destination?
FIJI, FIJI, FIJI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

First thing you would do if you won $1million?
Open a SPiN franchise, preferably in Los Angeles to keep the ball rolling so to say!

A video in Tribute to Kim Gilbert's Table Tennis Career

Would you like to add one last tip, or an inspirational message for other table tennis players looking to succeed?
The key to success as a player in table tennis is positioning, precision, power, and poise. You put these qualities together and you will succeed for sure at table tennis and much more.

Would you like to add any advice for female players in table tennis?
You are not alone! There are other women just like you around the world with a great love for the sport but no way to make a living at it. My advice is to do what I did. Work hard in other areas so that you become valuable to your employer. An employer is more apt to fund an employee as an athlete, than a random athlete asking for a donation to their cause. Also, connect with other female players because even though other women represent the competition, we all are in this sport together as a whole group.

World's Fastest Table Tennis Serve?

William Henzell brings footage from the Werner Schlager Table Tennis Training Academy of Japan's young speedy server Asuka Sakai. Check this serve out! Thanks to William for providing the video and this slowed down edit so you can see what sneaky tricks Asuka is up to with this serve.

You can follow William's journey to the Olympics and his training at the WSA on his youtube channel at:
http://www.youtube.com/user/tabletennisedge

Thanks William and best of luck with the training!
For a link to William's site TTEdge, see the sidebar link to the right.

Final Medal Opportunities not Taken Lightly

Mark Page rips out his devastating backhand loop
Photo by Matt Hetherington

The final day of the NZ Senior Table Tennis Championships was an interesting one to say the least. With celebrations from the previous day dragging on into the night there was an absence of a couple of players in the Under 21 Mens Singles draw this morning. Tony Liu the Men's Singles winner made an appearance in the morning but was forced to withdraw with an ankle injury, while Auckland teammates Ollie Scarlett and Zhiyang Cheng withdrew from the event. This left plenty of opportunities for the remaining players in the draw. In the Under 21 Men's Singles the quarterfinals saw Thom Nguyen beat Matt Hetherington 3-0, Phillip Xiao account for James Harter 3-0, Myles Collins take out Aaron Page 3-0 and Mark Page narrowly scrape by a 3-2 win over Mitchell Barker. The semifinals saw Thom Nguyen fight an enduring 5 set battle with Myles Collins with plenty of loop to loop rallying and some very intense points which left both players exhausted by the end of the match and I'm sure Thom relieved to walk away with the victory and a place in the finals. Mark Page put up a hard fight against the second seed, Phillip Xiao, now the event favourite with Tony Liu out. Phillip showed his true class and outplayed Page with a 3-1 win. The final of the event saw Phillip Xiao fully assert himself as the favourite for the event by out-shining opponent Thom Nguyen in a straight sets victory. Congratulations Phillip.

Vicky Yang, Winner of the Under 21 Women's Singles
Photo by Matt Hetherington

In the Under 21 Women's Singles four players emerged from the two round robin groups. Manawatu's homeside champion Natalie Paterson and the previous night's Women's singles finalist Vicky Yang qualified in the first group while the Women's champion Jenny Hung and Auckland's Jennifer Tseng were victorious in coming through the second group. This set the players up for straight semi-finals. The two women's finalists proved to be far too skilled for their opponents with Vicky Yang beating Jennifer Tseng 3-0 and Jenny Hung accounting for Natalie also 3-0. So the two women's finalists returned to a final scenario yet again. With such a close open women's final the 21s match could have gone either way, both were determined to earn the gold medal for the event. Yang proved to be a dominant force in the final and avenged her loss from the previous day to lead a clear 3-1 victory of Canterbury's star to confirm the win.

In the Under 21 Doubles events with the top seeds having withdrawn , Waikato were dominant among the semi-finalists for the event with all but one of the players in the pairings hailing from Hamilton. One semifinal saw brothers Mark and Aaron Page with a walkover to the final, while the other semi was the finish of last year's finalists Matt Hetherington and James Harter, also from Waikato. Mitchell Barker (North Harbour) and Myles Collins were the party responsible for this, swiping a 3-0 victory and setting them up for a medal appearance in the final. They proved to be too strong for the Waikato brothers and led a convincing 3-1 victory over to two to take a gold medal in the event. In the Women's Doubles for the Under 21s Vicky Yang and Feng Jie and the pair of Jenny Hung and Natalie Paterson both won their semifinals 3-0 to clash together in the final. The Auckland pair of Feng and Yang were too strong for the World Uni Games pairing and completely dominated them in a straight sets final where Paterson and Hung struggled to find rhythm and control over their opponents. The Under 21 Mixed doubles was a relatively straight forward Gold Medal chance for the dominant top seeds Phillip Xiao and Jenny Hung, they cleared way to the final with a 3-0 win over Matt Hetherington and Jessica Macaskill while their final opponents Thom Nguyen and Jennifer Tseng took out the local pairing of Natalie Paterson and Nathan Watson who had done well to defeat Mark Page and Lisa Yue in the round previous. The Final was a great battle with a 4 set win for the top seeds to add another gold medal to their growing collections.

Sabine Westenra
NZ Veteran Player of the Year and National O30 Champion
Photo Courtesy of Catherine Zhou

The Over 30 Singles Events hosted some fantastic matches. Sabine Westenra, awarded the night before the national award for NZ Veteran Player of the Year was the champion of the Over 30 Women's Singles with a very close and entertaining 5th set victory over Manawatu's Tessy Fautsch. The absence of Kadia Keller-Rice removed one huge barrier for Westenra in taking the gold medal for the event. Congratulations Sabine on your award and gold medal, your teammates around the country are overjoyed for your achievements!

The Over 30 Men's Singles were won by North Harbour's Craig Dye who overcame Eberhard Kleiser and Depak Patel both 3-1 to make a finals appearance. The other finalist was Wellington's Lyndsay Ward who beat David Kilmister 3-1 in the quarterfinals and Manawatu's Charly Talumepa 3-0 in the semifinals. The final was a great showdown between Dye, who was ranked 10th in the National Men's Rankings in 2009 and Ward, a former top New Zealand player and National Men's Singles Semifinalist in his time. Dye took the match 3-1, with Ward winning his single set 11-5, while Dye won his 3 sets 11-9 in all of them, an indication of how close and intense the match was. Congratulations Craig on showing us all that you're over 30 but can still play with the energy of a youth when the medal chances come around. In the Over 30 Mens Doubles the opportunity arose for Andrew Hubbard to walk away with a medal, and not just any medal, but a gold one. He teamed up with David Kilmister, both players hoping to create a profile for Taupo's table tennis club by claiming the national title. They met a team hoping to do the exact same thing in the final. Heath Murdoch and Stephen Hirst were there flying the banner for the recently revived Belmont Table Tennis Club. It was a well fought out battle between the two pairs who were both determined as ever to claim the victory. The superb control of Kilmister combined with Hubbard's dominant forehand attacking were the victors of the day as the Taupo pair took the gold medal. Heath Murdoch and Sabine Westenra combined to win the Over 30 Mixed Doubles Round Robin and took another gold medal for Wellington in the doubles.

The tournament was a huge success for Manawatu with the Manawatu Standard discovering how instrumental Manawatu Table Tennis have been in procuring National Events for the sport of Table Tennis in 2011. It is my final wish here to congratulate Table Tennis Manawatu, not only on this National Championships, but on organising also; the ITTF Level 1 Coaching Course, the North Island Individual Championships, the North Island Team Championships and the National Secondary Schools Championships. They will also host 2012's National Veteran Championships. The workload has been huge. My special thanks to Shona Cudby for her ongoing hard work for the sport and her endless dedication and work ethic when it comes to organising these events, as I always say Shona Cudby is a true legend and deserved all our praises. Also thanks to Joachim Kusche for his tournament refereeing and organising of matches, congratulations to him for his National Award as Official of the Year for 2011. John Stapleton operated as an excellent Tournament Manager, thanks must be extended to him for ensuring the timetable ran smoothly which it most certainly did. Thanks too to Jason Poon for helping in the tournament and taking some great photos to help me in my publicity role. Finally, thanks to all the players who supported the tournament and participated, keep playing hard and fair and most important of all, keep in touch over the season break!

Videos of matches during the NZ Champs will become available on here as they are processed and edited by Win Nguyen and myself.

New Zealand Champions Made and Dressed in Gold

Phillip Xiao prepares his assault on Tony Liu in the Men's Final
Photo by Matt Hetherington

The end of the Men's and Women's Singles Events at the NZ Senior Table Tennis Championships signalled the making of two brand new national champions. The class act and legend of Tony Liu was too much for the competition in the Men's Singles event, he overcame opponents at every obstacle. At the same time it was the die hard determination of Canterbury's Jenny Hung that kept her on track to saving multiple match points in order to win the national title. Teng Teng (Tony) Liu, having already cleaned up all opposition in New Zealand so far this year to win the North Island Championships and the Counties, Auckland and Waikato Open Competitions. His form was unquestionable as he sailed through the opponents in his group. He hit a tough spot when a determined Josh Alexandre stole 2 sets from him as he attempted to knock Tony out, it was not to be and Tony advanced, beating Josh 4-2. Matthew Ball also had a crack at the top seed after having defeated Simon Wallace in the seventh and final set in the quarter final round. The semi final could have proved to be more substantial in problem causing with the Japanese player Taka Shimokawa and his short pimple rubber appearing on the scene. Tony showed no hesitation in wiping the score board and printing his name all over it, he sent Shimokawa packing with a 4-0 win and made his foundations to appear in the final. The Final had potential to be very interesting, at Auckland Open in the Under 21 Event Phillip had pushed Teng Teng to the 5th set and had even shown signs of having the upper hand. At the North Island Championships it had also been a very close matchup. What could Phillip offer to the table this time? Well Tony Liu was beyond determined to claim the national title and claimed the first set, then the second and then the third and Phillip found himself with a huge deficit to cover if he were to claim the title. Phillip launched an admirable attack and swiped himself a set, but in the end Tony outclassed Phillip on the day and won the 5th set, claiming the victory 4-1 and taking the National Men's Singles Title in the process.

Tony Liu, NZ Open Men's Champion
Photo by Matt Hetherington

In the Women's Event it was also a very hard fought battle and a nervous one for many on the sidelines. Jenny Hung took on the defending champion and top seed Fan (Vicky) Yang and between the two of them they hit winners and rallied, placed awkard balls to attack and generally out-hit each other at high speed. Jenny struggled in the beginnings of each set but she managed to claw her way back to win at the end of the sets and end up 3-1 up. It all looked like things were going in the favour of the Cantabrian and number 2 seed until Vicky Yang sprung back and led a high paced assault against her highly skilled opponent. Before the confident sideliners all knew it the score line was 3-3 and we were all starting to wonder if Jenny Hung could hold on and win the title against odds of the determined defending champion. There were multiple match points to and fro between the two players who wouldn't forfeight their chances of taking home gold. Hung tried time and again to hit through her opponent at match point up but Yang always had an answer for the endless assaults and even claimed some match points of her own. The match was incredible exciting and supporters were ecstatic when Jenny Hung converted her Championship Point finally and took her first ever New Zealand Open Women's Singles Title, one which a large proportion of players, myself included felt she finally deserved after so much experience building and committment to the sport over the years. Congratulations to Jenny Hung and Teng Teng Liu the New Zealand Table Tennis Champions and of course to Vicky Yang and Phillip Xiao for applying the pressure and skilled opposition from which those champions were really born, the silver medalists of the two respective events. 

Jenny Hung takes Control in the Women's Final
Photo by Matt Hetherington