TABLE TENNIS

The table tennis tournament will take place in the Liberec Tipsport Arena. 80 players from 15 countries will competed for the medals. Men and women will fight in four categories – singles, doubles, mixed doubles and a team event. The last, fifth World Championships held in Chiba, Japan, saw no surprises, with the traditional table tennis superpowers – Hong Kong, Poland and Spain bringing home the silverware. The same countries remain the favorites for the 2009 Global Games tournament.

The winner of the men's singles tournament in Japan, Peter Palos of Hungary, will not play; therefore, a wider circle of players has a chance of winning the gold medal. Lai Wai Ling of Hong Kong is the clear favorite among women. Only Polish women and men pose a threat to the Asian players: thanks to a balanced team, the Polish will set their eyes on the medals especially in the teams and doubles tournaments. Krystyna Sieminiecká, beaten in the finals of the last World Championship by Lai Wai Ling, will defend her silver position. Their match might be one of the highlights of the Liberec tournament.

Czech players had been waiting for a major international breakthrough for a very long time, until 2008. In that year, the women's team won three bronze medals at the European Championship in Sweden. Playing in front of the home crowd, the women's team in particular might grab some of the medals. Květa Telváková of the Skřivany sports club, a regular at international tournaments and the only participant in the 2004 Global Games, is the most experienced player among the Czechs. The national team further includes Marcela Červeňáková of Ostravice sports club and Marie Horváthová and Jarmila Kunderová of Ostrava sports club. The experienced Jan Pokuta of Zašová sports club is the sole Czech male player in the draw.