Sport Preview: Table Tennis

The Sol2023 Pacific Games table tennis competition, which begins on Monday 20 November, will pit the titans of table tennis from across the region against each other. It promises an unpredictable atmosphere as fans from all over the region gather to watch it on television, online and live at the Honiara City Council (HCC) Arena.

Contenders

• Vanuatu: With five gold medals and a silver at the last Pacific Games in Samoa, they are daring to maintain and even improve on their last performance.

• New Caledonia: With a total of seven medals at the last Games (only two of which were gold) they are confidently gearing up for more gold this time around.

• Tahiti: The Tahitians also are looking forward to improving their position from Samoa 2019, where they won seven medals (including two gold).

• Fiji: With an overall haul of eight medals at Samoa 2019 but only one of them gold (plus four silver and three bronze), Fiji could be the surprise package at Sol2023. Having narrowly failed to win gold in four events last time, they are hoping to go to the next level in Honiara.

• Tuvalu, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands will also be on the hunt for medals. Last time out, Tuvalu managed to pick up a crucial gold medal in the men’s seated singles. Other nations competing in table tennis at Sol2023 are American Samoa, Australia, Cook Islands, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Zealand, Palau, Samoa, Tonga and Wallis and Futuna.

Who’s going to take away the prized medals and glory? Get ready for an edge-of-your-seat showdown that promises pure, unadulterated thrill as the region’s table tennis greats face each other.

Table tennis runs from Monday 20 to Saturday 25 November at HCC Arena. Entry is free of charge.

By Peter Psalm, Pacific Games News Service