HK teams avoid giants
The Hong Kong table tennis teams are well placed to capture at least a bronze medal at the East Asia Games after the draw was made at Queen Elizabeth Stadium yesterday.
Both teams were drawn against South Korea and Taiwan in group B, while group A features China, Japan and Macau.
The top two in each group will go through to the semi-finals and there will be two bronze medals at stake with no play-off for third place.
The men's team defeated the South Koreans 3-1 at the recent Asian Championships in India and should also get the better of Taiwan. 'The match against South Korea will be crucial as we need to beat them to finish top of the group,' said coach Chan Kong-wah.
'China will be the favourites in group A, but they were given a big scare when they narrowly defeated Japan in the final at the Asian Championships. It will be interesting to see who can win this time around.'
China are led by world number-one Wang Hao, who will be assisted by two promising players, Zhang Jike and Xu Xin. Japan also have their top player, Jun Mizutani, in the line-up.
Hong Kong's women beat Taiwan 3-1 in India and South Korea are sending a young side to the Games.
Coach Li Huifen said top player Jiang Huajun, the world number 10, had recovered from flu after returning from India and would be fit.
