Hong Kong’s Doo Hoi-kem will test herself against world’s best in Suzhou
The 18-year-old will be city's best hopes for a medal with her doubles partner, Lee Ho-ching, at 2015 World Championships in China
Promising Hong Kong table tennis player Doo Hoi-kem will use next week’s World Championships as a key test against the best before mounting a serious challenge at next year’s Rio Games.
Doo, along with her doubles partner Lee Ho-ching, veterans Tie Yana and Jiang Huajun and Lee Ching-wan, form a strong five-member Hong Kong women’s squad.
The highest ranked singles player among her teammates despite her age, Doo will be seeded 12th when the 2015 World Table Tennis Championships kick off in Suzhou, China, on April 26.
Watch: Wong Chun-ting and Doo Hoi-kem talk about their chances at the 2015 World Championships
She has been making steady progress and still has plenty of room for improvement considering her age
Lee and Jiang will be seeded 22 and 23, respectively, while Tie is 32.
“There is still a gap between me and the elite Chinese women in terms of skills and experience, and the World Championship can probably give me the best exposure to help lift my standards,” said the 18-year-old youngster.
“This is my second world individual event after making my debut in Paris two years ago and I always feel excited at such big tournaments.
“I went to the Youth Olympics, World Junior Championships and the Asian Games last year, making some good progress since then. The Suzhou event will be another tough test that I need to overcome before the Rio Olympic Games.”
Doo’s world ranking soared from 33 to 14 this month after impressive performances in the world tour in the past couple of months. Although she did not win any singles medal in the German and Spanish Opens, she beat two top-10 players from Japan – Ai Fukuhara and Kasumi Ishikawa – and won a doubles silver medal with Lee in the German Open.
Coach Li Ching believes she is already at elite level, however, because of her powerful attacking backhand, which is one of the strongest in the world.
“She needs to believe in herself and be mentally strong when up against top players,” he said.
“She has been making steady progress and still has plenty of room for improvement considering her age. The World Championships can be the best stage for her to prove.”
Head coach Chan Kong-wah said the women’s doubles pair of Doo and Lee could be Hong Kong’s best medal hopes in Suzhou, along with Lee and Jiang Tianyi in the mixed doubles.
There is still a gap between me and the elite Chinese women ... the World Championship can probably give me the best exposure
“The women’s doubles pair is young and promising and they are little known to the others, which should give them an advantage,” said Chan. “Mixed doubles is always our stronghold and the pair has been working hard recently with the a World Championships medal their target.”
Jiang and Lee, who clinched a silver medal at the last year Asian Games, are seeded second in Suzhou.
Two years ago in Paris, Cheung Yuk and Jiang Huajun won a bronze medal in the mixed doubles for Hong Kong, while the pair did the same at the 2011 World Championships in Rotterdam.
A total of 310 men and 238 women have entered the eight-day event in Suzhou, which ends on May 3. Hong Kong will also send five men: Jiang Tianyi, Tang Peng, Wong Chun-ting, Ho Kwan-kit and Li Hon-ming.
