Last-ditch chance for Tweed hopefuls

TWEED brothers Kane and Wade Townsend’s Commonwealth Games hopes hinge on winning discretionary selection from Table Tennis Australia.

Kane narrowly missed direct entry into the team at the trials at Molendinar yesterday, with Chris Yan and Trent Carter instead earning nominations alongside top two Heming Hu and David Powell, who secured their places on Saturday.

The final spot on the fiveman squad is yet to be announced, as is the case on the women’s team.

Miao Miao was nearly a high-profile casualty at the trials, only just scraping through in fourth place yesterday to qualify for her fifth Commonwealth Games appearance in a welcome result on her birthday.

“My performance in this qualification wasn’t really good,” she admitted. “I was lucky to win some matches at the first stage and lost quite a lot on the second stage.”

Miao said she would work on getting accustomed to the conditions before the Games in April on the Gold Coast.

“From now until the Commonwealth Games I need to get more used to the conditions and also get used to these balls so hopefully I can play better at the Commonwealth Games,” she said.

Her qualification came at the expense of Michelle Bromley, who was a close fifth in the trials.

Miao joined Tracy Feng in making the cut yesterday, while Jian Fang Lay and Melissa Tapper soared through on Saturday.

Hu was the standout in the men’s field, winning all seven of his matches.

“I spent the last couple of months preparing pretty hard and this feels really good,” he said.