Shu wins in Suva again

New Zealand’s Dean Shu was awarded the winner of the men’s singles in the third round of the 2018 International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF)- Oceania Tour at the FMF Gymnasium in Suva yesterday.

He defeated Nathan Xu in the finals with 6, 9, 7, 7 points, while Sally Yee won against sister Grace with 6, -5, 8, 3, 6 in the women’s singles. Shu said he was happy to secure another win in Fiji after winning the ITTF- Oceania Championships last year.

“I think there are good players in this year’s tournament and I’m glad to be in Fiji again after winning the Oceania junior championship,” he said.

“I am happy with my good performance and will be looking forward to the tour in New Zealand.”

Table Tennis Fiji Association president Anthony Ho said the tournament is a newly created event for the region and Fiji has hosted it well.

“Covering six different countries and Fiji was the third leg, looking at other previous events I think Fiji has staged a good event. We really appreciate the support from the sponsors and the Fiji Sports Council. The Fiji team has really stepped up with many notable performances.”

Ho added that Fiji will not be participating in the next round of competitions. “This is because of costs I do not think we will be able to go to Tahiti, we are carefully picking the events to go to and ensuring that our players get as much points as possible to qualify for the Oceania Cup which is the main event for this series next year.”

The two-day tournament saw some of the biggest names in Oceania table tennis like Australia’s Rohan Dhooria, New Zealand’s Shu and Nathan Xu taking part.

Xu has already qualified for the Youth Olympics and is the current Under-15 Oceania champion.

Fiji Table Tennis Federation president Anthony Ho thanked sponsors Fiji Broadcasting Corporation for continuing their support.