Sock Khim eyes top-eight finish in Asian meet

KUALA LUMPUR: Top woman paddler Ng Sock Khim (pic) is hoping to lead Malaysia to a top-eight finish in the asian table tennis championships which begin in Macau tomorrow.

Malaysia, led by veteran Beh Lee Wei, finished a credible 10th in 2009, which saw the participation of top nations China and Singapore.

This time Malaysia will be without Lee Wei, who is on maternity leave, and national No. 1 Sock Khim will shoulder the responsibility of leading the team.

And the 28-year-old Sock Khim believes that although it will be tough, it is not impossible to upset the formbooks when the competition begins.

“Right now, our biggest obstacle to a top-eight finish are Thailand, Indonesia and India,” said Sock Khim, who is a veteran of six Asian championships.

“We stand a good chance against Indonesia and India. It is Thailand that we are most wary of because of our poor record agaisnt them. But the players are all fired up and hopefully we can repeat our best achievement in 2003 when we finished fifth.”

The Kedahan, who just recovered from a knee injury, will only compete in singles in the team and individual categories so as not to aggravate it.

The other paddlers in the team are Chiu Soo Jiin and 17-year-old Lee Rou You.

Meanwhile, Table Tennis Association Malaysia (TTAM) secretary Chan Foong Keong said that Malaysia will not be sending a men’s team “because their recent performances have not been encouraging”.

“The men did not do well in last year’s national championship and we decided that it’ll be better if they stay home and train harder,” said Foong Keong.

“It is not a punishment, just a reminder to all the players that although they train hard, they must also produce good results if they want to be sent out for tournaments.”

A record 29 men’s and 21 women’s teams are taking part in the Asian meet.