Table Tennis Canada announces eight-member team for Delhi CWG

New Delhi, Sept.16 (ANI): Table Tennis Canada and Commonwealth Games Canada has named the team for the XIXth Commonwealth Games to be held in Delhi from October 3-14.

Olympians Pradeeban Peter-Paul and Mo Zhang will guide a young Canadian team. Both are Pan American Games medalists (2007, Rio de Janeiro), have previous Commonwealth Games experience (2006, Melbourne) and have also both recently won the North American Championships.

New National Coach, Yongjun Duan, a quadruple medalist at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, will lead the team.

"I really enjoy the amazing athleticism of table tennis and we've got some superb players on this team," said Chef de Mission Martha Deacon. "Table tennis is hugely popular in Asia, so the competition should be phenomenal."

"Our younger athletes will face a steep learning curve at the Games," said Tony Kiesenhofer, Director General of Table Tennis Canada. "However, there are some legitimate medal chances in the women's singles, where Mo Zhang will need to fend off strong opposition from the World Champions from Singapore and from host India. In women's doubles, Mo Zhang and Sara Yuen have consistently performed well in the Commonwealth arena. The men are in a position to challenge for a medal in the Team event."

Athletes named by Table Tennis Canada to Team Canada for the 2010 Commonwealth Games were selected after the Canadian Championships in Calgary, July 16-18, the last leg of a multi-competition selection process.

Men:

Pradeeban Peter-Paul (Ottawa, ON)

Pierre-Luc Hinse (Gatineau, QC)

Xavier Therien (Gatineau, QC)

Andre Ho (Richmond, BC)

Women:

Mo Zhang (Ottawa, ON)

Sara Yuen (Ottawa, ON)

Carmen Lee (Vancouver, BC)

Anqi Luo (Mississauga, ON)oaches:

Junya Chen (Mississauga, ON)

Yongjun Duan (Ottawa, ON)

All selected athletes will compete in the singles, doubles and mixed doubles events. The pairs competing in doubles, as well as the three athletes selected to compete in the team event, will be decided at a later date.

Pierre-Luc Thiriault and Marie-Andrie Livesque have been named as alternates. (ANI)