Local table tennis club league aims for smashing year
SINGAPORE – It may only be in its third edition this year, but the Singapore National Table Tennis Championship League has already racked up quite a following among the local fraternity, with the likes of former national paddlers Yang Zi and Jason Ho turning out to compete in the tournament.
Organised by the Singapore Table Tennis Players (STTP) Ltd, a local company, the club league – which is not affiliated to governing body the Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA) – was started in 2015 by a group of table tennis enthusiasts who wanted to host its first major team championships. Touted as the largest club tournament here, its inaugural edition held at the Jurong East Sports Hall attracted 40 teams and some 400 players.
STTP director Andrew Tan told TODAY that this year’s league will see a record turnout of some 52 teams and up to 700 paddlers, with the addition of a fifth division for beginner and intermediate players. The two-leg tournament in July and December will also move from the 2016 venues at the Nanyang Technological University and Toa Payoh Sports Hall to the newly-opened Tampines Hub.
According to Tan, the company had previously worked with ActiveSG on its earlier event, while the 2017 edition will be co-organised by STTP and the Tampines West Community Sports Club. It has already signed on a number of sponsors, including Yasaka, a manufacturer of table tennis blades and rubbers.
“Our main aim is to promote table tennis,” said Tan in an interview with TODAY.
“By organising events, we can also discover more talents for Singapore.
“This is the biggest league in Singapore for table tennis…all the eight teams in Division 1 are of similar standard and we are not concerned with gender, age or nationality.”
Organisers of the club league have also promised a bigger and better event this year, with more teams vying for honours across five divisions. Around 1,500 spectators are expected at the Tampines Hub Sports Hall, and fans will be able to catch former national players Yang Zi – who won a historic men’s doubles gold with Gao Ning at the 2012 Asian Championships – and Li Hu ‘live’ in action.
A promotion and relegation system will see the top two teams promoted to a higher division, while the bottom two will be relegated. This year’s tournament will also see para athletes from the Table Tennis Association for the Disabled (Singapore) competing for the first time in Division 5.
While the STTA currently organises the bulk of local table tennis tournaments such as the National Table Tennis Grand Finale and Crocodile Challenge Cup, Tan said its league will complement the association’s work, as well as add vibrancy to the local scene.
He added: “There is no club championship like this…this (promotion and relegation system) is very interesting as people want to fight for their clubs.
“The masses are our target group. In the long run, this will be healthy for table tennis. With more competitions, Singapore table tennis standards will go up.”
STTP are hopeful that the championship will be able to emulate the successes of table tennis leagues in Japan and South Korea in the future, but Tan has ruled out recruiting professional teams and players for now.
“The next step is to invite foreign clubs to play in the league,” he said.
“I don’t think (we’ll have professionals) as Singapore’s standards are not that high yet…unless we’re like the T2 Asia Pacific Table Tennis League and get US$1.5 million (in sponsorship) to play.”
