Hong Kong head coach Li Ching has called on the younger players to continue to help shoulder the pressure after the city’s men’s and women’s teams both qualified for the knockout stages of the World Team Table Tennis Championships on Friday.
The men’s team reached the knockout stage as group winners following a convincing 3-0 win over Saudi Arabia and earlier wins against South Africa and Nigeria.
The city’s women’s team beat the Netherlands, Mexico and Macau to also win their group at the Copper Box Arena in London.
Speaking to the South China Morning Post after the group stage, Li singled out two players in particular for praise.
“Credits go to Doo Hoi-kem as she led a young team to some impressive results in the group stage,” he said. “Our preparation work, in particular against the Netherlands, was spot on. We watched videos repeatedly, and our analyses were good.
“As for the men’s team, we studied the strengths and weaknesses of Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna. It’s a surprise for Baldwin Chan Ho-wah to beat him, something none of our players had done before.”