TTAM To Send Seven Paddlers To Glasgow

KUALA LUMPUR, April 24 (Bernama) -- The Table Tennis Association of Malaysia (TTAM) will be sending seven paddlers, including four women, to the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland. TTAM executive secretary Soong Poh Wah said three of the players in the men's team are Mohd Shakirin Ibrahim, Muhamad Ashraf Haiqal Muhamad Rizal and Leong Chee Feng while the women's challenge would be spearheaded by veteran, Beh Lee Wei, Lee Rou You, Ng Sock Khim and Ho Ying. Soong (he) said TTAM's target was to defend the bronze medal in the women's team event since competition in the games would be stiff, especially from Singapore, Australia, India, Canada, England and Scotland. "We won a bronze medal in the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India and we hope to retain the feat since competition will be tough with the presence of a number of former Chinese players representing Singapore. "If we can win more than one bronze medal, it will be a bonus," he told Bernama, Thursday. Soong said to prepare for the Commonwealth Games, the players would be participating in two series of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Tour held in Subic Bay, the Philippines from May 15-18 and Sydney, Australia from May 21-25. Upon their return from the two competitions, the National squad will continue their training at Bukit Jalil before heading to China for a month-long training stint starting June 15. Soong said the National men's and women's teams would also compete in the World Team Table Tennis Championships in Tokyo, Japan from April 28 to May 5, as part of efforts to improve the country's ranking. -- BERNAMA