TABLE TENNIS: Australia has a small but determined team in China this week competing at the 2015 Table Tennis World Championships.
They go there with little or no expectations of winning medals. Of all the sports Australia competes in at an Olympic level, table tennis is the one where Australia is constantly fighting against weight of numbers.
So the four Australians – male players David Powell, Heming Hu and Kane Townsend, and Australia’s leading female player, Jian Fang Lay – are perfectly placed to fly under the radar.
And that’s what coach Jens Lang is hoping will unfold.
“The most important thing for the players is to get as many matches as possible and as much international competition experience as possible,” Lang said.
“If we look at the individual competition, two matches in each group, and then if they make it out of the group and then one or two qualification matches, that would be four matches, which would be an outstanding outcome.
“Especially for the young guys, Heming and Kane, getting experience playing at this level, in this environment, that’s the most important thing for them.”
But as if the challenge for the Australians wasn’t hard enough already, the team is having to pilot itself this week.
Coach Lang has been struggling with a serious back injury for several weeks, and finally succumbed on the morning he was meant to fly to China.
And without a replacement coach available at short notice, it’s meant David Powell is the new team leader.
It seems to be a role Powell is enjoying, breezing through his opening two singles matches in China.
There is much at stake for Powell and his teammates, with Lang starting to turn his attention to the team he’ll take to Rio.
He hopes to qualify the maximum quota of three men and three women, and with Australia’s two most experienced Olympians, Miao Miao and William Henzell, unavailable for China this week, it’s presented an opportunity for others to impress.
“I expect that Miao Miao and especially William will be back and will be competing for the spots at the Olympics and they’ll be in strong contention,” Lang said.
“But at the same time it’s the David Powell’s and the Heming Hu’s and the Kane Townsend’s that will be the biggest threat to a William Henzell.
“I still think William is our best player, and he will have the intention of qualifying for one of the available spots, but there’s a good chance one of the other spots will come from these three in China this week.”
Henzell, who will be aiming for his fourth Olympics next year, impressed Lang at the recent Oceania Championships. This at a time when the 33-year-old is channeling most of his energy into his job as a data-analyst.
“It was really great to see how good William Henzell is playing, even though quite clearly his priorities at the moment are not table tennis,” Lang said.
“But that seems to be working well for him, because he seems really relaxed. Mentally he’s really relaxed, which is great for him.”
No doubt Henzell, like Lang, will be watching with interest as events unfold in China this week, gauging just how difficult the task will be to make that incredible fourth Australian Olympic team.
Playing schedule, results and a live stream of some matches can be found here>>>
Ross Solly for Table Tennis Australia
