TABLE TENNIS: The race for the top five male and female Australian table tennis players, and a place on the Australian team for next month’s Olympic qualifiers, is set to go down to the wire at Tweed Heads on Monday.

So far Heming Hu and Chris Yan are safe for the men, while Glasgow Commonwealth Games athlete Sally Zhang and four-time Olympian, Jian Fang Lay, are through for the women.

But the contest for the remaining three positions in both men and women is well and truly open.

Four-time Olympian, Miao Miao, London Olympian, Vivian Dederko, and history making para-athlete, Melissa Tapper, are among the group of five women players battling for the final three spots.

In the men’s draw, Gold Coast brothers, Kane and Wade Townsend, and Commonwealth Games representative, , head the list of five players still in contention.

As the top qualifier Heming Hu has guaranteed his name will be on the list Table Tennis Australia submits to the Australian Olympic Committee if Australia qualifies for Rio.

“There’s so much stress coming into this event,” Hu said.

“Going to Rio would be the biggest thing that’s ever happened to me in this sport.

“This is the biggest confidence boost I’ve had. I’ve never been able to do that in an Australian men’s tournament.”

21-year-old Hu was a member of Australia’s Commonwealth Games team, but believes his game has improved dramatically since Glasgow.

“I’ve been in Sweden for the past six months, so playing there and in Denmark has been the key,” he said.

“You go through a lot of ups and downs when you play so much, so to finish on top here after having a down period is very satisfying.”

Qualifying for Bendigo continues a fairytale 2016 for Chris Yan and Sally Zhang, who have announced they plan to marry this year.

Zhang was the only player not to drop a game in the two days of competition at Tweed Heads.

ROSS SOLLY FOR TABLE TENNIS AUSTRALIA