St Paul's Co-educational College scored an impressive 3-1 win over La Salle College in the final of the A-grade Inter-School Table Tennis Team Competition (Division One - Kowloon and Hong Kong Island) at Chai Wan Sports Centre on Sunday.
St Paul's student Cheung Yin-to, 15, beat 16-year-old Chu Pak-chung from La Salle 2-0. Yin-to said stability and good defence were key. "I focused on attacking without making any mistakes. I also focused on controlling my returns," said Yin-to.
But a fellow St Paul's student, Ng Cheuk-hin, 16, learned a great lesson after losing 1-2 to 16-year-old Dong Yu-chen from La Salle.
"The pressure affected my performance. My receiving wasn't great, either. I'll train hard to be better next time," said Cheuk-hin.
St Paul's leading table tennis star, Wong Ho-hin, won two matches, both 2-0, against Chu Pak-chung and fellow La Salle player Poon Chong-chiu, 14. His victories helped St Paul's secure the overall championship.
Ho-hin used different tactics and great determination to win his matches. "Using different strategies helped me dominate the matches. I was also careful not to make any unforced errors," said the 16-year-old.
Ho-hin won gold in the individual category at the Interport Table Tennis Competition at Hang Hau Sports Centre on November 14. He said the matches against players from Macau, Guangdong and Fujian helped him improve a lot. Now he is preparing for the Swedish Junior and Cadet Open in Orebro, Sweden, from February 24-28.
St Paul's coach, Luo Jiu-jiu, said the team's all-round performance helped them win the title. "Their team spirit was great. Their skills, such as keeping the rally going and spinning, were impressive. They proved that they can handle pressure, too, as they all stayed very calm throughout the competition," said Luo.
