Lao junior table tennis athletes were unable to win any medals and the tournament’s champions were Japan, India, and Thailand.
Medals were awarded to the young athletes at a ceremony on Wednesday by Minister of Education and Sports, Mr. Phout Simmalavong, President of the Asian Table Tennis Union Khalil Al Mohannadi, prominent officials, and sponsors who attended the event.
The championship was held in Vientiane Capital, with teams from 17 countries attending. Participating nations include Bahrain, Bangladesh, China, Taipei, Hong Kong, Iran, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nepal, Qatar, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Uzbekistan, and Laos.
The tournament had 11 competing categories, which were played at the Junior Level under the age of 15 (U15) and Youth Level under 19 years of age (U19).
Ms. Dalavone Manychanh, Deputy Secretary of the Laos Table Tennis Federation (LTTF), said that it was a great honor to host such a significant tournament in Laos, with Lao athletes competing for the first time.
Several Lao athletes performed well, most notably Mr. Anun Vongsa, who triumphed in two singles matches against Singapore.
At the same time, two Laotian players, Anun and Laokham, paired in a doubles team to compete with Qatar, but they lost with a score of 2-3.
“Winning two matches against Singapore in the table tennis championship was not easy,” Ms. Dalavone Manychanh stated, acknowledging that the team was unable to win any major laurels.
Some athletes only had one month to practice after returning from another competition in Thailand. Provincial athletes were also unable to practice due to lack of resources and many coaches were not efficient enough to train the players in such a short duration.
Lao junior table tennis athletes are now gearing up to compete in a national tournament in December and Southeast Asian games next year.
