By: Scott Houston, Ian Marshall
Vanuatu, the "Jewel of the Pacific" the dominant force in female table tennis in the South Pacific region of the world re-inforced that status on Saturday 26th September 2009 by winning the Women’s Team event at the Mini Pacific Games in commanding style.
At the final hurdle they defeated Fiji by five matches to nil.
It was yet another title to add to the already impressive medal haul of a country that has dominated women's table tennis in the Pacific region since 2003.
They won gold at the Pacific Games in 2003 and 2007 as well as at the Mini Pacific Games in 2005. In 2009 it was more gold.
Confidence
As the teams entered the arena for the pre-match presentation there was an air of confidence, almost a swagger amongst the Vanuatu team, where as Fiji looked a little edgy in their first major championship final; this set the tone for the match and Vanuatu were never behind.
Impressive Start
The first match of the encounter was Anolyn Lulu for Vanuatu against 15 year old emerging talent Carolyn Xuan Li from Fiji. The experienced and vocal Lulu came out all guns blazing and dominated proceedings to emerge with a straight games victory.
Second match saw Liopa Santhy of Vanuatu against Fiji’s 22 year old Shreeti Jeet. The left handed Santhy, who uses reversed rubber on the forehand and medium pimples on the backhand proved to have a cool head in the heat of the final; she controlled matters for the most part and also won in straight games.
Spearhead
The third match saw Vanuatu’s spearhead and 2008 Olympian Priscila Tommy face Fiji’s Julia Koi. The defensive Tommy has exceptional feeling for the ball, great deception when changing spin and the ability to retrieve the ball from all corners of the court.
Undoubtedly it was a tough task for Koi to defeat the reigning Pacific Games Women’s Singles champion and that proved to be the case as Tommy controlled the ball in all three games to give Vanuatu a commanding lead.
Ray of Hope
Fiji needed a big lift and in fourth match Shriti Jeet provided a glimmer of hope by claiming the first game against Anolyn Lulu. The rallies were close but Vanuatu’s most experienced player was able to keep the ball in play more often and unleash her forehand when the opportunity arose to come out a three-one victor to put Vanuatu within one match of claiming gold.
Matters Concluded
The fifth and what proved to be final match of the encounter was between Priscila Tommy and Carolyn Xuan Li. Li, who uses reversed rubber on the forehand and attacks with medium pimple on the backhand will line up for Team Oceania at the International Cadet Challenge in Tokyo, Japan next month. She is certainly a bright prospect and she gave Tommy a good run for her money in two sets; however she was not able to make enough inroads into the ever-reliable Tommy’s game. Tommy won three-zero and in doing so sealed the gold medal for Vanuatu.
Disappointment but Progress
Undoubtedly the result was an immense disappointment for Fiji.
They had been undefeated to date in the tournament and had entered the final feeling that they were in good shape to take home the gold medal. However to be runners up at a major championship is an excellent achievement and they can be proud of their efforts. The team that was coached by their National Development Officer Miss Ran Ogawa will take home a silver medal for the first time; it is a sign of definite progress for Fiji.
The Hunted
For Vanuatu they are now the hunted, but they were again able to dominate all who came up against them.
The team consisting of Priscila Tommy, Anolyn Lulu, Liopa Santhy and Stephanie Qwea surrendered only one individual match for the entire competition. They are coached by Mr. Li Fann, a Chinese native who is employed as the Head Coach of the Vanuatu Table Tennis Association and they proved once again that they are the pace setters of women’s table tennis in the Pacific region.
Tribute
Anolyn Lulu, their national team stalwart, as well National Development Officer and junior coach paid tribute to the President of the Vanuatu Table Tennis Association, Mr. Mok Tsi Wei. She said: "We are forever thankful to Mr. Mok Tsi Wei, he was the one who introduced table tennis to Vanuatu and we have won all our gold medals for him. Without his support we would surely not be where we are today".
Final
VANUATU 5-0 FIJI
Anolyn Lulu v Carolyn Xuan Li 11-2, 11-9, 11-7
Liopa Santhy v Shreeti Jeet 11-5, 11-6, 11-8
Priscila Tommy v Julia Koi 11-2, 11-5, 11-3
Anolyn Lulu v Shriti Jeet 8-11, 11-2, 11-2, 11-7
Priscila Tommy v Carolyn Xuan Li 11-3, 12-10, 11-7
Last Modified on 29/09/2009 17:56