Li Jiawei hopes to make her place in the Singaporean team for the 2011 Olympics – Table Tennis News
Li Jiawei, a table tennis player from Singapore, is all set to strive for more medals in the up-coming mega table tennis event, the GAC World Championship, set to begin from May 8, in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
The 29-year-old Singaporean player has three Olympic medals, along with a silver medal which she won in the last Olympic Games held in Beijing, China.
Li Jiawei is not the part of the Olympic Pathway Programme (OPP), as she is expected to give birth in October. The Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA) decided to give her the same status in the squad for Rotterdam, as of her compatriots Feng Tianwei,
Wang Yuegu, Sun Beibei and Yu Mengyu. All the above mentioned players will be participating in the London Olympics next year.
The OPP is a special programme formulated for the elite Singaporean athletes. This programme gives a full support to players, to excel in the Olympics. Li Jiawei was amongst those players who benefited from the programme before the 2008 Olympics. The initiative
was known as Project 0812 when it was first launched.
The chief executive officer of the STTA, Wong h*i Leng, said, "The association always provides the same resources for the players, Jiawei will receive the same support as her team-mates in the OPP, in coaching, nutrition, training and competitions. We always
provide equal opportunities and resources for our players. Whatever the OPP doesn't pay for, we will have to top up."
Li Jiawei is hoping to make into the team for the Olympics. She will be participating in the 2011 Olympics, for the last time in her playing career. She is confident that despite of not making a place in the OPP programme, she could still be the part of the
team.
The Singaporean player left the game for 14 months after the 2008 Olympics for her marriage and later gave birth to a baby boy, Terry. She was the number three player on the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) ranking, when she left the sport. On
her return in 2010, she made it to the number 23 spot, on the ITTF ranking.
Li Jiawei, said, "I feel my play has become more dangerous. My strength, speed and technique are better now and I've recovered well”.
If Jiawei manages to excel in the up-coming event, it is likely that she could make her place amongst the top three Singaporean Women players for the 2011 Olympics.
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