Quek Set For Top Table

Table tennis player makes history as first local-born S'porean to join Chinese league

- David Lee

Featuring China's best current players, up-and-coming starlets and retired legends, the China Table Tennis Super League (CTTSL) is widely regarded as the sport's most competitive league.

And Izaac Quek is hoping his stint with Anhui Zhongcheng will help take his game to the next level after becoming the first local-born Singapore player to join the CTTSL.

He will follow in the footsteps of China-born Singaporeans such as Feng Tianwei and current national men's team coach Gao Ning to play in the prestigious tournament, the standard of which is seen by some as comparable to the world championships.

While his club comprises relatively unheralded players such as 34th-ranked Wen Ruibo, Ning Xiankun (133rd) and Niu Guankai (175th), Quek will get the chance to pit his skills against the world's top two players Lin Shidong and Wang Chuqin, as well as Olympic champions such as Fan Zhendong and Xu Xin, who no longer compete on the World Table Tennis circuit.

The 19-year-old, who has played in leagues in India, France and Spain, told The Straits Times: "This is the best league in the world and not everyone gets to play in it, so I want to make full use of this stint to learn as much as I can from the best players in the world.