First Filipino Youth Olympic Games qualifier Jann Mari Nayre will banner Team Philippines’ quest for glory as hostilities in the 24th Southeast Asian Junior Cadet Table Tennis Championship fires off today at the Robinsons Place in Naga City.
The 18-year-old national junior top member, who ruled the recent ITTF Road to Buenos Aires Youth Olympic Games Qualifying held in Cook Island in New Zealand, will be joined by other talented Filipino shuttlers like Mari Andrei Ramos Reynaldo Templado, Andrew Uy and Daniel Gabriel Marcelo.
In the girls’ division, Filipina champion Stephanie Reign Villanueva of Bago City will lead the distaff chargers against ranking SEATTA tablenetters in the four-day event organized by Philippine Table Tennis Federation Inc. president Ting Ledesma and hosted by Naga City Mayor John Bongat, a certified Bicolano table tennis enthusiast.
Ledesma said host Philippines can field as many qualified Filipino young bets against the cream of the crop junior cadet players from Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, Brunei and Laos who are already in town as of yesterday.
Brief but colorful opening rites highlighting the parade of colors of the participating Southeast Asian nations will usher in the tournament.