Karen Li leads Comm Games table tennis team

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Experienced table tennis player Karen Li heads a strong team of four New Zealanders to the New Delhi Commonwealth Games in October.

It will be Li's third Commonwealth Games, after she was a medalist in both doubles and teams events at Manchester in 2002.

With Li's sister and four-time Olympian Li Chunli as coach, New Zealand is a contender for a medal in the teams' event.

While 2010 world team champions Singapore are expected to be stand-out performers, New Zealand is one of the top six teams vying for medals.

Table Tennis New Zealand's director of high performance, Murray Finch, said Karen Li's current performance level would give the New Zealand team a real advantage.

"Karen is one of the top players in the Commonwealth," he said. "As our top player, Karen will play two of the five matches in the teams event.

"She's in the form of her life, and with four months preparation in China under her belt, she will be a major force in the competition."

Finch said Li Chunli was the other major factor in New Zealand's favour.

She won three medals as a player in the 2002 Games, including gold in the women's singles. After retiring following the 2002 Commonwealth Games, Chunli was appointed coach for the Melbourne Games in 2006 and now New Delhi.

New Zealand Olympic Committee secretary general and Commonwealth games team selector Barry Maister said Chunli's experience was a definite asset.

"Li Chunli has a proven track record and is unbelievably positive," Maister said. "The team in Delhi will have the benefit of a coach who has got expertise in this level of competition and knows what is required."

The New Zealand players will also compete for individual medals, with the Christchurch trio of Sun Yang, Annie Yang and Jenny Huang rounding out the team.

Annie Yang is currently living in France while playing professionally in the German league while Sun Yang, a defensive player, has performed solidly at international level since she qualified to represent New Zealand in 2007. The team is: Karen Li, Sun Yang, Jenny Hung, Annie Yang.

- NZPA