Liu standout performer for Otago

Otago players produced some decent results at the South Island individual and para championships in Dunedin at the weekend.

The star performer was Jill Liu, who finished runner-up in the open women’s singles despite having limited preparation for the event.

Liu came out firing in the final against Auckland star Jocelyn Lam, winning the first three games 11-7, 11-7, 12-10.

Lam then found her best form as she won the next four games 11-8, 12-10, 11-9, 11-6.

Liu combined with Canterbury player Anny Li to win the open women’s doubles.

They beat Maia Cavanagh and Lisa Gear 11-7, 11-8, 10-12, 11-8 in the final.

John Marrable was the standout Otago player in para table tennis.

He won the singles class 1-5, and was runner-up in the combined doubles with fellow Otago player Ken McIntosh.

Ryan Standring (para class 6-11), Edwin Nieman (over-40 men’s singles) and Grant Wilson (over-60 men’s singles) were other Otago players with runner-up finishes.

As expected, the four visiting South Korean professionals proved just a bit too strong in the open men’s competition.

Hui Cheol Bae beat Gihun Lee in the singles final, and Inhyeok Choi teamed with Griffin Buchanan (Christchurch) to win the men’s doubles.

"No-one really pushed them too hard at all — they were in cruise control, I would say," Table Tennis Otago president Ben Duffy said.

"They provided quite a spectacle, and we had a few people show up to watch, which was cool."

Duffy said the presence of the elite Korean players along with some of New Zealand’s top talent made for a good tournament.

"That was the highest level of table tennis I’ve seen in town, that’s for sure. You didn’t really know where to watch because there was good stuff happening all over."