Open attracts 30 more players than last year

The sweatbands are out, the brows have been sweating and the balls are all set for delivery.

The Otago Open will begin at the Edgar Centre today with 136 competitors, 30 up on last year.

The grades range  from open men and women right down to the junior age-groups with plenty of talent on display. A southern region junior camp has run at the Edgar Centre over the past two days as a lead-up to the Open.

One of the favourites for the top prize in the  men’s open grade has a Dunedin connection.

Nathan Xu (14) did his initial schooling in Dunedin and started playing the game in the South before he headed to Auckland about five years ago. He is a talented player and has been selected to attend the Youth Olympics in Argentina later this year.

Other players who are expected to feature include Dean Shu, of Auckland, and Cantabrians Ivo Mikulec, Essien Lin and Hongyi Li.

In the women’s open grade, Kim Wang, of Auckland, is a contender as is Zhiying Cheng while University of Otago dentistry student Lucy Lu could also be a chance.

Players will play against each other in pools before the top qualifier in each division goes through into a straight knockout system.