7/13/2008 2008 Oceania Championships

The Tamasu Company, manufacturing its products under the trade name Butterfly, has a long and distinguished record of promoting table tennis worldwide, a fact that was once again endorsed on Saturday 12th July 2008.

At the Oceania Championships in the Papeete, the principal city in Tahiti, Butterfly once again showed its hand of friendship, generosity and support for the promotion of table tennis.

Butterfly donated four hundred and eighty mid level rackets, one hundred and twenty elite rackets and forty-eight gross of table tennis balls to the Oceania Table Tennis Federation.

 7/13/2008 2008 Oceania Championships

Eighteen year old Trent Carter became one of the youngest ever winners of the Men’s Singles title at the Oceania Championships when he succeeded in Papeete, Tahiti on Saturday 12th July 2008.

Seeded two, Trent Carter surrendered only one individual game en route to the final, that being in the quarters against New Zealand’s Phillip Xiao whom he beat in five games.

In his opening duel, Trent Carter beat Jackson Chiu, also from New Zealand, 11-2, 11-1, 11-3, 11-3 before accounting for Phillip Xiao 11-6, 11-6, 11-7, 7-11, 11-7 to reserve his place in the semis.

 7/13/2008 2008 Oceania Championships

At the Oceania Championships on Saturday 12th July 2008, twenty-seven year old Australian, Miao Miao, went one step better than twelve months ago, when she had to settle for runners up spot.

In the Australian city of Geelong, she lost in the final to New Zealand’s Karen Li; one year later in Tahiti’s principal city, Papeete, she gave a commanding performance to win the Women’s Singles crown without the loss of a single game.

Thus she regained the crown she won in 2004 when the tournament was staged in Whangarei, in the New Zealand’s north island.

 7/13/2008 2008 Oceania Championships

Melissa Tapper looked somewhat bemused in late November and early December 2004 at the second ITTF World Junior Championships in the Japanese city of Kobe.

It was a daunting task for the young lady from Australia competing in a tournament, which saw many of the world’s best junior players in action and of course she was very young at the time.

She was still in the cadet age group category.

Quite simply she was thrown in at the deep end and she had a choice, swim or sink; she has done the former.

 7/12/2008 2008 Oceania Championships

Australia dominated proceedings in both the Under 21 and Junior events at the Oceania Championships in Papeete, Tahiti on Friday 11th July 2008.

All four singles titles on offer went to players from the southern hemisphere’s largest country.

Trent Carter won the Under 21 Men’s Singles title, Michelle Beaumont captured the counterpart female event; whilst in the junior events it was success for David Powell in the male competition and Melissa Tapper in the female event.

 7/12/2008 2008 Oceania Championships

New Zealand’s Kong Lingnan and Australia’s Lily Phan won the Cadet Boys’ and Cadet Girls’ Singles titles respectively at the Oceania Championships in Papeete on Friday 11th July 2008; whilst in the doubles, as in the singles, it was honours shared between the continents two largest countries.

Australia’s Kane Townsend and Vincent Tran clinched gold in the Cadet Boys’ Doubles competition whilst in the counterpart Cadet Girls’ Doubles event it was victory for New Zealand’s Angie Guo aqnd Julia Wu.

 7/12/2008 2008 Oceania Championships

The Beijing Olympic Games is fast approaching, for many the hopes of returning to their native country with a medal is a distant dream, it is the taking part that counts; the fact that they competed in the Olympic Games is an achievement in itself.

It is to a great extent the same at the Oceania Table Tennis Championships being staged in Papeete from Monday 7th to Saturday 12th July 2008; it is the taking part that counts.