Vietnam’s table tennis player Dinh Quang Linh

Vietnamese men table-tennis players are struggling while the female team is set to be swept aside on the home soil at the Friendly Table-Tennis Championships in Ho Chi Minh City.

“We were very surprised,” said Nguyen Trong Truc, vice president of HCMC Table-Tennis Federation. “We thought the East Kobe squad had only one big name who is among Japan’s top 10. But it showed they prepared very well and were superior to Vietnamese players.”

Vietnamese women lost to Japan B 2-3 and to Malaysia by the same margin, so they are likely to be dumped from the tournament.

Teams from nine countries and territories are participating in the tournament that concludes Sunday.

Reported by Nhut Quang