After they defeated hosts India in the women table tennis team event on Monday,the New Zealand players walked to their bench even as their coach Chun Li raised a sign written in Chinese characters. Unintelligible to the average viewer,all the members immediately understood. The sign wished the players good luck. Indeed all the players in the New Zealand squad were of Chinese origin. Soon after the celebrations,the team,consisting of Karen Li,Suan Yang and Annie Yang immediately began to draw strategies for their next match once again in Chinese. Chun Li a four time Olympian for New Zealand,and gold medalist in the singles event of the 2002 Commonwealth games says the speaking in Chinese helps the players bond. As a coach its the easiest thing that helps the team feel united. Forty-eight-year-old Chun Li,who immigrated to New Zealand from Guangxi in China in the late 80s said that when she came to New Zealand she was surprised as to how nonexistent her sport was in the country. Table tennis is taught a very young age in China and when I moved to New Zealand I had to start from scratch if I wanted to put New Zealand on the table tennis map. In China,we had so much of competition. I wanted to try something new and I did so, said Chun Li,who has also worked as National Development officer with the NZ table tennis Association. Once in New Zealand,Chun Li also brought over other relatives from China including her sister Karen whom she then groomed in the sport. Chun Li retired from active competition to become a coach,her sister Karen with whom she won silver in the doubles event in Manchester,now leads the squad. Chun Li has been an inspiration. She wanted me to play in New Zealand. Its not about being Chinese but more and more local players are coming up. If we can guide them,it will be great for the country, says 33-year-old Karen,who has been the Oceania champion. While New Zealands squad is exclusively of Chinese origin,neighbouring Australia too has a strong Chinese connection. Miao Miao and Jian Fang Lay are two of the most experienced players in the team. Team coach Alois Posario is happy to have them in her squad,and does not buy the idea that the team is merely importing Chinese players. The Chinese are very fast. We do not have to spend much time on them teaching them basic skills. They bring a lot to the national team and since they are permanent residents,they have become an integral part. They are learning English and spending time and helping the reserve players, said Posario. Both Miao Miao and Fang Lay,who has a Chinese flag tattoed on her arm,are insistent that they are proud to be Australian. I came to Australia in 1994 from Hunzhou in China to study Table Tennis was the obvious choice and I continued with it. But we are also proud of being Chinese. Its because of that only that we started playing the game, says Lay.
