CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — Zaeem Arif of Charlottetown, alternate for the P.E.I. squad heading to Red Deer, Alta., for the Canada Games in February went undefeated in Division F with 7-0 record.
He defeated several players much higher rated than him.
According to a release from Table Tennis P.E.I., he has improved a lot since the Atlantic championship in May in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Thirteen-year-old Mike Li, a member of Team P.E.I. won silver in Division E with a 7-2 record, even though Li rated 459 and fifth in the division. He defeated the gold medal winner in five games, a competitor who was rated 644th. Seventeen-year-old Steven Liu finished fifth in the same group with a 6-3 record.
Another P.E.I. player, Skylar Tang, finished third in Division E with a 6-3 record. There was a three-way tie for third, fourth and fifth place. The competition was tough in this division.
The other teammates, Daniel Zhao finished third in Division D, with a 6-3 record. He played exceptionally well but lacked stamina and strength to win more games. This was a great learning experience for the young Canada Games team before they head off to Red Deer.
Li and Zhao also finished first and second in under-13 and under-15 age category in the tournament.
Thein Tang of Cornwall went undefeated in Division C with a 9-0 record to capture the gold medal. Mark Gregory of Stratford lost the Division A title to Dipan Shah of Nova Scotia.
Canada Winter Games coach Najam Chishti was pleased with the performance of the young team which still has two months to work on the mental preparation and skills of the team.
