Table tennis 101 for Pathlight students

SINGAPORE – Aspiring table tennis players from Pathlight School were treated to a special sports clinic yesterday, with some 18 students aged between 13 to 18 years old participating in a two-hour session coached by national paddlers Gao Ning, Clarence Chew, Chen Feng, Ma Liang, Zhou Yihan and Lin Ye at the Singapore Table Tennis Association.

The youngsters were given an introduction to the sport before taking part in fun exercises that involved hand-eye coordination, concentration and focus. Members of the national table tennis team, including 2012 Olympic Games double bronze medallist Feng Tianwei, had visited Pathlight – which is a special school for high-functioning autistic children – during a roadshow in March this year, and the students were happy to be back in the company of the nation’s biggest sports stars.

Said 15-year-old Daryl Loh: “It is really educational and I learnt how to play table tennis by learning the proper skills. I enjoyed myself today and I got to play against one of the national players, Ma Liang.” LOW LIN FHOONG