India Calling….

India host the Commonwealth Championships yet again in July 2019 and Wales will be ever present once more.

Wales, who are a founding member of the ITTF, staged the competition in Cardiff back in 1989. The men’s champion on that occasion was Alan Cooke of England. Fast forward 30 years and you may see Cooke leading his England squad to more titles in the city of Lucknow this summer.

From a Welsh perspective one would imagine that Welsh champions Charlotte Carey and Callum Evans have booked their seats on the plane to India. Others in the frame are Anna Hursey, Chloe Thomas, Beth Roberts, Lara Whitton, Grace Clement, Beth Richards, Danielle Kelly, Lydia John, Josh Stacey, Benedict Watson, Cade Short, Marc Castro, Louie Evans & Joseph Roberts. Others may wish to put their hat in the ring at the Welsh National Championships which will take place at the beginning of March at Sport Wales National Centre. The selectors will be looking to see who is on form and ready to take their places at one of the biggest events on the ITTF calendar.

National Coach Stephen Jenkins, Swansea Head Coach Josh Morgan, National Development Manager Simon Oyler and Director of Coaching Ryan Jenkins will probably select 4 men and 4 women along with 2 coaches to make their way to the Asian Country 17-22nd July.

Other events to make notable results will be the Cardiff City Open this month, Team Championships of Wales in February, the Newport Open in March and of course the National Championships themselves. The selectors will also be looking at the Grand Prix circuit and other International competitions, along with previous events such as the Cardiff Grand Prix, which took place in December 2018.

It’s an exciting time for our National team players

ITTF article – https://www.ittf.com/2019/01/16/india-host-commonwealth-championships-set-odisha/