TABLE TENNIS: For a sport with not a lot of household names in Australia, Miao Miao is as close to table tennis royalty as you’re likely to get.
The veteran of four Olympic Games burst onto the scene as a 19-year-old at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, and has been to every Games since.
She has never progressed past the second round, but her fifth placing with Shirley Zhou in the women’s doubles in Sydney is still regarded as one of the finest moments in Australian table tennis.
This weekend, Miao begins a journey she hopes will take her to a record-equalling fifth Olympic Games, when she competes in the first round Olympic qualification tournament at Tweed Heads, NSW.
But 35-year-old Miao knows it’s going to be difficult. Just five months ago Miao had a baby, and she admits it’s been a struggle getting time on the table since.
“I have a lot of things going on at the moment,” Miao said.
“I want to keep playing. In Australian there is not the professional players, most players are just social so there is not that pressure.
“I know it’s getting tougher to qualify, because the younger players have more time for practice, and they go to Europe to play.”
Miao’s long-time teammate, Jian Fang Lay, is also hoping to qualify for a fifth Olympics this year, and as the top-ranked player in Australia at the moment is a strong chance of joining beach volleyballer Natalie Cook as the only women to go to five Games.
And it’s that milestone which is driving Miao to put everything on the line this weekend.
“I think I can still play well enough, but I haven’t had a lot of real competition since about January last year,” she said.
“So I don’t know how I’ll go. If I can not go, it’s still okay because I have a lot of things going on and I need to try and balance my life.
“Not many people make it to five Olympics. That’s a challenge, it’s not easy, that’s why I want to give it a go.”
The top five men and women this weekend will all qualify to compete at the Oceania Olympic qualifiers in Bendigo next month.
The Tweed Heads event starts with qualifiers on Friday, before round robin play from Saturday through to Monday.
ROSS SOLLY FOR TABLE TENNIS AUSTRALIA
