Edwards Faces Top Table Tennis Seed

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31724, 6 July 1968, Page 14

Edwards Faces Top Table Tennis Seed

After meeting the Canterbury representative, B. T. Edwards, in his first match, the top seed in the men’s singles, B. A. Foster (Otago), will not be strongly tested until the quarter-finals, when he will probably play K. T. Cassidy (Canterbury), seeded No. 7, in the Canterbury open table tennis championships today.

Edwards has been playing better than usual this season. He beat the third seed, J. Armstrong (Canterbury) in a round-robin tournament and is capable of extending Foster, who won the 1966 national title, with his loop drive and smart hitting. The former New Zealand

representative, V. N. Brightwell, will play D. A Leong (Wellington) in what is certain to be an attractive firstround match. Both players like to hit the ball at every opportunity, and Leong, who is less than half Brightwell’s age, has the reflexes to make Brightwell earn all his points. The No. 5 seed, M. R. Spinks (Canterbury) might have some anxious moments against the New Zealand under-18 champion, R. Mitchell (Canterbury), whom he will play in the second round. Mitchell's form has been erratic this season but he has the ability to beat Spinks. - Should all the seeded players in the open singles reach the quarter-finals, the draw would be:—

Men: Brightwell (4) v G. R. Saunders (6); W. T. Scott (8) v. Ling Nan Ming (2); Foster (1) v. Cassidy (7); Spinks (5) v. Armstrong (3). Women: Mrs T. May (1) v. Mrs J. Green (7); Miss C. Leith (6) v. Mrs L. M. Barker (3); Mrs M J. Brown (4) v. Mrs R. Sunderland (5); Miss J. Stead (8) v. Mrs Y. Boulton (2).