Tonsil table tennis draw

Press, 2 March 1977, Page 6

Tonsil table tennis draw

! PA Wellington ' The New Zealand champion, Janies Morris (Northland), is I the only New Zealander placed jin the'draw proper for the I fiftieth world table tennis cham- ’ pionships in Birmingham. Eng-- | land, from March 25 to April 5. i The other six members of the I ' New Zealand team—three men i I and three women—and Mrs I Thelma May, a Canterbury veteran. will play in the qualify-| ! ing rounds. The Neu Zealand men and i .women’s teams have both been] placed in the secondary cate-1 I gory, which is a high ranking , considering New Zealand’s ranking following, the world championships in India two years ago. | when the men were placed thirty-fourth in the world and the women twenty-seventh. James Morris, a farmer from the Whangarei area, is drawn to play M. Maehara (Japan) in his first singles match at the world championships. Maehara is seeded seventeenth for the championships, which have attracted entries from more than 70 nations. Morris and the next best New Zealander. Richard Lee —the New Zealand champions—have drawn the world champions, 1. Jonyer and T. Klampar. in the first round of the men’s doubles championship. New Zealand’s ill-luck in the draw is continued in the mixed doubles, where the top combin- , ation of James Morris and Jan Morris (Canterbury), has drawn Le Chen Shih and Yen Kui Li ((China), the No 5 seeded pair ■ for the title. Jan Morris and Ann btoneI street (Auckland*, the New Zealand champion, will play a team in the round of the I women's doubles which will I emerge from the qualifiers.