Northland girls ecstatic after winning AIMS gold in table tennis

Whangārei Intermediate School table tennis gold medal winners Olivia Disher (left), Anna Nguyen and Amber Pugh. Photo / Imran Ali

Less than two years after taking up table tennis, three Northland students from the same school scooped gold medals in the sport at the Zespri AIMS Games recently.

Anna Nguyen and Amber Pugh won gold in the team doubles, while Olivia Disher was part of the Whangārei Intermediate School's table tennis team that won gold at the games in Tauranga.

Disher, 12, said one of her friends encouraged her to try table tennis about four months ago and her interest took off from there.

She described it as "very interesting" competing in her first AIMS Games with tables full of competitors over many days.

"I want to go next year and be a better and stronger player than this year and hopefully one day represent New Zealand in table tennis. I am actually more proud of myself than the team because I feel I've come a long way in such a short time," she said.

Nguyen, 13, moved to Whangārei in 2017 and her uncle asked her to take up table tennis about a year ago. Her grandparents were playing when she came to Whangārei.

"When I first started, it was kinda good but I got more confidence when I started training. I never thought of winning gold at the AIMS Games. All I focused on was my own game.

"I hope to play more at a competitive level and represent Northland, North Island and New Zealand," she said.

Coach Naina Suri (left) with gold medal winners Olivia Disher, Anna Nguyen and Amber Pugh. Photo / Imran Ali

Pugh, 11, followed her brother into table tennis about two years ago and has also competed in Auckland and Hamilton.

She will be part of the Table Tennis Northland team at the upcoming nationals in Auckland.

Pugh said table tennis enabled her to make new friends and learn new skills.

The girls' coach and Table Tennis Northland sport development officer Naina Suri said winning gold was a massive achievement for the trio, given it was a minor but growing sport in the region.

"In Northland, I go to every school and also train high-performance squads and club as well, so training both sides you could see the participation is good but there should be more support for girls to come up and play at a good level. There's not much awareness."
Suri said table tennis could be played by people of all ages.

"I have a player who's 92 years old and another turning 5, and I have every age coming and training. We give them a platform to come and try, have fun and then when they see their friends playing at a competitive level going out and representing Northland, that's how they keep coming back."

There were more than 150 players in Northland, including 60 juniors who played on a casual basis, and on average 30 turn up every Monday which was not a bad number, she said.

Suri said parents' support to ensure their children played consistently at a higher level was vital.