Wales’s Anna Hursey hits a return against Malaysia’s Li Sian Alice Chang during their women’s singles table tennis game at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games at the Oxenford Studios venue in Gold Coast on April 10, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / YE AUNG THU
2018 Commonwealth Games: 11-year-old Welsh table tennis prodigy causes a stir
Imagine being only 11 and representing your country at the Commonwealth Games? Well, that’s exactly what little Anna Hursey has achieved, flying the Welsh flag with plenty of pride during the women’s table tennis singles competition.
Wales’s Anna Hursey hits a return against Malaysia’s Li Sian Alice Chang during their women’s singles table tennis game at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games at the Oxenford Studios venue in Gold Coast on April 10, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / YE AUNG THU
An 11-year-old Welsh table tennis prodigy who broke records and caused amazement at the Commonwealth Games met her match on Tuesday when she was ousted from the women’s singles.
Anna Hursey thrashed Uganda’s Halima Nambozo 4-0 but she came unstuck in her second pool match against Malaysia’s Alice Chang Li Sian, who won 11-8, 11-8, 11-3, 11-4.
Despite the defeat, it has been a stunning debut for Hursey, who stands just 1.60 metres (5ft 3in) tall and is thought to be the youngest athlete in Commonwealth Games history.
Hursey, the youngest competitor ever fielded by Wales, also played in the women’s team competition, helping Wales to doubles wins against India and Sri Lanka.
The schoolgirl, whose mother is Chinese and who has training stints in China, is known for her attacking style but Chang, 17, was able to absorb the pressure as well as Hursey’s noisy support from the crowd.
Watch: Meet the lil’ missy who has got tongues wagging Down Under
https://twitter.com/olympicchannel/status/983600568198459394
Tags:
