Table tennis challenge

“Well prepared,” answered Vuong Nguyen, coordinator of the Portland State Table Tennis Club, when asked how he feels going into the 2009 Pacific Rim Open on Saturday.

Nguyen is one of the eight Vikings participating in the tournament.

“The club has offered consistent club-time hours throughout the summer and the fall term for practice,” Nguyen said.

The Pacific Rim Open is the largest table tennis tournament in the western U.S. and will include 30 different events this year, spanning various skill levels and categories such as open singles, women’s singles, open doubles, mixed doubles and more.

The event will be held from Saturday through Sunday at the Tualatin Hills Park and Rec Center in Beaverton, and this year the prize money has been increased to $10,000.

Shubham Chopra, club vice president and team member, shared his enthusiasm about the tournament.

“I am elated and super excited going in to this tournament—as this will be my first tournament in United States,” Chopra said. “I have played many tournaments back in India, but this will be a good experience and I hope to do well.”

The current Portland State team has a rich tradition to live up to. Past teams with players like Renjith Retnamma, Brian Yoder, Roger Castles and Sehwan Kim have reached the National Open. Last year, the Viks tied for first place in the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association in the finals and came in third place in a tiebreaker.

After the Pacific Rim, the team will participate in the 2009 National Collegiate Table Tennis Association Tournament to be held Nov. 21 at the Stott Center at Portland State.