The Sunnyvale Sun

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Seniors win titles in table tennis

By Stephen Baxter

Sunnyvale seniors Peter Szeto and Henry Shum squeaked through a tight final on March 11 to win the doubles table tennis event at the Bay Area Senior Games. Their win capped a good year for the city's players, as Sunnyvale's Wayne Lo also went 3-0 in round-robin singles play to sweep the 50 to 59 age division.

"I'm happy about it," said Lo, who also won a U.S. Table Tennis Association tournament in February.

Lo said the senior games are "a good thing to have for people who are older, and I hope it can continue.''

The tournament hosted about 30 participants in four singles' age divisions and a doubles division. It was held for the first time at the Sunnyvale Community Center's Indoor Sports Center. The senior games also hosted competitions in track, swimming and other sports at Stanford University and other locations. Athletes had to be older than 50.

A few dozen table tennis spectators, many from Sunnyvale, cheered on players at 10 tables at the Indoor Sports Center.

In the 60 to 69 age division, Szeto finished second to San Jose's Lee Swander. Toon Mao of San Francisco took the 70 to 79 age division, with Steve Ng of Sunnyvale placing third.

Byng Forsberg of Lodi grabbed the gold in the 80 to 89 age bracket.

Event director Dennis Davis said he preferred the bright lighting in the Sunnyvale gym to its previous Palo Alto venue. He said he appreciated the strong turnout from local players and volunteers.

"The goal is to hold the 2009 national Bay Area Senior Games in Sunnyvale. It may be a multi-day event," Davis said.

Many Sunnyvale seniors play table tennis on weekdays at Murphy Park, and many told Davis they intend to enter next year's senior games.