USATT LEAGUE of the Month - November/December 2004

MDTTC Elite League

By James Duan

Maryland Elite League players on Sept. 25, 2004: Michael Shao, Raghu Nadmichettu, Morris Jackson, Han Xiao, Larry Hodges, Khaleel Asgarali, John Wetzler, Nazzruddin “Oscar” Asgarali, Larry Abass, James Duan, Napoleon “Rocky” Reyes, Changping Duan. Arrived late: Lixin Lang. (Original photo was in color, but Editor Hodges converted to black & white for USATT Magazine ... and original was lost....apologies to all!) Photo by Wei Xiao ©2004.

Walk into the Maryland Table Tennis Center (MDTTC) on a Saturday morning and you may see high-level table tennis players making shots like they belong in the Olympics.  No, I don’t mean the well-known MDTTC coaches Cheng Yinghua and Jack Huang.  I’m talking about the aptly named MDTTC Elite League, a USATT League designed for players with ratings over 2100.

The Elite League is the strongest USATT League in the country in player ratings, and for good reason.  Among the players that frequent the league are old veterans like John Wetzler, Napolean “Rocky” Reyes, and David Sakai.  Age and experience are not the only things found here, however.  The Elite League has helped prepare junior stars such as 17-year-old Han Xiao to make the 2004 National Men’s Team.  Han was also the 2002 National Men’s Doubles Champion with his partner and coach, Cheng Yinghua, as well as 2002 USOC player of the year.  The league also helped Khaleel Asgarali (17) make the Trinidad National Team this year.  Other notable junior/youth players who frequently participate include Katherine Wu (18), Michael Shao (18), and Raghu Nadmichettu (17). Making the league – i.e. getting a rating over 2100 – has become a goal for many other up-and-coming local juniors, and several are very close.

The Elite League is held every other week on Saturday mornings.  Play starts with players being split into round robin groups based on rating.  Depending on the finishing place within the group, each player then participates in cross-over matches against players from other groups.  In order to encourage players to try their best throughout a match, placing is determined by the game win/loss ratio, not the match ratio.  Even if you lose nearly every match, you can still come out in good standing by winning some key games.

The Elite League is run jointly by James Duan and Han Xiao (both of whom also play in the league), with assistance from Wei Xiao.  If you are ever in the Gaithersburg, MD area and want to play or watch high quality table tennis, drop in on one of our leagues.  For more information on when leagues are held, how to get to the club, player rankings, or anything else you would possibly want to know, please visit the Elite League section on the MDTTC web site at www.mdttc.com. The club also has a Friday night league for all levels.

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