by Wade Townsend

The population of Fiji? 860,000. Tokyo? 13.5 million. In fact, the population of Fiji passes through Shinjuku Station four times over everyday. It is a different style of island life, but one that will prove beneficial for four athletes later this week.

From Saturday 25th February a Fijian squad will be attending a high performance training camp at the Ajinomoto National Training Centre in Japan. It is part of an initiative by the Japanese Olympic Committee and the Japanese Government via the Japan Sport Council to provide Fijian athletes high performance training.

Fiji Table Tennis president Anthony Ho says the training camp will be the perfect way to kickstart his athlete’s 2017 campaigns.

“We hope the training will benefit the players in their preparations for a number of major events they will be attending following the season opening 2017 Fiji Open.” Anthony Ho

The team is comprised of sisters Grace and Sally Yee, Carolyn Li and Vicky Wu. Last year Sally Yee became the first Fijian to qualify in table tennis for the Olympic Games and was the youngest athlete in the hall in Rio, while sister Grace was a member of the Oceania team at the 2016 ITTF World Cadet Challenge. Carolyn Li is three-time national champion and is currently ranked number three in Fiji. Meanwhile Vicky Wu is the youngest member of the squad is the current Fijian Junior Boys’ champion.

The athletes will also be competing in the Tokyo Open which gets underway on Wednesday 1st March.

“We wish to thank the Japanese Olympic Committee and the Japanese Government via the Japan Sport Council who have provided a great opportunity for our players to be exposed to high level training.” Anthony Ho

The team will be in Japan for nine days.