20 Jun 2014

Li Chunli leads NZ women's table tennis team for Glasgow

10:05 am on 20 June 2014

The four-time Olympian Li Chunli has completed her return to competitive table tennis to lead a team of five representing New Zealand in women's table tennis at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

Li retired from competition after the Athens 2004 Olympic Games but took teams to both the Melbourne 2006 and Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games as coach before returning to playing in 2012.

The 52-year-old will compete in both the singles and doubles events, alongside sister and two-time Olympian Karen Li who has been selected for her fourth Commonwealth Games.

The pair returned from the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games with a silver medal in the doubles and a bronze for the women's team event.

Chunli also secured a gold in the singles and a bronze in the mixed doubles. These are New Zealand's only Commonwealth Games table tennis medals.

The Li sisters will be joined in the team by Annie Yang who is competing in her third Commonwealth Games, Jenny Hung also in her third games and Sun Yang (31) who will assume a player/coach role at her second Games.

The five women will join a men's table tennis team selected earlier this month in Glasgow from mid-July.