Papua New Guinea is located north of Australia in the Melanesian region of Oceania. The country covers more than 450,000 square kilometres including a large mainland and hundreds of islands, with approximately 12 million people calling Papua New Guinea home. From 28 November to 6 December it was the ITTF-Oceania Development Officer, Hongbo Liang, who travelled to the capital city of Port Moresby for an in-country visit under the auspices Oceania Development Program.
Across an action-packed 9 days, key activities included:
- Holding the 2025 National Championships with nearly 200 players competing.
- National team training camp.
- Officials education sessions.
- Competition management seminar.
- Meetings with key dignitaries.
2025 has been a strong year for the Papua New Guinea Table Tennis Federation (PNGTTF) under the leadership of President George Shao. Earlier in the year they enjoyed a very successful Pacific Mini Games in Palau where they won medals in Women’s Teams, Men’s Team, Men’s Doubles and Men’s Para Singles. PNGTTF had two players, Geoffrey Loi and Tammi Agari selected into the Oceania Talent Team trip to New Zealand and they regularly have players training in China. On the local front, there has been ongoing activity and an impressive amount of media coverage, particularly on local television. The future appears bright in Papua New Guinea.
ITTF-Oceania thanks ITTF for their ongoing support of the Oceania Development Program. This visit to Papua New Guinea is the fifteenth and final visit throughout Oceania in 2025. This is the first year the Oceania Development Program has returned in its traditional format for many years and we are grateful that ITTF supports our vision around how to best help and service the 24 Oceania Member Associations.