Racket Rally at the Richmond Olympic Oval Adds Top Canadians to International Tournament
March 16, 2009
…Top Canadian Badminton player Andrew Dabeka and Top Canadian Table Tennis player Pradeeban Peter-Paul to play during April 5 final session
When Gold Medalists, World Champions and top stars of Table Tennis and Badminton arrive in Richmond for Racket Rally April 3-5 at the Richmond Olympic Oval, they will now be joined by Canada’s own top players in each sport.
Joining international badminton greats Peter Gade of Denmark, and Taufik Hidayat and Andre Tedjono of Indonesia will be Andrew Dabeka of Canada. Dabeka is Canada’s top ranked men’s badminton player and has won five Canadian National Championships. He won the 2008 US Open Men’s Singles Champion, the 2007 Miami International, 2005 Pan American and 2003 Southern Pan Am Classic competitions. “I’m thrilled to be participating in Racket Rally 2009 at the Richmond Olympic Oval” said Dabeka. “I can’t wait to play in this new and spectacular facility and to be part of the growth of our sport in North America. When I play badminton around the world I see its growing popularity – it’s great to see it gaining attention here at home,” Dabeka remarked.
On the table tennis side, Pradeeban Peter-Paul, Canada’s top ranked table tennis player will join the international roster that includes Chen Weixing and Robert Gardos of Austria and Leung Chu Yan of Hong Kong. Peter-Paul is the current North American Champion, has been with the Canadian national team for 12 years and represented Canada in the Olympic Games in Beijing. “Most Canadians have some familiarity with table tennis from their basements and recreation rooms – you are in for a treat when you see players of this calibre demonstrating the extreme speed and precision employed in our sport” said Peter-Paul. “I’m delighted to be part of Racket Rally as it brings elite Table Tennis to my home country” Peter-Paul said.
The round-robin tournament takes place over four sessions and three days allowing fans to see a table tennis match followed by a badminton match during each session. On Sunday, April 5 before the tournament finalists face-off for the championship match in each sport, fans will see Canada’s own take on the third place tournament finisher of their respective sport.
Single session tickets go on sale Saturday, March 14 at 9 a.m. at all Ticketmaster outlets, charge-by-phone at 604-280-4400 or online at www.ticketmaster.ca/racketrally. For more information about Racket Rally go to www.racketrally.net.
