Table Tennis-Olympian from the land of four tables

By Simon Rabinovitch
BEIJING, Aug 16 (Reuters) - From her South Pacific island with just four table tennis tables to China, where the government has decreed that every village should have one, Priscila Tommy has come a long way.
The 17-year-old native of Vanuatu has been playing for just four years and is the lowest ranked player at the Olympics by some distance at 866th in the world. She is, however, the best in Oceania, winning the regional singles championship last year.
"Only a few people play in Vanuatu, about fifteen. There's only four tables and one club," she said.
Last year's victory -- Vanuatu's only gold in the South Pacific Games -- catapulted Tommy to fame, at least in her corner of the world.
"When I walk around Port Vila (Vanuatu's capital), people come and talk to me and take pictures with me," she said.
But the Olympic Games in Beijing is in a different league to the South Pacific Games in Apia, Samoa.
"These are international competitors. They're too strong for me. My goal is to get up to six points in my match," she said.
Singles matches are best of seven games, each played to 11 points. If Tommy scores just six points over her entire match on Monday against Slovakia's Eva Odorova, who is ranked 762 spots higher, it may well be the most lopsided defeat at these Games.
She got to Beijing, holding Vanuatu's flag aloft in the opening ceremony, thanks to a combination of Chinese coaching, regional financial support and a special invitation from the International Olympic Committee.
Tommy, who plays defensively far from the table, has a Chinese coach in Sun Hongyi and has trained in table tennis superpower China six times over the past three years.
Away from Vanuatu for long stretches for practice and competition, Tommy's studies have suffered. As with her table tennis hopes, China may again hold the key.
"My school threw me out. They don't accept me because I travel a lot," she said. "The Chinese embassy said they are trying to help." (Editing by Alex Richardson)

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