FOBISIA TABLE TENNIS 2025 Helen Mathews Director of Sport Wellington College International School Bangkok
The inaugural FOBISIA Table Tennis Tournament was hosted by Wellington College Bangkok on 7–8 March 2025. Sixtyseven players, representing ten schools, participated in a combination of singles and doubles matches over two days. St Christopher’s International School, Penang, came the furthest distance with their twelve students travelling from Malaysia. The hosts, Wellington College, had the most students competing with seventeen, and Singapore International School Bangkok also had twelve competitors across the age categories of under 11, 13, and 15. The tournament was supported by the Table Tennis Association of Thailand (TTAT), which provided the match officials, referees, and tables for the event. The Vice-President of TTAT, Udom Suksudprasert, was the VIP guest and presented the trophies at the Gala Awards Dinner. In his speech to the competitors, Udom commended Wellington College for its work on promoting the game of table tennis at international schools across Thailand. The tournament was divided between group matches on Friday 7 March, and then split into two competitions on Saturday 8 March, with group winners competing in the FOBISIA Cup and other players participating in the Duke’s Cup. This meant that all students, wherever experienced players or rookies, had the opportunity to play over both days and compete for trophies. The Under 11 tournament was dominated by the Wellington College Dukes Academy, with Gabriel beating his younger sibling Raphael in the U11 final, before the brothers teamed up to win the U11 doubles, beating another Wellington pair in the final, Kraam and ‘Sky’ Yicheng. It was the academy from Singapore International School Bangkok that were the most successful in the Under 13 and Under 15 tournaments, with their star player, ‘Fei Fei’ winning the singles in both events. Dr Peter Church, Tournament Director and Head of Table Tennis at Wellington College, commented, “We are proud to have delivered a successful FOBISIA tournament, which offered so many students the chance to participate in a competitive and friendly event.” 34