A much-anticipated event among staff members in the higher education sector, the University Staff Table Tennis Invitational Tournament had stalled for three years under the COVID pandemic. Riding on CUHK’s diamond jubilee, the Staff Association and Teachers’ Association of CUHK, together with the Physical Education Unit, joined hands to revive the game. The tournament took place on 3 June at Yeung Ming Biu Indoor Sports Centre, with five and six university representative teams joining men’s and women’s competitions respectively.

The men’s team event had five teams play each other. Right from the start, CUHK faced the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), one of the strongest teams and the reigning champion. Both teams took one singles match and one doubles match. In the deciding singles match, CUHK team held their nerves and won the game. It went on to defeat the Hang Seng University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and Hong Kong Metropolitan University (HKMU), taking home the team championship title with an unbeaten record.

In the women’s team event, six teams were divided into two groups, with three teams in each group playing each other. CUHK, PolyU and HKMU were in the same group. Finishing second in group, CUHK contended for the second runner-up with the Hong Kong Baptist University, the second-placed team from the other group and ultimately landed the fourth place, reaping the first-ever award of the CUHK women’s team.