—Vietnamese players are expected to face tough competition from their regional counterparts at the 27th "Golden Racket" HCM City international table tennis tournament, which kicks off today at Phan Dinh Phung Indoor Stadium.— Photo vov

HCM CITY (VNS) —Vietnamese players are expected to face tough competition from their regional counterparts at the 27th "Golden Racket" HCM City international table tennis tournament, which kicks off today at Phan Dinh Phung Indoor Stadium.

Mai Hoang My Trang's gold medal ambitions will require her to overcome Nanthana Komwong, world No 99 and Singaporean Lin Ze, world No 92, in the women's singles category.

On the men's side, local hopefuls Tran Tuan Quynh and Dinh Quang Linh will have world No 88 Yang Zi from Singapore, in their way.

The annual tournament attracts nearly 100 local and foreign players from eight countries and territories: Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and hosts Viet Nam.

They will vie for medals in four events: men's and women's team, plus men's and women's singles.

While Indian players are appearing at the tournament for the first time, South Korea and Malaysia promise to be strong teams this year.

Viet Nam have four representative teams: Viet Nam A, Viet Nam B, HCM City, and Petrosetco. — VNS