KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 2 — Veteran table tennis player Ng Sock Khim has welcomed the challenge of faring against household giants in the top division of the 2016 World Team Table Tennis Championships (Feb 28 to March 6) to be held at the Malawati Stadium in Shah Alam.

Malaysia will be hosting the premier event for the second time after a 15-year hiatus when the 45th edition was held in 2000. As host, the national team have been housed in Division 1 with China, Hong Kong and North Korea.

“The premier division will be tough, especially with China who have dominated in almost all the editions. But we will be playing in front of our home crowd and that will motivate us to perform to the best of our abilities,” said Ng, who will feature for the sixth time at the tournament having done so in 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008.

The three-time Malaysian Open champion will be joined by SEA Games bronze medalist Lee Rou You, who is also relishing the prospect of going against the big guns.

“We want to perform well, even though it will be a tall order, especially if we play China. Their footwork and service are much better than us, but these are some of the aspects we will look to improve before the championships,” said the 20-year-old paddler.

National women’s head coach Beh Lee Wei is not counting on miracles from her charges, but rather wants them to use this as a learning curve to learn from the best.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for our players to compete against the world’s best. It will be a good experience for them and I will prepare them in the best way possible,” said Beh, who will send her team to the Asian Championships in September as preparations for the championships.

Malaysia Major Events, the agency under the Tourism and Culture Minister expects the event to be a success.

“All our infrastructure is in place and we are expecting an average of 15,000 spectators daily.

“This championships will also generate income for the country as we could garner around RM30 million,” said general manager Tony Nagamaiah at the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the International Table Tennis Federation and the Table Tennis Association of Malaysia.