Barely a month old, the ITTF World Veterans Tour (WVT) is already up on its feet. The creation of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), the WVT is a worldwide tour of tournaments open to all players 40 or better. Debuting on August 8 in Shenzhen, China, the next stop on the tour was Townsville, Australia. There, from September 11-15, players from all over the globe convened to compete in a variety of events, racking up points in the WVT world ranking system. The United States was well represented by Xiaoying Liu, Changping Duan and Randy Hou. Competing in the Women's Singles Over 65, Xiaoying Liu made it to the finals where she lost to China's Li Zhen, 3-0. In the quarterfinals of the Women's Open Singles, the two met again with the same result before Li went on to win bronze. Liu would also make it to the semifinals of the Open Women's Doubles, pairing with Australia's Khoa Pham. Changping Duan was swept in the first round of the Men's Singles 60-80, the Men's Singles Over 70, and the Men's Open Singles, each time by a different Australian opponent. Randy Hou was a finalist in two events. In the Men's Singles Over 65, Hou fell to Australia's George Abdilla, who also knocked him out of the Men's Open Singles. In the Men's Singles 60-80, Hou lost 3-2 to Wayne Heginbotham, also from the host nation. At last, the United States claimed a gold. Actually, Changping Duan and Randy Hou claimed two, winning identical bling in the Men's Doubles Over 65. On Friday the 13th, the stalwart duo prevailed over their Australian nemeses George Abdilla and Thomas Samuelsson in a nail-biter, (12-10, 12-10, 7-11, 5-11, 11-9). They would later reach the final of the Open Doubles. Proving he plays well with others, Randy Hou would also pair with China's Li Zhen to win the Open Mixed Doubles title. With so much success on the road, the future looks bright for the USA as the WVT heads for its next stop: Fort Lauderdale, Florida, this October 17-20. Registration ends September 18, so tarry not. The WVT is growing up before our very eyes. Blink and you'll miss it!

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