Tom Jarvis will make history when he competes as part of an international team in a Chinese league.

The 15-year-old Skegness player will feature in the Seamaster-Edgeball Universal team, which will compete in the Chinese A League in Chongqing from May 24-28.

Jarvis, ranked No 545 in the world, will be joined in the line-up by Swedish players Anton Kallberg, (No 146, aged 18) and Elias Ransfur (No 235, aged 19), plus 15-year-old American Kanak Jha, who is ranked No 342.

It is the first time a privately operated team composed of players from different national associations will compete in the league.

It will be a stiff challenge against 26 other teams, mostly Chinese but with a total of five foreign squads.

The initiative is a collaboration between the Chinese Table Tennis College in Shanghai and Swedish-based Edgeball Consulting, run by former ITTF Executive Director Mikael Andersson, which aims to make a name for itself in international sport.

“I am extremely happy with the players that we have been able to recruit for the season,” said Andersson.

In many ways it is rewarding to be able to offer a spot on the team to Tom. I speak for many passionate table tennis fans worldwide when I say that we need English Table Tennis to come back to the international stage by constantly producing high level prospects again.

“Tom is in the right age to make a push for the next level. He is only 15 years old but equipped with a sharp mind for table tennis and a good attitude. It will be exciting to work with him.”

Paul Stimpson
May 21, 2015