Kevin Guo, a table tennis player from Oakville, Ontario, will represent the province at the 2023 Canada Winter Games. He’s also on the Canadian Junior National Team roster.
Kevin is a tall, left-handed player with a distinct table tennis style. He has grown significantly in height over the last few years. While it would be anticipated for him to take a few more steps away from the table, he is quite skilled at finding solutions that place him close to the table, putting the opponent under time pressure. Kevin possesses one of the most critical characteristics required of table tennis players: good anticipation. Not only is he skilled at “reading” opponents, but he will frequently reach for an unexpected solution, leaving his opponent perplexed.
“I started at the Canadian Elite Table Tennis Training Center when I was six years old, under Coach Luo. Since then, I’ve acquired an immediate love and passion for the sport,” Kevin explained. ” My goal is to be the best table tennis player I can be”.
Kevin earned multiple podium finishes at provincial and national competitions. In July, facing tough registration roster of David Xu, Jordan Grewal, James Yu and Max Ji he won the 2022 Ontario Summer Games. He showed great spirit in the final, defeating two-year senior Max after recovering from a 0/2 record in games (-6, -3, 6, 7, 8). He effectively transitioned to his new age category and was elevated from Cadet to Junior National Team as a result of his achievement at National tournaments. He earned a silver medal from the 2021 US Open in U15 Boys doubles and a couple of quarter-final appearances in the 2021 PanAm Championships.
He is currently training at the True North Table Tennis Center under the leadership of Hongtao Chen and Eugene Wang, and he attributes much of his recent progress to True North.
Kevin is also a Grade 11 student at the University of Toronto Schools. While juggling studies with table tennis has been tough for him, he appreciates his professors’ encouragement, especially after tournaments.
Without their help, I would not be the athlete I am today.
Kevin will compete in the 2023 Canada Winter Games in February, and he expects to do well. “I’m looking forward to playing doubles with Jordan. We will be strong due of the left-right hand combination and Jordan’s powerful attacks,” Kevin says modestly as always. “The U19 division has a number of talented players, each of whom provides a different challenge, and there will be a lot of fascinating matches to witness.”
Kevin, while being only sixteen years old, has developed a high level of social awareness. Aside from competing in table tennis, he wants to use his talents to give back to his community. He started TT4EVER, a non-profit organization dedicated to introduce the sport to community members of all ages. Michelle Wang, Demi Cai, and Vednat Parikh have all joined his team as great, youthful high-performance athletes. Kevin has also volunteered at the Yee Hong Senior Center to assist with MedEx TTC, where he is assisting dementia patients with recovery and prevention through table tennis.
I am grateful to everyone who has helped me throughout nearly 10-year table tennis experience, but especially to my very supportive parents, who have devoted major time and energy in my table tennis path. I’m looking forward to continuing to learn, grow, and make new memories with the amazing table tennis community.