Chen to bid Saipan adieu

Chen Lin Ying, a member of the CNMI bronze and gold medal teams in the 2005 Palau South Pacific Mini Games and 2006 Saipan Micronesian Games, is bidding Saipan goodbye and will fly to Melborune, Australia tomorrow.

The Marianas Amateur Table Tennis Association held a farewell dinner for Chen at good friend Su Yong Dong’s Seaman’s Restaurant last night and teammates and MATTA regulars in attendance wished Chen good luck in his new home in the Land Down Under.

“I wish him all luck. I hope he would be able to succeed in his new endeavor in Australia. I also hope that he sticks to his promise to continue to play ping-pong there so when he visits us in a year or two, he can impart the new knowledge he learns to us,” said MATTA spokesperson Mario Espeleta.

The Pacific Development Inc. employee and Japanese interpreter went on to say that Chen has been a big part of the islands’ national table tennis program and was a key member of the CNMI National Men’s Table Tennis teams in last year’s South Pacific Mini Games in Palau and last summer’s 2006 Micronesian Games held here on Saipan.

Budhi Gurung, a teammate of Chen in both the 2005 SPG and 2006 Micro Games, said the Fu Ye Construction owner has been a very active member of MATTA since 2001.

He added that Chen will not only be sorely missed by the association for the skills he brings to the table tennis court but for the friendship he provides off of it.

Su, on the other hand, said he will surely miss the hundreds of one-one-one practice sessions he had with Chen at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium multi-purpose room, where both Guangzhou in Guangdong, China natives honed their skills week in and week out.

He, however, understands Chen’s move to Australia and said it makes a lot of sense since business in the Commonwealth began to sour a couple of years ago. Su operates Seaman’s Restaurant in Lower Base.

Chen, a 35-year-old businessman, won a bronze medal together with Su, Gurung, and alternate and playing coach Steve Lim in Palau and then teamed up with Su, Gurung, and Tinian standouts Charlie Cheng, Luke Lu, and Liang Wei Bin to capture the team gold medal in the 6th Micronesian Games.

He also collected a gold medal after teaming up with Su in the doubles competition of the 2006 Micronesian Games.

Gurung said aside from suiting up for Team CNMI in the Palau and Saipan Games, Chen also saw action for the Saipan team in the bi-annual Saipan-Tinian Goodwill Tournament.

Gurung said Chen will also be involved in the construction business when he relocates to Australia.