Manitoba teen table tennis players win medal at Canada Winter Games

Victoria Lee (left) and Grace Qi pose with their silver medals at the 2023 Canada Winter Games in Prince Edward Island on Feb. 20, 2023. (submitted: Team Manitoba/Sport Manitoba)

A pair of Manitoba teenagers have earned the province’s first medal at the 2023 Canada Winter Games.

Team Manitoba's Victoria Lee, 14, and Grace Qi, 15, came in second place in the female doubles table tennis event at the Eastlink Centre in Prince Edward Island. The pair were defeated by Team Ontario’s Demi Cai and Jessie Xiaorong Xu three games to one (11-8, 11-3, 6-11, 11-6).

"This game means a lot to all of us,” said Arvin Tronco, Team Manitoba's table tennis coach, in a statement. “It's very intense, I'm so proud with what our team accomplished today, we didn't expect too much, but I'm so happy our athletes fought until the end."

In addition to being the first medal for Team Manitoba during the 2023 Canada Winter Games, Sport Manitoba says this is also the first table tennis medal for Manitoba since 2011.

“I’ve got to play the best youth in each province and it’s been fun seeing all the provinces come together for one competition,” Lee said in a news release.

According to Sport Manitoba, Lee was ranked first nationally at the U13 level for table tennis, while Qi placed second in the team event at last year’s national event.

The Canada Winter Games run in PEI until March 5.