Yukon table tennis enthusiasts gathered at École Whitehorse Elementary School on May 3 and 4 for the Yukon Championships, a series of singles and doubles tournaments held over the weekend.
The tournament featured a mix of seasoned players and newcomers, with approximately 25 athletes from Whitehorse competing for the title of Yukon’s territorial table tennis champion in both youth and adult categories for the 2025 tournament.
Mehrnoush Mahdavi, a club regular for over a decade, showcased his skill and emerged as Yukon’s territorial champion in the Men’s Open Singles. Iman Gharraie and Jann Charles Cron nearly took the title but ultimately secured second and third place, respectively.
Christina Nie demonstrated consistency by claiming her second Yukon table tennis championship title. She paddled her way through to victory over fellow competitors Saimari Alensa, who finished second and Xiu-Mei Zhang, who secured third place in the Women's Open Singles on May 4.
Alejandro Soza captured the championship title in the Junior Boys Singles division by knocking out Victor Li and Cron from the tournament on May 3, securing his victory.
In the doubles matches, Mahdavi and Gharraie teamed up and claimed victory on the final day of the tournament. Cron and Kian Mahdavi paired up and won the Junior Doubles against Li and Matt Fournier in the finals.
“We probably weren't anticipating being able to do mixed doubles, but we've got a lot of women competing in the open division,” said Kevin Murphy, president of the Yukon Table Tennis Association.
Murphy told the News that the club is prepared to send a male contingent of table tennis players to represent Yukon at the Arctic Winter Games, set to take place in Whitehorse in 2026. However, he added that the club has not yet received enough participation from women to have a full roster of female athletes ready to represent the territory at the international sporting event.
From 2015 to 2017, Murphy said the Dawson City Club had actively contributed to women's table tennis in the Yukon, producing champions and filling half of the teams for the Arctic Winter Games with skilled athletes.
“There was a really active Dawson City Club and they provided some of the women's champions for sure. Half of some of the teams who went to the Arctic Winter Games were filled from Dawson athletes that were fairly skilled at this game,” Murphy said.
Yukon Table Tennis is now gearing up to send three club members to compete at the Canadian Table Tennis Championships in Richmond, B.C. on July 18, where Yukoners will face off with clubs from across the country. Murphy told the News that Li, Mahdavi and Cron are set to compete at the national competition.
Yukon Table Tennis has evolved significantly since the 1970s, Murphy said. When he joined in 1972, he said the sport was viewed as a basement activity with not many organized competitions taking place. Over time, he said the club has become more accessible and visible, with increased cultural diversity.
Murphy said that in the late 1990s and early 2000s, major rule changes transformed the game, including reducing the game score from 21 to 11 points and changing the ball size and material. He added that these changes helped elevate the sport's complexity and competitiveness.
“They got rid of celluloid, which was the material that the balls were made of,” Murphy said.
“The ball had to change to plastic and so all of a sudden it changed the aerodynamics of the ball. The ball used to bounce up a little bit more in your face. You had to really get used to that, and eventually the balls started getting more and more to approximate the old ball.”
Today, Murphy said the club boasts a diverse membership, including players from China, the Philippines, Nigeria and Iran. Structured tournaments and participation in regional and national competitions have boosted the club's reputation, Murphy said.
Contact Jake Howarth at jake.howarth@yukon-news.com
