TABLE tennis champions from China have thrown down a challenge to players on Teesside.

A team made up of some of that country's top seeds has been visiting Hartlepool and Middlesbrough to play some of the area's best players.

Feng Liu, who reached the quarter finals of the World Men's Doubles in the 1999 championship, Yihin Zhang, a Premier Division Chinese League player and Xia Olin Liu, the former Shanxi Provincial Champion are among the visiting team.

The visitors are members of China's Taiyuan Club. The ladies' squad is led by Lu Quin, a former national champion.

A match at Middlesbrough's Unity City Academy last night was British player Paul Drinkhall's first competitive appearance in this country since winning two gold medals in the European Youth Championship at Prague, last month.

A special invitation tournament has been organised by the Ormesby Table Tennis Club, former European champions, for tomorrow.

Like yesteday's game, tomorrow's tournament is being held at the Unity City Academy. There is a field of 30 players from the Teesside area in addition to the Chinese players. Included in the Teesside line-up will be Paul and Bryn Drinkhall, Danny Reed and Steven Bailey.

The tournament starts at 10am. Spectators are welcome.