The draws have now been released for the 2026 Canadian Senior Table Tennis Championships, taking place July 17 to 23 at the Duckworth Centre, University of Winnipeg. Team Northwest Territories is looking forward to competing against many of Canada’s top athletes as the country’s best gather to battle for national titles.
Representing the Northwest Territories in the senior events are Kathleen Cai, Akiko Iwase, Tommaso Cai, and Darren Woodland, each ready to test themselves against strong competition from across Canada.
Women’s Singles
Kathleen Cai has been drawn into Group E, where she will face:
- Cindy Zhu (Ontario)
- Polina Sirotina (Manitoba)
- Jasmine Patry (Quebec)
Kathleen continues to gain valuable national experience and will look to build on her strong performances over the past few seasons.
Akiko Iwase has been drawn into Group F, where she will compete against:
- Nelina Murdanaigum (Quebec)
- Wendy Liu (Ontario)
- Jingxi Gao (British Columbia)
The top athletes from each group will advance to the championship draw.
Women’s 40+
Akiko will also compete in the Women’s 40+ event, where she will take on:
- Dong Liu (Ontario)
- Ann Zhang (Manitoba)
- Pingye Zhang (Saskatchewan)
Men’s Singles
Darren Woodland has been drawn into Group M, where he will face:
- Jason Louie (Alberta)
- Dino Sepulveda (Manitoba)
- AaronWang (Ontario)
Men’s 40+
The Northwest Territories will have two athletes competing in the Men’s 40+ event.
Tommaso Cai has been drawn into Group E, where he will face:
- Shady Elleithy (Ontario)
- Hamid Zahedi (Manitoba)
- Zhongzi Chen (Alberta)
Darren Woodland has been drawn into Group F, where he will compete against:
- Danny Mallet (New Brunswick)
- Gordon Pruden (Manitoba)
- Md Serajul Islam (Saskatchewan)
Mixed Doubles
Team NT will also be represented in Mixed Doubles, where Darren Woodland and Akiko Iwase will face Mihir Herlekar and Yuhe Bai, both from British Columbia, in the opening round. The winners will advance to the main championship draw.
The Canadian Championships provide an incredible opportunity to compete against some of the country’s strongest players while gaining valuable national-level experience. Team NT has been preparing throughout the season, and we are excited to watch Kathleen, Akiko, Tommaso, and Darren proudly represent the Northwest Territories in Winnipeg.
We wish all four athletes the very best of luck as they take on the nation’s top players. The entire Northwest Territories table tennis community will be cheering them on throughout the championships. Go Team NT!