Five years ago, Ted Yu started playing table tennis. His father’s influence led him to practice the sport going into college, but in an unlikely turn of events, he picked up the sport rather quickly, eventually becoming one of the best in the UAAP.
Yu is currently playing his fifth year of eligibility in the UAAP as team captain of the Green Paddlers.
As his UAAP career has come to a close, the Green Paddlers’ captain shared his unforgettable moments.
“There were times before in the previous years that there are crucial games, and I played for last in the previous UAAPs. They depended on me, the team and the school so we could win that competition against another school,” Yu said.
Yu has exhibited leadership as the team captain. He defines leadership as displaying a willingness to step up when games are on the line.
“I was really down when it came to the score, but I was able to focus more and catch up to the score, and I won. Those unexpected moments are one of the most unforgettable ones,” he added.
The Green Paddlers, swept the first round of this year’s tournament, but lost two games in the second round to finish with a record of 12 wins and two losses.
The team eventually lost against UST in the finals. The team’s standing though has improved by one place from last season, finishing second overall.
Yu shared though that the team could have done things better. He stressed that they Paddlers could still improve.
“Listen to the coach more, sometimes matigas yung ulo namin. We want to do something, but our coach knows it’s not that effective,” said the Electronics and Communications Engineering major.
He furthered that he would like to come back to contribute to the team’s endeavors in the future.
Yu concluded, “Maybe sometimes I’ll come back to help them. Baka may rookies sila, pwede kong kausapin about the UAAP, how great it is and wag silang kabahan and wag matakot kasi nandiyan na kami sa taas.”
