Skerbinz defeats male rivals in regional table tennis league

Sixteen year old table tennis player Nina Skerbinz defeated all three of her male opponents when she made a one off appearance for her home club Markgrafneusiedl in the regional league, ORF reported.

The reigning Austrian champion from the Weinviertel region beat players from ESV Amstetten three times at the start of the new season. Andreas Kranzer said Skerbinz had used the right tactics against him and that he had been unable to keep up with her powerful shots. His teammate Christoph Weninger also lost to her.

Skerbinz, a former European under 15 doubles champion, said she enjoyed playing and beating men. She is used to facing male players because she trains with them regularly.

She normally competes in the Bundesliga, but her packed schedule made that impossible this season. Instead, she played for Markgrafneusiedl in the regional league, where matches at the village primary school gym have become a special occasion for local fans. Her grandmother Anna Hiller is among her strongest supporters.

Skerbinz has little time to rest. Over the next two months, she is scheduled to compete at a world ranking tournament in Linz, the European Championships in Slovenia and the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar.