Ontario table tennis player claims 3rd gold medal of Canada Winter Games

By Gomathi Sridevi

Feb 24, 2023.

Jessie Xiaorong Xu of Team Ontario competed in female single table tennis finals at the 2023 Canada Winter Games on Friday, Feb. 24 in Prince Edward Island. She claimed gold in the event. Gomathi Sridevi Radhakrishnan photo.

Team Ontario player claimed her third gold medal after winning the table tennis singles female event at the 2023 Canada Games at the P.E.I. Convention Centre, earlier today.

Jessie Xiaorong Xu, 15, won the gold medal with a 3-0 win over Demi Cai, 15, in a Ontario vs. Ontario table tennis singles female final match.

“I feel very glad that I am in the position that I am right now. It couldn’t be done without all the help from my parents, my teammates and everyone else that supported me here,” said Xu after winning the singles finals.

Xu has also won gold for both the doubles female game and team female game with Demi Cai, earlier this week. She has also claimed a silver medal for the doubles mixed event with Kevin Guo.

Xu competed against her teammate with whom she had played together in many matches. They both stepped into the game without the guidance of the coach in their final match. She was happy that she finished first, considering the pressure she was under.

“I just turn pressure into motivation. I just had to stay calm and very focused during the game,” said Xu. “I feel very glad that we both got into the finals and I respect her (Cai) a lot.”

The match started with Cai serving. Xu was able to score first, followed by Cai. Xu led in the half set with a score of 2-6 and she won the first set with 3-11.

In the second set, Cai was leading the score of 5-4 but Xu managed to win the half set with 5-6. It was a neck-to-neck battle in the second half with both players scoring points consecutively. It was a tight battle but at the end of the second set Xu won, scoring 8-11.

In the third set, Xu didn’t give her competitor a chance. Though Cai was leading first, Xu picked up and came out strong. Finally, Xu wrapped up the match with a five point lead, finishing 6-11 in the third set.

It was a great match with Xu winning the three consecutive sets and claiming the gold medal for herself.