Sports Stars of Tomorrow: Jenny Hung | Canterbury Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Canterbury

Few sportspeople are Commonwealth Games and world championship veterans at only 16.

Christchurch table tennis star Jenny Hung has that distinction, and the Burnside High School sixth former faces some big decisions on her future in the next year or two.

The country's outstanding junior player has her sights on the Olympics next year and the 2010 Commonwealth games in India.

Outside of her sport's goals, she wants to become an accountant, and says her future path depends how she goes in table tennis in the next two years.

Taipei-born, Hung started playing in Christchurch when she was eight. She'd been keen before that but too short to reach the table.

Last year she went to the Commonwealth Games as a 14-year-old and celebrated her 15th birthday during competition in Melbourne.

"The atmosphere there was something different to other tournaments," she said.

"In the quarter-finals we had to play Australia and they had so much support. The whole atmosphere and the whole team spirit there was really great, although it was a bit scary at first. Everyone was so experienced and good."

In May Hung played at the world individual championships in Croatia, reaching the 32 round in the doubles, and followed that up by helping New Zealand to third place (up from seventh at the previous tournament) at the Commonwealth team championships in India.

The team beat Australia for the first time, which puts the table tennis women in the frame for a trip to the Olympics if they can follow that up by making the top two in B grade at next year's world team championships in China, and beat Australia again in Oceania qualifiers.

Seeing all the top players in action at the worlds in Zagreb "really lifted my game," said Hung. "Seeing how they play and the tactics they used really helped."

Table tennis has already taken the teenager to seven or eight countries. She will be overseas again in December for the world junior championships in San Francisco.