The whole of Malaysia was covered with the ash of an erupting Indonesia volcano, which did not allow the sun to disperse the high humidity. In consequence, frequent stoppages of play for drying hands, brows, balls, rackets and the floor were necessary.
Nevertheless, the Table Tennis Association of Malaysia organised a good Championships, which saw Hong Kong, after their eclipse in Bombay the previous year, come back in no uncertain manner, winning the Men's Team title 40/4, and the Women's title 18/0! They went on to win all individual titles—a feat only accompanied by England in the first three Championships.
India's ladies beat England to win Silver. The Men's Singles title was won by Chiu Man Kuen, a combination bat 'twiddler', and the Ladies Singles by Yue Kam Kai. All the losing semi-finalists were from Hong Kong, except in the Men's Doubles, where the Silver medal was taken by India's Mandit Dua and Kamlesh Mehta.
Results at a Glance:
Men's Team Champion - Hong Kong
Women's Team Champion - Hong Kong
Men's Singles Champion - Chiu Man Kuen (Hong Kong)
Women's Singles Champion - Yue Kam Kai (Hong Kong)
Men's Doubles Champion - Chiu Man Kuen / Vong Iu Veng (Hong Kong)
Women's Doubles Champion - Mak Ka Sha / Chai Man (Hong Kong)
Mixed Doubles Champion - Chan Kong Wah / Hui So-Hung (Hong Kong)
Hong Kong - 7 titles
Chiu Man Kuen (Hong Kong) - 3 titles (Men's Team, Men's Singles, Men's Doubles)
Yue Kam Kai (Hong Kong) - 2 titles (Women's Team, Women's Singles)
Vong Iu Veng (Hong Kong) - 2 titles (Men's Team, Men's Doubles)
Mak Ka Sha (Hong Kong) - 2 titles (Women's Team, Women's Doubles)
Chai Man (Hong Kong) - 2 titles (Women's Team, Women's Doubles)
Chan Kong Wah (Hong Kong) - 2 titles (Men's Team, Mixed Doubles)
Hui So-Hung (Hong Kong) - 2 titles (Women's Team, Mixed Doubles)
The little island in the Irish Sea hosted the 8th Championships, affiliating to the ITTF in order to do so, and what a good job they did. However, they could do nothing about the bitter east wind which caused many colds and chills.
England played their best players, and regained most of the titles lost to Hong Kong in 1983, defeating them 5-0 in the Men's Team event, and 3-1 in the Women's Team event.
Biggest surprise in the individual events was Chiu Man Kuen's defeat in an early round by Scot, John Broe. Desmond Douglas of England, undefeated in the Team event, cruised though to the Men's Singles title, beating Alan Cooke (ENG) in the final, and Karen Witt (ENG) defeated the 1979 champion Hui So-Hung in the Women's Singles final.
It was not all England's way, as Nigeria's Atanda Musa and Francis Sule won the Men's Doubles, and Canada's Mariann Domonkos and Gloria Hsu, the Women's Doubles.
Results at a Glance:
Men's Team Champion - England
Women's Team Champion - England
Men's Singles Champion - Desmond Douglas (England)
Women's Singles Champion - Karen Witt (England)
Men's Doubles Champion - Atanda Musa / Francis Sule (Nigeria)
Women's Doubles Champion - Mariann Domonkos / Gloria Hsu (Canada)
Mixed Doubles Champion - Desmond Douglas / Alison Gordon (England)
England - 5 titles
Nigeria - 1 title
Canada - 1 title
Desmond Douglas (England) - 3 titles (Men's Team, Men's Singles, Mixed Doubles)
Karen Witt (England) - 2 titles (Women's Team, Women's Singles)
Alison Gordon (England) - 2 titles (Women's Team, Mixed Doubles)