Goulburn Table Tennis Club president Michael Turner struggles at Australian Veterans Table Tennis Championships

That was the case with Goulburn Table Tennis Club president Michael Turner when he represented NSW at the Australian Veterans Table Tennis Championships in Darwin on October 7-18.

The Championships had been called off for the past two years due to the coronavirus pandemic, so Turner was excited to be back playing.

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The 69-year-old, who had been selected for more than 30 of those tournaments over the years, came away from the competition knowing he gave it his all despite only winning two of his 24 singles matches.

"The tournament was great, but extremely tough, especially in my over 65 age group," he said.

"I played better this time around compared to previous years, but everyone was just better than me.

"I was the lowest ranked player, so I struggled a bit."

There were eight teams in his division from all over the country and New Zealand.

Players had to go up against everyone in the division in a round robin format and when the players had time off, they socialised in their rooms.

To be up for selection, Turner had to play in at least two NSW team veteran events.

Turner started off as a promising junior golfer before getting into table tennis when he was 15-years-old.

"We had a table tennis table in our clubhouse and we'd always play there," Turner said.

"Two of my friends, who had been going to training at the Railway Institute in the late 60s, would wipe all of us, so I decided to go along with them to get better".

Turner said the sport was definitely more popular now compared to those days.

"There's a lot more players now, but a lot more women played back then.

"I'm not sure why, but women's table tennis has gone out of fashion."

The next edition of the Australian Veterans Table Tennis Championships will be in Canberra and Turner will be hoping to take part in it again.

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