Sunshine Coast Table Tennis boasts a high representation in Australian Team to challenge the Kiwis in Table Tennis Test Match

Three SCTT Club players have been selected to play in an Australia v New Zealand Veterans Test Match, which will be played in Nelson, NZ on Thursday 6 April 2023. This is a significant proportion of the 24 Australians selected.

The players are Paul Green in the Over 60 team, Alan Bruhn in the Over 75 Team, and Ken Hay in the Over 80 Team. All 3 have had a long and distinguished history in table tennis.

Paul Green, who was president of the SCTT Club from 2011 to 2016, has a very impressive resume which includes:-
Ø  1981 - Christchurch Open Under 21 Title
Ø  1983 – Sydney Open Title
Ø  2000 - Sutherland Open Title
Ø  2000 – NSW Open Doubles Title partnering Paul Pinkewich who has won more Australian Open Titles than any other player
Ø  2001 – Moved to Qld where he has won over 20 State Titles for Team Events, Men’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles over the years
Ø  2008 - Paul first joined the Sunshine Coast Club. He was unbeaten in fixtures for several seasons.  Quite a feat!
Ø  2014 -  Queensland Over 40 Champion when he was actually aged 54
Ø  2021 - Queensland Over 60 Champion

And this is only a selection of his achievements. Paul’s strength is that he does not have a weakness. I am amazed at his ability to return balls that have hit the net on the way through or have hit the edge. These balls are often winners against other players. Paul comes from a table tennis family with his brother, Colin Green, a regular Scotland representative. Colin plans to come to Australia later this year and plans to partner Paul in doubles at the Qld Open.

Alan Bruhn was captain of the Qld Over 75 Team at the recent Australian Veteran Championships in Darwin and has won so many medals at State and Australian level that has had to buy a bigger house.

Alan’s strength is his highly tactical game combined with his consistency.

Ken Hay was about as close as you can get to winning the GOLD in the Over 80 Singles at the recent Nationals in Darwin. Ken went through undefeated in the Round Robin. He then won his QF and won his SF. The grand final against I Klaf from Victoria went down to the wire. Ken lost 9-11 in the 5^th. Like Alan, Ken has won more than his share of events over the years.

Ken’s team partner in NZ is Harold Bligh with whom he won the SILVER in the Over 80’s Mens Doubles at the Nationals in Darwin. Ken’s strength is his incredible defence but, when he needs to, he can attack.

Alan and Ken (with another Sunshine Coast player, Jan Yu) were all set to represent Australia in NZ in 2020, but at the last moment, the Test Match was postponed due to Covid. And 3 years later it is finally happening. 

A number of other Sunshine Coast players would have been strong contenders to make the Australian Team but business commitments or injury prevented them registering. Linda Yapp (Women’s Over 60), Judy Chin (Women’s  Over 70), and Jerrod Thomson (Mens Over 50) come to mind. Judy was Qld Over 70 Champion recently, but is presently recovering from injury. Jerrod Thomson was a star for the Sunshine Coast at the 2022 Nationals.  Playing for the Queensland Team, he won GOLD with a personal contribution of 77.78% of matches won in the Over 50s.

And Linda would have been almost a certainty as she came away from the National Championships with 1^st position in the 2022 National Veterans Order of Merit for Over 60 Women.  In the Team Championships, Linda’s Qld Team won the GOLD medal. They were unbeaten thumping the other 5 teams 10-1, 11-0, 10-1, 8-3, 11-0 in their round robin against teams from all over Australia and NZ. Linda won 14 out of 14 in the round robin ie 100%.

Best of luck to Paul, Alan and Ken from all those in the Sunshine Coast Club and congratulations for making the Australian Team. Not many people go through their life and have the honour of representing their country.