TABLE TENNIS
IF YOU’RE looking to make a mark in table tennis, then where better to go to improve your game than China?
That’s the philosophy adopted by Tredegar table tennis ace Chloe Thomas, who is spending five months training in the country which dominates the sport globally.
Twenty-three-year-old Chloe is Wales’ second-ranked female player – behind Ebbw Vale’s Charlotte Carey – and has already represented her country in world, Commonwealth and European championships.
But with her sights now set on next year’s Commonwealth Games in Queensland, Australia, she is looking to take her game to the next level.
The Bournemouth University student is training in Harbin, China, before returning to her final year of study on a nutrition course.
She said: “This would be an amazing tournament to compete at before I have to go back to university and complete my final year as I don’t know what will happen once I graduate.
“I am back in full-time training. Due to studying, I haven’t been able to train as much as I would have liked.
“I have taken myself to China on my own in order to practise. It is obviously a massive risk to take as there is a possibility I won’t be selected.
“But I have to try and know I have done everything I can possibly do. That’s what being an athlete is about.”
Thomas, who has been playing since she was nine, will learn if she’s in the Commonwealth Games team at the end of December.
In the meantime, she is putting herself through a vigorous training schedule in China to improve all aspects of her game.
She said: “I train twice every day apart from Sundays. I practise morning and afternoon for five hours altogether, plus physical and stretching.
“Over the last two years at university, I have managed to balance table tennis and my degree.
“I would encourage people to take up table tennis. Anyone can play and can be of any standard. It’s a great way to meet people and socialise, as well as getting some light exercise.”