Welsh table tennis star an advisor to President Biden
SHE was the youngest athlete ever to compete in the Commonwealth Games at senior level and had a training trip to China interrupted by Covid – and now she is advising US President Joe Biden on climate change.
Speaking from her home in Cardiff, table tennis star Anna Hursey said she was “honoured and flattered” to receive an email from the US Embassy seeking her views before Mr Biden hosts a summit of world leaders on Earth Day in April.
The Carmarthen-born 14-year-old, who made history representing Wales at the Commonwealth Games in 2018 aged just 11, is a United Nations champion for climate change in sport.
Anna is now scheduled to speak to Yael Lempert, from the US Embassy in London, about how she can help spread messages about combating climate change and reducing carbon emissions.
Anna said it was good to be back in Wales after a year training in China, but she was disappointed to have to leave when the coronavirus pandemic struck in late 2019.
“I loved training in China,” she said, “but I had to come back because of coronavirus.”
Anna moved to China with her family in early 2019 so that she could work with elite coaches and train with top players.
It was a dramatic lifestyle change for Anna, who started off her sport in Swansea’s Penlan Leisure Centre.
She moved to the city of Tianjin, near Beijing, with her Chinese-born mother Phoebe and dad Laurence to train six hours a day with elite coach Liu Xun.
When Covid changed her plans she returned to Cardiff where she now trains six hours a day at the Sport Wales National Centre in Sophia Gardens.
Anna hopes to fulfil her dream of a medal at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games on her way to another medal at the 2024 Olympics.
Anna, who moved to Cardiff as a child, speaks fluent Mandarin, which she learned from her mother, who met her father when he was teaching English in China.
She said: “It is an honour to be considered someone who can help with Mr Biden’s climate change action plan. I’m so proud that a kid from Cardiff can make a small difference on such an issue.”