Table tennis player to represent England for first time at age 70
Table tennis player gets England call-up aged 7018 minutes ago Share Save Henry Godfrey-Evans & Ian Wyatt BBC News, Essex Share SaveTim Diss John Poysden gave up his passion as a young man because of work, but returned to the fold after retirementA table tennis player will fulfil has lifelong ambition to represent his country - more than 50 years after he first picked up a paddle. Having just turned 70 years old, John Poysden has broken into England's top 10 ranked over-70s players. He began his sporting journey at a club in Rochford and was Southend-on-Sea's number-one ranked men's player. Mr Poysden said he was "absolutely thrilled" to receive the call-up to the Home Nations Tournament in September.His sporting passion took a back seat as he became a city trader, and had a family, but he retired at 54. "I then quite quickly discovered that quite a few things had changed in my 25-year absence, and there was an awful lot to learn," he said. "I've never really done things half-heartedly, so I guess I just worked on adapting and improving once again. "I thought perhaps I'm in with a chance of selection but to be honest it was more in hope than expectation, so when I received the call-up I was absolutely delighted and felt honoured to be asked."Michael Loveder Mr Poysden was ranked number one in the Southend league in 1980The Home Nations Tournament sees teams compete from England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey. England are the reigning champions of Mr Poysden's age bracket, and he will have the chance to retain that title between 5 and 7 September at Nottingham Trent University. "I've never been the most naturally talented player. I've got great friends who don't pick up a bat for several months and they just pick up a bat and they've just got hand-eye coordination immediately," he explained. "I have to work at my game. I have to practice."Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
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