With Nationals just over a month away, we decided to have a chat to a few of our Victorian State team players about how they got started in table tennis, some of their achievements, their goals for 2020 and more.

Croydon’s Dillon Chambers is the Victorian A team captain and has been playing table tennis almost as long as he’s been alive. The 22-year-old began playing as a toddler.

“I started when I was about two years old, sitting on the table and then eventually standing on a small exercise trampoline to help me reach,” said Dillon.

“My journey has been in a few stages, initially playing in Mildura when I was 8, eventually I moved to Melbourne at 14 away from my family to get the required training.

“I've played for Victoria ever since 2012 and Australia since 2014. I'll be moving to Germany in august this year to further my career as well.”

Dillon’s best achievements are yet to come but between representing Victoria and winning bronze in the men’s singles in 2019 and pulling on the green and gold at the World Championships he has already built up an impressive list of achievements for someone so young.

“Nothing beats winning matches at world championships on the main court, my first match against Kazakhstan at the 2014 world junior champs is one of my favourite moments.” Said Dillon.

At a young age, Dillon already has a great mindset as well, looking at his losses as motivation to improve moving forward.

“The biggest influences and motivators for me are the losses. So many losses and missed selections, and 14 months of being unable to play through 2016. Defying these losses and hurdles is where a lot of my motivation comes from, because I couldn't let that be my story.” He explains.

His love for the sport of table tennis is also great to hear from one of Victoria’s best young players.

“The depth and detail of the game makes it so enjoyable; I couldn't compete in a sport that was just a single race or a single throw etc,” he said.

“Table tennis is about the shift in momentum in every point and every game. The best player isn't necessarily the more skilful one physically, sometimes it's more about the way the game is played.”

Moving forward Dillon aims to take out the National Championships that are set to be played in Brisbane between April 8-18. He is also hoping for a good first half of the season in Germany to open up as many opportunities in the future as possible.