The 2022 Commonwealth Games are just around the corner and with several Victorian stars in Australia’s 14 player line-up heading to Birmingham, there’s going to be plenty to cheer about when the Aussie team hits the tables.

Croydon young gun Nicholas Lum will certainly be one to watch in his first Commonwealth Games appearance. At just 17, Nic will be the second youngest table tennis player to represent the green and gold at the Games after John Tawadrous in 2002.

He’ll be heading over to Birmingham in tremendous form after a brilliant showing at the 2022 Table Tennis Australia National Championships in Queensland recently.

At the National Championships, Nic brought home 11 medals including 9 gold, 1 silver and a bronze. He also won the Best Player Award in the Open and U/21 Men’s as well as the U/17 Boy’s. To cap off his great week he was awarded the Australian Junior Player of the Year for the third year in a row.

His National Championships results didn’t come as a shock to most; Nic has taken huge leaps forward in recent years to become one of Australia’s top talents. In 2019, he won the men’s cadet singles title at the Janos Molnar Tournament in Hungary, his first international tournament victory and the first by a non-European player. He was selected to go to the World Table Tennis Championships in 2020 before they were cancelled and in 2021 he reached the last 16 at the World Youth Championships.

2021 was perhaps Nic’s best year to date, especially on the international stage, reaching a career high World Ranking of no.10 in U/17’s and no.18 in the U/19’s. He also won gold in the U/17 Boy’s Singles at the 2021 World Table Tennis Youth Contender Italy event, silver in U/17 Boys Singles in Hungary, gold in the U/17 Boy’s Singles and bronze in U/19 Boy’s Singles in Slovak Republic.

“2021 was a tough year in many respects with COVID-19 taking away many opportunities, however Nicholas used the time to work doubly hard to improve his game," said Table Tennis Australia CEO Scott Houston when Nic won the Junior Player of the Year Award.

"Then when he had the opportunity to re-join international competitions, he showed the hard work had paid off by winning a swag of medals and achieving career high world rankings. Nicholas is on the right path and with continued hard work and dedication, TTA has full faith that he can achieve his goals short-term and long-term."

Scott was certainly right about the path Nic was on as he finds himself debuting at the Commonwealth Games next week.

It’s a path he has been on for a decade now after picking up a bat for the first time when he was seven years old and began playing at the Croydon Table Tennis Association.

“Every Thursday I would follow my dad to Croydon, and I would watch him play table tennis with his friends. Those days ignited my passion to play and soon I was on the table learning the basics,” said Lum.

Not only did his dad, Kenneth, help ignite Nic’s passion for the sport, he has also helped him every step of the way throughout his young career.

“I wouldn’t be where I am today without my parents. They go to work every day, drive me to practice, cheer for me to help me achieve my dreams. They inspire me to work hard and to strive for my dreams - I’m so fortunate with the parents I have “said Lum.

We can’t wait to tune in and watch Nic hit the tables in Birmingham and we’re positive the entire Australian and particularly Victorian table tennis community will be cheering him on from home.

The 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games start on Thursday July 28. For information about the table tennis events including the schedule CLICK HERE.