By Nick Creely
Noble Park’s very own table tennis ace, Heming Hu, is one step closer to representing Australia at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.
The 23-year-old blitzed through the Australian Commonwealth Games Qualifiers, finishing first with a perfect 7-0 record against the countries best players from 11-14 January, meaning he has now earnt the right to be selected for the Games in April this year.
It caps off a stunning season of results for Hu, who has been training and competing in various competitions across Europe after the Olympics in Rio.
Highly skillful with the racket in hand and innovative in the sport, Hu is currently ranked as the top Senior Men’s player in Australia behind Xin Yan and Kane Townsend in New South Wales.
It will be Hu’s second Commonwealth Games appearance for Australia after finishing ninth in the men’s doubles during the 2014 Games in Glasgow, where he put in some consistent performances.
“It’s huge – I’ve spent the last couple of months preparing pretty hard, and this feels really good,” he said after qualifying for the Games.
“It’s a huge relief – but now preparing for the Commonwealth Games is the next step.
“It will be good – we’ll (Australia) use the experience to our benefit, hopefully.”
The other Australian to qualify for the Games was Dave Powell, who finished second to Hu during the tournament.
Hu began playing table tennis at a young age in his family garage at seven, and got involved in a local Dandenong competition, where he became an instant star.
He is also keen to repay the Dandenong community, with Hu currently involved in a coaching capacity.
I really enjoy bringing other people into the sport and getting them to enjoy it,” he said.
“I am currently coaching a fair bit of table tennis and am looking to further expand on it in the near future after the Commonwealth Games.”
