By ROY WARD
THE fact he has made the London Olympics in table tennis hasn’t quite hit Dingley Village’s Robert Frank yet.
The 22-year-old was officially named in the Australian team last month and will play in the team competition, in which Frank and teammates William Henzell and Justin Tan play singles and doubles matches.
By the time reality sets in, Frank may well be settling into the Olympic Village or walking in the opening ceremony.
“It’s pretty exciting, but it has not sunk in yet that I’m going. It’s slowly getting there as I see stuff on television about the games. When it hits, I’m sure it will be quite an interesting feeling.”
Frank learnt the sport at Greater Dandenong Table Tennis Association and still trains on occasion at the club, although the majority of his pre-Olympic training is conducted at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre in the city.
Although making the Games was the realisation of a lifelong dream, Frank was also keen to wash away the disappointments of 2007, when he fell four points short of making the Beijing 2008 Olympic team.
“I lost my last game of qualifying 11-7 and finished fourth when the first three got to go to Beijing. It was a long road to get to the qualifying tournaments again. I felt a lot of nerves and tension before qualifying opened.
“I wanted to go so badly [to London] and the experience of missing out last time helped me with what to do in pressure moments.
“I think some of the people I was playing hadn’t felt that pressure before. Maybe they were like I was in the last qualifying.”
Frank and the rest of the Australian team will get an early look at the table tennis venue in London. The team faces Great Britain in a test event in the weeks before the Games begin. From there the players will move into the Olympic Village, and Frank can’t wait.
Away from the table, Frank and teammate Henzell have started an online table tennis coaching business called TTEdge in which they provide training videos and advice to players around the world.
Frank said the business gave both players something to focus on away from their training while also giving them the flexibility in their daily lives to do everything they needed to in preparation for the Games.
Frank said the business had attracted interest from players around the world. “We’ve done different online videos for anyone around the world from the most basic level of the sport to those more advanced players.
“We have a wide range of people – from those trying to make state teams to people just starting out and who want to learn how to play forehand and backhand shots.”
Frank had previously been working as an apprentice baker. “Playing table tennis and trying to work full time is quite difficult, especially when you have dreams of the Olympics.”
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