It takes a village: the people behind the most successful Australian para-table tennis team ever

📷 | Paralympics Australia

The Australian para-table tennis team experienced unprecedented success at the recent Tokyo Paralympic Games. The 11-strong squad - the biggest Australian team ever sent to a Paralympics - broke many long-standing records and took home the highest number of medals in Australian para-table tennis history, six in total with two golds and four silvers.

Table Tennis Australia (TTA) National Program Manager for para-table tennis, Sue Stevenson, said Australian athletes’ achievements were exceptional, but certainly didn’t happen by chance. 

Stevenson has been working with Table Tennis Australia for over 15 years and has contributed to growing the program, also thanks to a close relationship with Paralympics Australia (PA) which began in 2005.

“Throughout this whole time they’ve been an amazing source of support for our program, both financially, as well as in terms of human resources and in-kind support. This reaches across many important areas, from talent identification to high performance, from sport science and medicine to innovation and other aspects of the program,” she said.

The potential of TTA’s para-program was subsequently recognised by other organisations including the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), Commonwealth Games Australia (CGA) and - for elite ‘Podium’ athletes - the Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS) and the South Australia Sport Institute (SASI), which provided crucial support throughout the five-year campaign towards Tokyo.

“There is a massive team behind our athletes, who help them prepare and develop,” Stevenson confirmed. “The fact that we’ve had these amazing results even with limited funding is testament to the work of our coaches and contracted staff, but also to the support we received from those organisations.

“It really feels like one big team. Paralympics Australia in particular have been with us all along the way and we would not be looking at the results we had in Tokyo without them,” she said.

TTA’s para-program turned the corner just before the Rio 2016 Paralympics, when an increased  focus was placed on high performance, training and other aspects of athlete’s overall growth, including nutrition, strength and conditioning, recovery and mental preparation. 

“Between 2005 and 2016 most of the hard work was conducted around development, to establish the program and try to get athletes to join,” Stevenson said.

Sam von Einem’s silver medal in Rio was the catalyst for a new approach developed under the guidance of Alois Rosario, the National Head Coach (Para) who was appointed after the 2016 Games. 

“Sam winning a medal was really the critical moment,” Rosario said. “It confirmed in my mind that we were on the right direction.”

TTA had started doing some specific high-performance work with [Paralympics Australia’s Innovation Lead] Ross Pinder prior to the Games, but that medal gave the para-team the impetus to continue. After Rio, adding international talents like Li Na Lei, Qian Yang and Ma Lin to the team gave the program another strong boost.

“Another big factor was the experience and wisdom that athletes like [seven-time Paralympian] Danni di Toro and [F42 Long Jump 2008 Paralympic champion] Christine Wolf were able to provide when they joined the team. That changed the culture of the whole squad, plus having Millie Tapper on board as team captain was crucial in shifting the attitude of the team towards high-performance. 

“All those things came together to get us where we are now,” Rosario said.

Together with significant improvements in training and preparation methods, including innovative data-driven analysis and video reviews, the creation of a supportive environment for the athletes was another stepping stone for the TTA para-program. 

Team values like respect, caring, excellence and pride were unanimously agreed by the squad members in a team pact later renewed during the pre-Games training camp, where even more focus was placed on principles like unity, respect and connection.

“All those values showed in Tokyo,” Stevenson said. “Even when an athlete may have lost a match, they would make themselves available to warm up their fellow athlete. When they were not competing, they were still in the hall to support the team. I think Li Na summed it up well when she said during one of her interviews - ‘it’s just like one big family’.

“A big credit should go to Alois, to [National Coach – Performance Pathway (Para)] Maggie Meng and our team captains, including  Milly Tapper, Joel Coughlan and Nathan Pellissier. I’ve been on many campaigns and this was by far the best team spirit I’ve ever experienced. 

“But as I said, this wasn’t by chance. We’ve been building that culture for a long time to create an environment where athletes feel fully supported, whether they win or lose,” Stevenson said.

Rosario added that the work done by Performance Psychologist Dr Edel Langan in the lead up to the Games was another key contribution to consolidating the culture of the team. 

“The values were there, but they had not been stated or really discussed,” Rosario said. 

“One of the big things that previous Head Coach Roger Massie brought to the team was a positive vibe and a supportive culture where everyone backed each other up. But Edel consolidated those ideas and made the team live by those values.

“It was especially interesting to see the results for athletes like Lin, Qian and Li Na, who had never travelled with the team before, nor experienced that level of team support. I think it made a big difference to them.

“The fact that they achieved better results in Tokyo than in Rio, despite being five years older and with a reduced number of table sessions, is amazing and a testament to the comfort they felt within the team and the support they received in terms of strength and conditioning, nutrition and match analysis.” Rosario said.

On a personal level, the Australian team's success in Tokyo was particularly rewarding for Stevenson and Rosario, who have known each other through table tennis since they were 12 years old before getting involved in the TTA para-program.

“It was definitely the most amazing experience. When the medals happened I just turned to Alois to congratulate him. It’s been a long journey together. Tears were shed, and a lot of them were mine,” Stevenson said.

“Even on semi-finals day, I remember sitting in a little quiet spot just before Qian’s match. It felt totally overwhelming and just amazing to have experienced those few hours and those achievements. That day was just huge.” Rosario said.

“After Qian’s match I think they got a photo of me just doing this [she makes an exultant gesture] as I kept asking myself - What happened? What did just happen??

“I couldn’t believe it. Like Alois said, amazing days,” Stevenson said.

Stevenson and Rosario are excited about the future of the program and what the team can achieve in Paris and beyond, looking towards Brisbane 2032. They also hope that the performance in Tokyo might help with attracting new young athletes to the program. 

“We’ll try to capitalise on our success and get more players, especially females, into para-table tennis,” Stevenson said.

After years of development, Australian para-table tennis has a coherent structure, starting from defined entry points into the sport, all the way through a well-organised pathway and a growing number of inspiring athletes, who showcase the sport at the highest level. 

“We’re starting to have the things in place that we really need to develop the pathway all the way through and that’s changed a lot since six years ago. I can’t believe how much progress we’ve had.

“With the Pathway funding that we received from the AIS last year we were able to get Maggie and [National Pathway Development Officer (Para)] Kara Retford on board. Kara’s whole focus is to work with Paralympics Australia, rehab centres and disability organisations on projects like the ‘Come and Try’ days and other initiatives aimed at classification profiling and talent identification,” Stevenson said.

“Maggie’s role is also crucial to develop emerging athletes and improve players’ technique. To be able to have her take those new players, develop their skills and move them through the pathway is a big plus for the program,” Rosario said. 

Stevenson and Rosario agreed that the AIS Para HP funding has also been vital in recruiting capable staff who can work alongside other specialists - people like Lead Performance Analyst Sam Wells, who now works with Ross Pinder following up on the work started by Lewis Quinn to support the development and the preparation of the elite athletes. 

“We’re really excited about the future of the program. Like anything, success breeds success, and if that means that with our team performance in Tokyo we’ll be able to attract new athletes into the program, that would be amazing,” Stevenson said.

📷 | Paralympics Australia - Staff supporting the para-table tennis team at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo (L-R): TTA National Program Manager (Para) Sue Stevenson; Paralympics Australia Innovation Lead Ross Pinder, TTA National Coach - Performance Pathway (Para)
Maggie Meng, TTA National Head Coach (Para) Alois Rosario.