South Australia’s young rising stars of table tennis who are climbing the ranks on the national stage
A new generation of players are making their mark on South Australia’s table tennis scene as young athletes turn potential into podiums.
Table tennis in South Australia is on the rise, and it’s not just the seasoned players making a smash.
A new crop of young talent is stepping up, bringing speed and skill to the literal table. They’re quick, competitive and hungry to prove themselves – whether it’s in school gyms, community halls or under the bright lights of national championships.
Table Tennis SA president Paul Langley, who represented Australia at the 1996 Olympics, said the sport has continued to grow through school programs and clear “high-performance” pathways helping young players progress.
“There’s definitely a big focus strategically for us actually going around and getting into the school sporting programs,” Langley said. “It’s a low overhead sport as well, so there’s some opportunities to get into some of those lower socio-economic areas.
“Table tennis is a very multicultural sport, and you see that with our state junior teams – across 40-odd kids that are representing the state, we’ve got 10-15 different nationalities.
“Table tennis is one of the most popular sports in the world. As far as numbers go, we’ve definitely seen an increase over time.
“I’m coming from a background of high performance myself, so being able to see the younger kids come through the high-performance program and ultimately represent Australia at the Oceania Championships is just a fantastic experience.
“South Australia as a board is taking a lot of time, energy and effort into actually building and facilitating the pathways, so it’s really good to see that this is now crystallising into some good outcomes for the kids.”
From local comps to bigger stages, these rising stars are showing that SA’s future in the sport is looking brighter than ever.
Luke Chen, 17
Already a state champion across four different age categories – as well as being involved in the 2023 Under-17 national championship – Pembroke student Luke Chen is a table tennis force to be reckoned with.
After beginning his career at just 9, Luke recently became a member of the Australian national development team following a superb 2025 season where he was crowned the Open Men’s state champion.
“I particularly enjoy how it (the sport) facilitates both physical exercise and socialisation with friends and family,” he said. “Notably, it allows me to relax and relieves stress, which is useful after a long tiring day.”
Looking ahead to the future, Luke hopes he can inspire the next generation of stars as a part-time coach.
Lawrence Fan, 13
Ranked as the top 13-year-old boy in the country, Lawrence Fan has quickly established himself as one of Australia’s most promising young talents.
In 2025 alone, Fan has already built an impressive resume of achievements – including gold medals in both doubles and singles competitions at the recent Australian National Championships.
He also played up an age group as part of the gold-medal-winning under-15s team.
At the 2025 Oceania Youth Championship, Fan took out third place in the doubles and singles.
Angelina Padamadan, 15
Already looking ahead to the 2032 Brisbane Olympics, Angelina Padamadan is taking her table tennis to the next level this year – training up to three hours each day under some of the state’s leading coaches.
Angelina has been competing at the national level since the age of 10 and made her first international appearance at 12.
The year 8 student – who took up the sport following in the footsteps of her older brother – has already represented South Australia at three WTT tournaments abroad and boasts impressive titles, including gold at the 2024 TTA Tour in Canberra and the 2025 Under-15 Mixed Doubles National Championship.
Angelina’s dad Adolfus – an international medal winner for India in handball – said her daughter’s “dedication and drive” made her one of the country’s “brightest rising stars”.
Steven So, 14
Aged 14 years old, Steven So has risen up the ranks since entering the table tennis fray five years ago.
It wasn’t until he won silver at the 2022 National Hopes and became a national champion that he started to become more involved in the sport.
Steven is currently ranked fifth in the country for under-15 boys and, this year alone, has already won state and national titles.
In 2023, Steven was awarded the Jim Aufderheide Trophy – recognised for his excellence as South Australia’s best junior player.
Looking ahead, Steven will aim to compete at both the 2028 and 2032 Olympic Games while continuing to represent the country in international tournaments.
Yannis Li, 13
Coming to Adelaide from Shanghai, Yannis has received coaching from some of the sport’s best minds in her short career.
It was there, in Shanghai, that she received private coaching from Zhang Qin, who previously coached Olympic and world champion Sun Yingsha – a former world No. 1 in women’s singles.
Yannis is currently ranked as the second best under-13 girl in the country after securing three runners-up – and one gold – at the 2025 national championships.
Toby Thomas, 11
Only a year-and-a-half ago, Toby Thomas was handed a “cheap table tennis bat” and began rallying with a brick wall “for fun”.
He enjoyed it so much that he became a junior member at Southern Table Tennis, and now dreams of representing Australia at the Olympics.
In his short career, Toby has already represented the state’s under-11 boys team – taking out the State Junior Championship.
Patrick Deng, 15
A dedicated and aspiring prodigy, Glenunga International High student Patrick Deng is quickly making a name for himself.
A member of the SA under-15 state team, Patrick’s decisive win in the final match of the recent state championships led South Australia to a narrow 4-3 victory over New South Wales.
His rise, he says, comes from a “serious pursuit through intense training” – including four private sessions a week and a dedicated training trip to China.
Now, Patrick is fully focused on taking home the national title in the under-17 team championships.
Szilard Kovacs, 12
Moving to Adelaide at just three years old after being born in Hungary, Szilard Jovacs began playing the sport when he turned 10.
Before that, he had followed in the footsteps of his older brothers and took up basketball.
Winning the 2025 state under-13 tournament stands out as his favourite accomplishment so far, but Szilard’s “greatest ambition” in life is to become a professional table tennis coach.
Tom Kluska, 18
Despite stepping back from the sport to focus on his year 12 studies, Tom Kluska has every intention to “fully commit” next year and pick up where he left off in 2024.
It was in that year that he won silver as part the national under-17 boys team – while also coming runner up in the state junior under-17 championship.
Even with his school commitments this year, Tom came runner up in the Elite Open Qualification and won both Brighton and Onkaparinga’s under-19 competitions.
Lefan Zhang, 12
Lefan Zhang is currently ranked the top player in SA’s winter pennant Division 6 competition and managed to represent the under-13 state team.
Continually focused on improving his skills and consistency, Lefan has also adopted a team-first approach to his table tennis – striving to help his own club climb the Div 6 ranks.
Emily Wu, 14
14-year-old Emily Wu has been a dedicated, passionate table tennis player since the age of 7.
Representing Australia in the National Junior Table Tennis Championships in 2022 and 2024, Emily took home Silver in the Under 15 girls competition.
Training twice a week, Emily “continues to sharpen her skills and deepen her love for the game”.
Looking ahead, Emily dreams of becoming a table tennis coach to “inspire and guide” the next generation of players.
Jackie Shen, 11
Before moving to South Australia in 2023, Jackie Shen was living in Shanghai and began playing table tennis when she was 7.
Fast forward four years, and the 11-year-old has quickly made her mark on the state’s competition.
In April 2025, Jackie won the Mini Hopes Silver Medal at the Table Tennis Australia’s National Hopes Week & Challenge, and was named Best Player in Division 7 Winter Pennant in 2024.
Jackie has also proudly represented the state at two different National Championships.
As she continues to hone her skills, Jackie aims to win the National Hopes Medal, achieve greater success at the National Championships, build confidence through competition, and promote table tennis in her school and local community.
Revealed: SA baseball’s top 25 young guns of 2025-2026
