Meet the Table Tennis Wales Players: Austin Hibbert

First picking up a bat to play with his father on a holiday in Tenerife, Austin Hibbert has come along way to now be a representative of his country.

Austin has embarked upon a journey which has a lot of potential to go a long way, and which has already proved memorable in places.

“My most memorable win would be beating a top-ten English Cadet player in the first  four-star of the season,” he explained when we caught up with him, “and being the only person to beat him until he won the band 1 final.”

Another significant moment in Austin’s fledgling career was a semi-final in which he faced four match points.

“I overcame it and ended up winning the whole event,” he recalled.

We briefly caught up with Austin to chat about his journey through the sport so far, his methods, and his aspirations for the future.

What rubber and bat do you use?

“My rubber and bat set up is Tenergy 05 both sides and a Viscaria straight handle blade.”

Who’s your favourite player and who do you look up to?

“I would say my favourite player is Liam Pitchford as he shows how a GB player can achieve so much and become top 20 in the world.

“It was also very inspiring watching him at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.”

What are your main goals for your table tennis career?

“I would say my main goal with table tennis is to be able to compete in the Premier Division of the Senior British League when I am older and to win the senior Welsh Nationals.”

Austin has progressed in the sport by doing well at maintaining a positive mental state and taking each point as it comes, as was evident in the aforementioned four-match-point comeback.

What advice would you give to a budding table tennis player?

“My advice would be to work hard and attempt to get good results that stands you out from the other players.”

And his never-die attitude is summed up buy his favourite quote, ‘you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take’.