Kingston paddler Kim Holcomb has claimed a gold medal at the ITTF World Masters Championships in South Korea, defeating competitors from around the globe in her first appearance at the international event.
The championships, held in Gangneung, attracted about 4,000 players from more than 100 countries and territories.
Holcomb, a Southern Tasmania Table Tennis Association player based at the Kingston Sports Centre, teamed up with five-time Australian national champion Elfrida Kalich to win the Women’s Over-75 Doubles title, defeating a Hong Kong pairing 3-0 in the gold medal match.
Despite living on opposite sides of the country, with Kalich based in Darwin, the pair managed to fit in valuable practice sessions before the tournament.
Holcomb was quick to acknowledge the support of husband Ken Hughes, saying she would never have achieved her success without his unwavering encouragement.
For Holcomb, the result was something she never imagined when she first took up the sport.
After knee injuries ended her tennis and squash pursuits, she turned to table tennis at the age of 38.
“I dreamt of winning the Australian Veteran’s Table Tennis Championship, which I did 31 years ago, winning the mixed doubles, but I never dreamt of winning gold at the World Masters,” she said.
“When I heard the Australian supporters shouting ‘Aussie, Aussie, oi oi oi’, I realised we had won the gold.”
Holcomb said the achievement had given her even more motivation to stay active.
“I guess it encourages me to continue to play table tennis and I will try my very best to stay healthy and bypass the nursing home,” she said.
The gold medal has sparked celebrations among family and friends across Australia and overseas.
“My family and friends in the UK, USA, Vietnam, Korea and here in Australia are ecstatic about me winning,” she said. “I thought I was representing Tasmania and Australia at the tournament but now my family and friends in Vietnam are also claiming me.”
Holcomb said she was particularly proud of matching the standard of her highly credentialled doubles partner and sharing the experience with coach Le Dung Lam, who travelled from Vietnam to support the pair throughout the tournament.
“I was so happy that my coach was there coaching and supporting us for the whole tournament and to see us win gold,” she said.
Holcomb is now preparing for bunion surgery and hopes the procedure will allow her to return to the table without pain.
“Hopefully then I can play without pain,” she said.
