When 15 year old Nabilah first set eyes on her opponent in a recent Greenhouse Sports Ping Pong tournament she thought she was onto a good thing.
Facing her across the net was 83 year old Great-Grandfather Geof Bax from Watford. Her over confidence is short lived though as Geof turns out to be a master of the Ping Pong table and sends back some scorching shots.
He’s a member of VETTS (Veterans English Table Tennis Society) and the current Veterans Doubles World Champion. As you can see from the video Nabilah and her team mates get quite a shock when one delivery seers a hole in her paddle.
The young players are all members of Greenhouse Sports which is an initiative funded by the National Lottery. Its aim is to use sport to help young people from the inner city who need it to realise their full potential. This has proved something of a life changer for Nabilah herself:
“Greenhouse has helped me gain in confidence. In fact, if it wasn’t for Greenhouse Sports I wouldn’t have been able to put my name forward and get selected to be Head Girl at my school. Greenhouse Sports has helped me build on myself and make me a better person.”
It is a testament to the good work enabled by The National Lottery which raises £34 million pounds a week for life changing causes. The match takes place in London’s historic Alexander Palace itself which itself is undergoing a major renovation programme courtesy of the Heritage Lottery Fund.
