Observer 29-03-19
Two players with an age difference of 77 years played in the same team last Thursday night.
Mike Lushington, 88, and 11-year-old Thomas Porter formed two-thirds of the Tackleway G side which faced Nalgo B in Hastings & District Table Tennis League Division Three.
Thomas, a year seven pupil at Claverham Community College who previously went to Sedlescombe CE Primary School, has been playing for around three years.
Also a keen rugby player and footballer, he got into table tennis through his grandad Keith Lindsay, who is Tackleway's secretary and the Hastings & District Table Tennis Association president.
Mike first started playing at school some 80 years ago. He played quite a lot during his days in the Army, but didn't play seriously between 1951 and 2014.
In the intervening period, he played tennis, squash (reaching the last 16 of the British Amateur Championships and representing Sussex) and golf.
Mike, who has had hip and knee replacements in both legs, returned to table tennis with Tigers TTC before recently joining Tackleway, for whom this was his second match.
Originally from Wimbledon, Mike originally moved to Hastings in 1984. He moved away in 1992 before returning to the town in 2005.
(see picture on the Gallery menu and currently on home page)
Simon Newstead
Author: Brian Busbridge via Hastings Table Tennis League
Article Published:
Last Updated:
