Episode Details

Table tennis hits London and the podcast this week, as the city hosts the World Team Table Tennis Championships and Table Tennis England CEO Sally Lockyer joins the show. 

The Championships which include 64 men's and 64 women's teams are competing at two London venues, the Copper Box and Wembley's OVO Arena over the next fortnight. Lockyer has been front and centre of the preparations, heading up the joint venture that is responsible for organising and staging the tournament.

She discusses what's been keeping her up at night as the championships - the centenary edition - get underway and assesses what the legacy might be, as Table Tennis England looks to a digital transformation that aims to further engage its membership and more casual ping pong participants.

Lockyer also assesses the wider challenges smaller national governing bodies are faced with, and assesses China's role as a table tennis superpower. She also takes us behind the scenes on the trade mission to China and Japan, led by Keir Starmer and the UK government, she joined earlier this year, to showcase table tennis and its status as a soft power tool.