Table tennis 'golden girl', 99, plays every day

Edna Fletcher won medals all over the world during her decades-long career

A table tennis champion whose heart was captured by the sport as a teenager during World War Two has spoken of her continued passion for the sport she still plays every day, aged 99.

Edna Fletcher, of Gorleston, near Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, was just 15 when she picked up a bat for the first time at a church-run youth club.

Since then, she has travelled the world, won medals and trophies, coached generations of young players and helps run a local league.

"They call me the golden girl of table tennis, so I have a lot to live up to," she said.

'Like a duck to water'

Ms Fletcher had a playing career of about 70 years and only began to reluctantly slow down in her mid-80s when she needed the first of two hip replacement operations.

Looking back at her early playing years, she said she had always loved sport.

"I liked ball games at school - lawn tennis, hockey, rounders, so maybe I had the eye for a ball because I took to it [table tennis] like a duck to water," she added.

"I like the social side; when you play in a team you play other teams and you meet somebody different all the time."

Offered to coach royalty

She went on to become world and European singles champion and qualified as a coach, passing on her skills to children young enough to be her great-grandchildren.

"I loved coaching the youngsters - my greatest thrill was to see one of mine win a tournament," she said.

"They'd say 'I've been beaten Edna,', and I'd say 'you had to wait until I was 75 before you beat me'."

She even offered her coaching skills to the King, then the Prince of Wales, when she was given the MBE in 2006.

"I wagged my finger at him when he said he had never played," she said.

"I said 'well next time you come to Caister and visit The Prince's Trust, get them to ring me up and I'll give you some coaching'."

'She's done an Edna on you'

She agreed the game was incredibly pacey, and noted the changes in the game when watching the Paris Olympics and Paralympics.

"I used to like to read the other person, and how they played, it's all in the brain and the footwork - I was very good on my feet.

"Now it's all about attack.

"I was watching a paralympian and thought she hadn't altered her game, and said [to the TV] 'she's done an Edna on you, she's changed her pace'."

She still meets her friends for a game each day in nearby Ormesby St Margaret and is president of the Great Yarmouth and District League, where she helps players every week.

"I'm still very much involved, and this year I've had to become secretary to keep a team in the league, so here come all my paperwork skills now," she said.

"If you keep your mind active and young it keeps your body active as well.

"There are so many clubs out there - my daughter played in one of the over-60s clubs, but I think she's given it up to play bowls."