MILDURA'S Dillon Chambers has retained his place in Table Tennis Australia's national squad for 2022.
The 23-year-old, who is plying his trade in Germany, was one of 10 male players selected in the squad of 16 that will wear the green and gold at international events next year.
Chambers, who is playing for the ASV Grunwettersbach club, made the move to Europe to compete against some of the best players in the world, hoping it might enhance his chances of playing the world championships, as well as making the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
"Aims for 2022 are mainly the Commonwealth Games but I'm also hoping to have enough good international performances to reach the top 256 in world ranking so that I can play world championships," he said.
"Unfortunately the new ranking system is more based on quantity of participation than anything, and so the rankings are very inaccurate and it can be a case of luck whether you play against a weak player in the first round of a tournament, or against someone who could be top 10 in the world, but doesn't have enough ranking points to bypass the qualifying rounds.
"This is why I'm trying to maximise the number of international events I play next year to give me the best chance of climbing the rankings."
The rising star did admit a lack of funding for Australian players that limited opportunities to play internationally.
"I recently played in Slovenia in a world tour event with no notable results (lost first round against strong opponents) and I will be looking to play again in a similar but slightly smaller event in Dusseldorf in January," he said.
"But I don't have the funds to play more at this stage, unless I'm successful with a grant from the International Table Tennis Federation to compensate for the impact of coronavirus on my plans and my income last year around the time of moving to Germany."
Chambers has predominantly played with Grunwettersbach's second team so far this Bundesliga campaign, being undefeated and odds-on to move up to the fourth tier next season.
The top side, however, have struggled a bit more and while aren't threatened with relegation as yet, they are keeping their heads above water.