A refugee from Estonia who arrived in England after the Second World War, he became one of nation’s leading coaches; in recent years the reluctant hero has received award after award for his contribution to the sport of table tennis.

However, the human interest transcends all he may have achieved. He believed his father had been killed at the Battle of Stalingrad, father believed son had been drowned at sea.

It is the stuff of a Hollywood movie; read in the first edition of the ITTF Magazine how Hans Soova met his father 50 years later…….