Warrnambool table tennis star Simon Johnson has been rewarded for a stellar year.
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Johnson won the 2019 Ted Sokolowski Award for Veteran Male of the Year at the Table Tennis Victoria Awards this week.
"It's a bit of a surprise actually," he said.
"I'm very proud to receive it.
"There are always a lot of good players in the running."
The 41-year-old represented Australia for the first time in April last year and made a singles quarter-final.
He followed up with a win at the over 40 men's singles International Table Tennis Federation Australian Open Vets.
That victory in Townsville in September took him to number one in the world.
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He described it as his best result yet.
The coronavirus pandemic has meant Johnson hasn't played table tennis since the end of February.
The talented played doesn't have a table at home and Warrnambool's stadium is closed.
He normally has numerous competitions to travel to around the state.
The country championships scheduled for next month in Bendigo were cancelled.
The Tasmanian Open is another of his favourites that he won't be able to go to.
A call hasn't been made yet on the national veterans championships set to be played in Darwin in September.
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