Tapper and Powell shared the experience they have gained preparing for Olympic and Commonwealth Games during an exhibition at the new Horsham Table Tennis Centre in the evening.

A crowd of more than 60 table tennis enthusiasts from across the Wimmera watched as the pair ran through warm up, exercises, various drills and explained the finer details of the sport.

Some had travelled from as far as Navarre while others made the trip from Warracknabeal to see if they could learn something from the sports’ elite.

Tapper grew up in Hamilton and had played in Horsham at Maydale Pavillion in shield competitions as a 10-year-old.

She said she hoped the new centre would make playing the sport more enticing within the region.

“It’s certainly a more comfortable environment,” she said. “Hopefully that means more people will hang around and get involved in order to enjoy what the sport offers.”

After Tapper defeated Powell some of the Horsham Table Tennis Association’s finest took to the table to see how their skills matched up in doubles and singles play.

Earlier in the day a clinic had been held for young table tennis players at Maydale Pavillion.

Powell said he had been excited to get involved in the tour that visited Ballarat, Warrnambool and Hamilton before arriving in Horsham because he wanted to see more juniors involved in the sport.

“There are a lot of kids who have never played and just wanted to come down to do something during the school holidays,” he said. 

“Some of them had a bit of idea but we provided a few more tips for them to go away and use. Table Tennis is a fantastic sport that can be played all-year round.

“It doesn’t matter if you’ve got a disability or whether you are five or 95 – it’s such a inclusive sport. So to be able to get more kids involved is really great.” 

Tapper became the first ever Australian to qualify the Paralympics and the Olympics when she travelled to Rio in 2016.

Complications at birth led to a paralysis in Tapper’s right arm, known as Erb’s Palsy

She said it was especially important to her that she had the opportunity to take the sport she loved to regional areas.

“This is completely necessary I think,” she said.

“It’s definitely important to have exposure to people that have played at an elite level so they can pass on knowledge. We want to help slowly build the culture in each town to help them improve as well.”