Table Tennis Australia (TTA) has appointed leading international coach Eve Jeler as National Coach – Performance Pathway (Able-Bodied) with a focus on winning medals at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Jeler is one of the world’s leading coaches, having spent the past 37 years working with the German Table Tennis Federation. In that time, she held roles as German Head Coach, National Coach for the Youth Program, plus Head Coach for Youth Teams and Cadet Teams.

It is no coincidence that Germany’s international performances went from strength to strength during her tenure, contributing to dozens of medals achieved at the Olympic Games, World Championships and European Championships. Outside of her work in Germany, Jeler has also been influential within ITTF Hopes Program at the continental and world level.

Lifting the National Able-Bodied Coaching cohort to three, Jeler will play a crucial role within the program and will work in close collaboration with National Head Coach (Able-Bodied), John Murphy, and National Performance Pathway Manager (Able-Bodied), Simon Gerada.

TTA Chief Executive Officer Scott Houston said he is confident Jeler’s appointment will help raise the standard of Australian Table Tennis as the organisation aims to foster more internationally competitive platers.

“Under the guidance of John and Simon, our Able-Bodied High Performance Program has taken significant strides forward over the past two years. We have established ongoing training environments across the country, dominated Continental level events and qualified maximum quota places for the Tokyo Olympic Games,” Houston said.

“We are ready to go to the next level and adding Eva to our team will fast track the development of our athletes, coaches and our overall system.

“Eva was in high demand throughout the world and this provides great confidence to us that someone of her calibre has chosen Australia for the next phase of her highly successful career. Above being an outstanding coach, Eva is also a fantastic person and she will fit in very well with the culture we are building. We can’t wait to welcome Eva to Australia and to get to work on achieving our goals.”

Murphy was equally upbeat about Jeler’s appointment, adding that her knowledge and experience of developing young players will be positive for the future of the sport.

“Eva is a world renowned coach of the highest order. She has directly influenced the development of many world class players such as Jorg Rosskopf, Steffan Fetzner, Dimitrij Ovtcharov, Ruwan Filus, Christian Suss and Petrissa Solja,” Murphy said.

“With her years of experience at the highest level, Eva will undoubtedly assist Australia’s already outstanding generation of youngsters who all possess great work ethic and are hungry to improve.

“TTA’s decision in hiring Eva also highlights how focused we are on providing the best opportunities for our athletes.

“I have known Eva for a long time and she has always been a great source of knowledge for my development. I can’t wait to work with Eva in a full-time capacity as we look to bring home medals from the 2022 Commonwealth Games.”

Jeler says she is looking forward to starting her new role, commenting:

“Australia famously has one of the best sports frameworks in the world. Within this, Table Tennis Australia has great potential for development, with its already fantastic young teams and its aspirations to grow in quality and quantity.

“It was my dream and my wish to be able to help an association on its way to the top with my experience. I could not be happier and any more honoured than I am for this opportunity. I promise to do my very best.”

TTA is thankful and appreciative to the AIS for providing the funding that enabled Jeler’s appointment to come to fruition. Without their support the appointment would not have been possible.

Jeler is scheduled to arrive in Australia in early January with her tenure initially running until completion of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

With thanks to Table Tennis Australia.