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Lum is currently finalising preparations for the upcoming World Championships in South Africa, where he will compete in men’s singles and doubles action alongside compatriot Finn Luu.
Despite being just 17 years of age, the Croydon junior has already attracted plenty of attention in the sport – one he originally took up as part of a personal challenge set over a decade ago.
“I first picked up a racket at the age of seven,” Lum told SBS Sport. “I used to follow my dad to the table tennis club in Croydon (Victoria) and watch him play with his mates.
“At the time, table tennis seemed really boring to me. I was doing lots of other things as well; I was doing swimming classes, chess classes and, to me, table tennis was very boring.
“But as I continued to follow my dad to the table tennis club, I sort of challenged myself a little bit to see if it really was that easy.
“That’s how it all began, I just told myself to get on the court, have a try, and now here I am playing after so many years.”
The years have been incredibly kind to Lum, in truth, who recently topped Table Tennis Australia’s senior men’s rankings and, for his efforts in the U-17 Boys category, became the first able-bodied Oceania player to receive a world number one ranking by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).
“I didn’t really expect to be ranked that high,” Lum admitted. “It just shows all the hard work and all the progress I’ve made these couple of years.
“To me, it’s an honour to be ranked so high in the world and it just shows that I am capable of reaching those standards.
“I just need to keep working, keep chipping away and show that I’m capable of staying at that level as well.”
Lum did just that during last year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, where he fell just short of a bronze medal in both the doubles and mixed doubles events despite being the second-youngest table tennis player to represent Australia at the Games.
It’s an experience the left-hander will look to build upon at the World Championships – all while displaying a style synonymous with Long, China’s reigning Olympic champion and the only man to win consecutive gold medals in the singles competition.
Much like his roots in the sport, Lum’s admiration for Long stems from his father’s influence on his career, where time was often spent studying the aggressive nature of ‘The Dragon’ and the dominant forehand that often decides rallies within the first few balls.
It’s this combative approach, coupled with an impressive service game, that Lum will look to rely on in South Africa, particularly against the more seasoned competitors often twice his age.
The potential gulf in experience has never fazed Lum, however, and the Australian maintains that both a positive mindset and correct execution can be the difference between victory and defeat.
“I think table tennis is probably one of the hardest sports in the world,” he said.
“Many people say that you hit the ball over the net and that’s it; there’s not much legs, you just use your arms and you hit the ball over the net. But if you really watch table tennis, it’s much deeper than that.
“You’ve got to deal with spins, you’ve got to deal with different serves, different styles, playing lefties, playing righties – there’s just so many factors in a game that can affect winning… so, it’s (about) just making sure that you trust your strengths and your advantages, and this will help you win matches against players who are older or more experienced.”
With only a week remaining until the start of the World Championships, winning “as many matches as possible” is all that matters to Lum, but so too does the honour of representing Australia on the international stage.
“It’s a big privilege to be representing Australia at such a prestigious event,” he added. “I’m really looking forward to it… just going there, going all-out, seeing what I can do against these top players and, first and foremost, enjoying the experience.”
