Matthew is an interesting and unconventional man to say the least. Brought up (like Ricky Gervais) in Reading, he was spotted by his primary school teacher as having the potential to become a future table tennis champion.
Emerging from a local state school as an average achiever Matthew studied for his A levels whilst playing in Sweden before applying to Oxford University having achieved 3 As at A level. Given a place at Balliol to study politics, philosophy and economics Matthew managed to combine his studies whilst competing at an international level. Although warned that both his studies and sport would suffer, he not only gained a prize-winning first class degree but he went on to become three times Commonwealth Champion and England number one for 10 years.
After retiring from top class table tennis, Matthew decided on a career in journalism and now writes for The Times. He was recently awarded Sports Feature Writer of the Year for his articles on Muhammed Ali and Zhuang Zedong. He is an excellent communicator and commentates for Eurosport, Sky News and the BBC in various sports including table tennis, snooker and squash as well as being a regular contributor to various debates on radio. Matthew is also currently the managing director of a sports marketing company and stood for Parliament in 2001.
His speaking topics range from the urge to win, race, sex, disability and globalisation. Matthew has continued his involvement in table tennis through a charity, TTK Greenhouse, (www.greenhouseschools.org) he helped set up which has 30 full time coaches who work with kids in some of the most deprived areas in our inner cities.
Testimonials
“Superb and engaging, Matthew captivated an audience of global professionals who went away with a refreshed sense of what it means to identify and motivate talented people”. David Leigh, Chief Executive SHL Group
"The best speech of its kind I have ever heard. It inspired, entertained and informed in equal measure." David Richardson, the Atlantic Group
“Extremely interesting and hugely thought provoking. Matthew is an outstanding speaker”. Mike Hart, Royal Yachting Association
“Thank you very much for coming into Oxted School today. The feedback to your talk has been amazing, with departments using their development time in the afternoon to discuss your ideas and many people stopping me in the corridor to thank me for asking you to come in. I have had over 100 requests for your book, so we are placing an order for 50 more books tomorrow!” Ros, Oxted School
Emerging from a local state school as an average achiever Matthew studied for his A levels whilst playing in Sweden before applying to Oxford University having achieved 3 As at A level. Given a place at Balliol to study politics, philosophy and economics Matthew managed to combine his studies whilst competing at an international level. Although warned that both his studies and sport would suffer, he not only gained a prize-winning first class degree but he went on to become three times Commonwealth Champion and England number one for 10 years.
After retiring from top class table tennis, Matthew decided on a career in journalism and now writes for The Times. He was recently awarded Sports Feature Writer of the Year for his articles on Muhammed Ali and Zhuang Zedong. He is an excellent communicator and commentates for Eurosport, Sky News and the BBC in various sports including table tennis, snooker and squash as well as being a regular contributor to various debates on radio. Matthew is also currently the managing director of a sports marketing company and stood for Parliament in 2001.
His speaking topics range from the urge to win, race, sex, disability and globalisation. Matthew has continued his involvement in table tennis through a charity, TTK Greenhouse, (www.greenhouseschools.org) he helped set up which has 30 full time coaches who work with kids in some of the most deprived areas in our inner cities.
Testimonials
“Superb and engaging, Matthew captivated an audience of global professionals who went away with a refreshed sense of what it means to identify and motivate talented people”. David Leigh, Chief Executive SHL Group
"The best speech of its kind I have ever heard. It inspired, entertained and informed in equal measure." David Richardson, the Atlantic Group
“Extremely interesting and hugely thought provoking. Matthew is an outstanding speaker”. Mike Hart, Royal Yachting Association
“Thank you very much for coming into Oxted School today. The feedback to your talk has been amazing, with departments using their development time in the afternoon to discuss your ideas and many people stopping me in the corridor to thank me for asking you to come in. I have had over 100 requests for your book, so we are placing an order for 50 more books tomorrow!” Ros, Oxted School
Matthew Syed is a British journalist, broadcaster and author of Bounce, a book described as “among the most intelligent and thought-provoking books about sport ever written”. He has won numerous prizes for his writing including Sports Journalist of the Year at the British Press Awards. He is also a three-time Commonwealth table tennis champion and a two-time Olympian.
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