We waited for a few minutes and chatted with a couple of other resting players in the meantime. Finally, the serious players came off court from their game of top table and took a break. I took advantage of the opportunity to ask around and see if anybody would like to have a hit for a little while.
Dead silence.
Feeling a bit embarrassed and thinking that maybe they thought I was a raw beginner, I proceeded to assure everyone that I could put the ball back on the table for them. Still no takers - I was left to crawl back towards my seat before one of the players who we had been chatting to previously, who was covered in sweat and clearly quite tired, kindly took pity on me and gave me a hit for a while. It is to my shame that I have forgotten the gentleman's name - but whoever you are, thank you very much! He then proceeded to direct Ryan to come and take over for him, and Ryan also graciously came out and gave me a few games as well.
Looking back, it's quite funny now to think of myself standing there bat in hand, asking in vain for a hit at a table tennis club. If my rescuer had not stepped up it would have been time to go home I guess. It was also quite intriguing to watch all the players go back to hitting with each other once I was on court again. Perhaps it was something I said? Or maybe they thought I was not worth hitting with, being a defensive player who doesn't look all that impressive when hitting up. Heck, there have been times when I too didn't feel like spending 20 minutes playing someone who was obviously well below my standard. At any rate, it's strange to think that after over 20 years of playing table tennis, the first time I've ever been refused a hit happened in the very first English club I played at! Would the same thing happen at other table tennis clubs around London? Or was it just an unfortunate coincidence?