Last week, we wished Essex’s Keith Lesser the best of luck as he headed to Rotterdam for the Federation of International Racketlon World Championships. Well, it turns out he didn’t need much luck!
The current Men’s Over 45 world number one enjoyed a fantastic few days in the Netherlands, coming away with an individual World Championship silver medal before captaining Great Britain to gold in the Over 40s team competition.
For those who missed our Racketlon introduction last time around, competitors play table tennis, badminton, squash and tennis with every point counting towards the overall score. Keith’s strength on the squash court has helped make him one of the leading players in the world, but success at this level requires plenty of ability with all four rackets.
First up was the individual competition, where Keith entered the 32-player Men’s Over 45 draw as the number one seed.
It was a genuinely international field, with players representing Canada, France, Denmark, Great Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, India, Czech Republic, Hong Kong, USA, Belgium, Sweden, Switzerland and Poland.
Keith lived up to his billing, battling his way through the draw to reach the final on the third day of competition. Waiting for him was France’s Jonathan Cassier, the World No. 2 and second seed.
With the top two players in the world going head-to-head for the title, it was always likely to be a close contest. Keith fought hard but ultimately fell just short, having to settle for an excellent World Championship silver medal.
There was still another opportunity to add some gold to the luggage, though.
Keith switched from individual competitor to captain as Great Britain looked to defend the Over 40s team title they won in 2025.
A refreshed GB side faced strong opposition from France, the Netherlands, Germany and India, not to mention a noisy home crowd in Rotterdam. Among those standing in their way was 6ft 7in Dutchman Alwin Krist, while France arrived with plenty of strength from their masters tennis players.
GB responded with what Keith described as their “table tennis flair, squash strength and ultimately our team spirit”, producing the goods when it mattered to successfully retain their World Championship title.
It capped a brilliant few days for Keith. Not bad for someone who describes his other life as being a “vegan accountant”.
Congratulations to Keith and the rest of Team GB. We suspect there are still a few chapters to come in his life of international racket sports stardom!
