Hwan's Story
Hwan Bae is a rising star of the Australian table tennis scene. He picked up the racket at a young age and first competed in ranked competitions in 2014 at just nine years old. He would compete in various local, state and national events throughout his junior career before making his World Table Tennis debut in the youth contender series in 2022.
2022 was a big year for Hwan competing and finding success at both continental and international levels for the first time. He represented Australia in the World Youth Championship in the U19 men's team division alongside Nicholas Lum and Finn Luu, going down to Poland in the quarter-finals. Hwan scored a silver medal in the World Table Tennis Youth Contender Series in Darwin, competing in the U19 singles division.
In the Oceania Championships Hwan scored a bronze medal in the U19 singles division and contributed to Australia's gold-winning effort in the U19 team category. His success at the Oceania Championships continued a year later when the tournament returned to home soil in Townsville for 2023. Hwan took home a silver medal in the open doubles division alongside fellow Aussie, Aditya Sareen as well as earning the gold in the U21 singles. He would also be a part of the Australian lineup that defended the U19 boys teams title, making that squad back-to-back winners.
Hwan also scored a bronze medal at the 2023 Australian National Championships in the U19 Singles division and spent time competing in the United States. Most notably he competed in the 2023 US Open winning gold in the U19 mixed doubles division alongside American Angiee Tan. His success throughout the 2022 and 2023 seasons allowed him to compete in the 2024 Australian Olympic Qualification Tournament In Ballarat.
In winning the event over Finn Luu in the final, Hwan secured automatic nomination to the Australian Olympic Committee and has been selected to don the green and gold for the first time as an Olympian in Paris.
