"That's not too bad if you can still come up with that sort of play," he said. "Table tennis is one of those sports you can come back to and get back into it pretty easily. It's a memory sport, you don't lose your swing.
"That got me back on the competitive side. I had done quite a bit of practice before the worlds." H Part of his motivation for getting back into the sport seriously was the 2017 World Masters Games in Auckland.
Wilson played competitively in Germany in 1994 and 1995 and earned a living from the sport. At his peak he was No.8 in New Zealand. "The standard was a lot higher then."
He'd like to see how high he can get again.
"Age is against me though. For me, I'm pretty lucky, I'm sort of quite light weight, quite fit and can still play that young man's game. But it's the veterans that are carrying table tennis in New Zealand at the moment."
Wilson is loving being back.
"It's great, it keeps me fit and gives me something to do."
Wilson has applied for a New Zealand ranking and hopes the Manawatu win will put him up a few places.
"I had a look, I'm not even on the ranking list at the moment."
Wilson will also play under the Manawatu banner at nationals later in the year as the Wanganui scene isn't strong enough to put in a team.
"It's sort of been pretty quiet in Wanganui for the last 15 years.
"We used to have quite a strong club."
He said there was still an active club who play on Monday night, however.
