Matthew Syed
Encyclopedia
Matthew Syed is a British journalist and broadcaster. He used to be an English table tennis
international, and was the English number one for many years. He was five times the Men's Singles Champion at the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships
(in 1997, 2000 and 2001), and also competed for Great Britain in two Olympic Games
.
in Earley
near Reading
, then studied PPE at Balliol College, Oxford
where he was awarded a prizewinning First.
and Eurosport
, and as a journalist for The Times
since 1999. He also stood as the Labour
candidate for Wokingham
in the 2001 General Election
, but was unsuccessful. From 1999, he has worked as a Marketing Consultant for the English Table Tennis Association
based in Hastings
. He was one of the co-founders of TTK Greenhouse, a sports related charity. He is also a regular pundit on radio and television, commentating on sporting, cultural and political issues. His film, China and Table Tennis, made for the BBC, won bronze medal at the Olympic Golden Rings ceremony in Lausanne in 2008.
As a sports writer he has developed a distinctive style, with copious use of long non-sporting parallels, analogies and metaphors - many drawn from philosophy. The resulting style does not please everyone, even among those who take sport seriously, and snippets from his more overblown passages are often sent in to the satirical magazine Private Eye
for use in its column Pseuds' Corner; the same publication also ran a longer review of his style in its Hackwatch column in April 2011, in issue no 1287. However he is respected within the sports-writing trade itself, winning Sports Feature Writer of the Year at the SJA Awards in 2008 and Sports Journalist of the Year at the British Press Awards in 2009. His first book, Bounce, published by Harper Collins, was published in May 2010.
coming third in a safe Conservative seat. Syed won a place on the Labour Party's
shortlist to succeed Ashok Kumar for the Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency
in the 2010 United Kingdom General Election. However, the party selected Tom Blenkinsop, who had worked in Kumar's constituency office for six years.
Table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...
international, and was the English number one for many years. He was five times the Men's Singles Champion at the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships
Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships
The Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships was born at a meeting of Commonwealth delegates in Munich at the 1969 World Championships. Prior to inclusion in the Commonwealth Games proper in 2002, 15 Commonwealth Championships have taken place since 1971....
(in 1997, 2000 and 2001), and also competed for Great Britain in two Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
.
Early life
His father is a British-Pakistani and his mother is Welsh. He attended the Maiden Erlegh SchoolMaiden Erlegh School
Maiden Erlegh School is a large community Academy for boys and girls with arts and business and enterprise specialisms. The school was awarded the Artsmark Gold mark in 2002 and 2005. It currently has 1,800 pupils, 360 of whom are in the sixth form...
in Earley
Earley
Earley is a town and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire. The Office for National Statistics places Earley within the Reading/Wokingham Urban Area, for purposes of local government it falls within the Borough of Wokingham, outside of the jurisdiction of Reading Borough Council. The name...
near Reading
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
, then studied PPE at Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England but founded by a family with strong Scottish connections....
where he was awarded a prizewinning First.
Career
A right-handed attacker, he now works as managing director of a sports marketing company, as a commentator for the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and Eurosport
Eurosport
Eurosport is a pan-European television sport network operated by French broadcaster TF1 Group. The network of channels are available in 59 countries, in 20 different languages providing viewers with European and international sporting events...
, and as a journalist for The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
since 1999. He also stood as the Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
candidate for Wokingham
Wokingham
Wokingham is a market town and civil parish in Berkshire in South East England about west of central London. It is about east-southeast of Reading and west of Bracknell. It spans an area of and, according to the 2001 census, has a population of 30,403...
in the 2001 General Election
United Kingdom general election, 2001
The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...
, but was unsuccessful. From 1999, he has worked as a Marketing Consultant for the English Table Tennis Association
English Table Tennis Association
The English Table Tennis Association is the national governing body responsible for table tennis in England and has been affiliated to the ITTF since the formation of the ETTA in 1927.- Events/Tournaments :...
based in Hastings
Hastings
Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....
. He was one of the co-founders of TTK Greenhouse, a sports related charity. He is also a regular pundit on radio and television, commentating on sporting, cultural and political issues. His film, China and Table Tennis, made for the BBC, won bronze medal at the Olympic Golden Rings ceremony in Lausanne in 2008.
As a sports writer he has developed a distinctive style, with copious use of long non-sporting parallels, analogies and metaphors - many drawn from philosophy. The resulting style does not please everyone, even among those who take sport seriously, and snippets from his more overblown passages are often sent in to the satirical magazine Private Eye
Private Eye
Private Eye is a fortnightly British satirical and current affairs magazine, edited by Ian Hislop.Since its first publication in 1961, Private Eye has been a prominent critic and lampooner of public figures and entities that it deemed guilty of any of the sins of incompetence, inefficiency,...
for use in its column Pseuds' Corner; the same publication also ran a longer review of his style in its Hackwatch column in April 2011, in issue no 1287. However he is respected within the sports-writing trade itself, winning Sports Feature Writer of the Year at the SJA Awards in 2008 and Sports Journalist of the Year at the British Press Awards in 2009. His first book, Bounce, published by Harper Collins, was published in May 2010.
Politics
Syed stood as a Labour Candidate in the 2001 UK General Election in WokinghamWokingham (UK Parliament constituency)
Wokingham is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...
coming third in a safe Conservative seat. Syed won a place on the Labour Party's
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
shortlist to succeed Ashok Kumar for the Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency
Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland (UK Parliament constituency)
Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
in the 2010 United Kingdom General Election. However, the party selected Tom Blenkinsop, who had worked in Kumar's constituency office for six years.