John Hilton (table tennis player)

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John Hilton is a retired table tennis players who sensationally won the 1980 European Table Tennis championship in Switzerland at odds of over 1000-1. His use of a revolutionary combination bat, with different rubbers on either side, completely bamboozled his opponents, coupled with his attacking play, and led to one of sports greatest upsets.

Ultimately the table tennis authorities had to change the rules because of Hilton, so that either side of a bat had different coloured rubbers. This gave the opposing player the chance to spot which rubber his opponent was using. Hilton used a bat which had black rubber (one pimpled and one smooth) on both sides, meaning that opponents generally had no clue which rubber he was using.

Hilton still plays table tennis and has won many Veteran titles today and is regarded as arguably Britain's greatest ever table tennis player.