Nathan (10) qualified for the world event when he won the Oceania championships in Bendigo, Australia, last month. It was a remarkable achievement because he was competing against boys two years older than himself in the aged 12 event.
Nathan qualified for his first international at the Oceania championships when he won the under-12 title at the New Zealand championships in March.
It was a significant performance because the Oceania region will only have one representative at the championships.
New Zealand girls champion Jiaya Zhou (Canterbury) also competed in Bendigo but will not be going to Slovenia.
Nathan was born in Dunedin and first went along to table tennis with his older brother, Logan (15), at the age of 4.
He was a pupil at Maori Hill School when he began competitive table tennis at the age of 6. The family shifted to Auckland last year.
Nathan will be accompanied to Slovenia by his former coach, Ben Duffy.
Duffy (39), a national accounts manager at Office Max in Dunedin, represented New Zealand in Malaysia and Tahiti 20 years ago. He was also the New Zealand junior singles champion.
Duffy has been coaching table tennis for 20 years and this is his first international appointment. It is also his first trip to Europe.
He has played a significant role in developing a handful of players who have gone on to represent New Zealand.
Duffy is following in the footsteps of his father, Martin Duffy, a long-serving Otago coach.
Ben Duffy predicted two years ago that Nathan would become the best young table tennis player in New Zealand by the age of 10.
''That has happened and it's cool,'' Duffy said.
''He is a remarkable little fellow. I believe that Nathan will be able to foot it with any of the other top young table tennis players in the world in Slovenia.
''Last month, he won a graded event in Auckland and he beat some very good adults. He has got the right mentality. Not many 10-year-old kids can overcome nerves and pressure to hold out attacks from older and more experienced players.''
It will cost $6500 to get Nathan and Duffy to Slovenia and they are raising funds through the Give a Little Foundation (www.givealittle.co.nz//cause/NathanXu).
