Team GB taking table tennis places for 2012 Olympics

11/04/2011 – Team GB will field a six-strong table tennis team at the 2012 Olympic Games after being granted permission to use host nation qualification places. The British Olympic Association decides which sports and athletes are given automatic pl https://www.ettu.org

11/04/2011 – Team GB will field a six-strong table tennis team at the 2012 Olympic Games after being granted permission to use host nation qualification places. The British Olympic Association decides which sports and athletes are given automatic places for London 2012 depending on their competitiveness. And this ruling means that three men and three women will compete in London.

Women’s coach Alan COOKE said: “We have to try to qualify in our own right [but] we have the wildcard if needed.”
BOA chief executive and Team GB chef de mission Andy HUNT stated: “The British Table Tennis Federation has demonstrated that they have laid solid foundations to maximise the opportunity of competing at a home Games and developed programmes to ensure a strong long term legacy for the sport. British Table Tennis has proven that the young squad of players are capable of delivering a credible performance on the field of play in 2012″.

In winning the silver medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games England’s men finished above three nations who competed in the last Olympic Games in Beijing. “Real progress is being made in elite performance; there are now four British players – two male two female – ranked in the top 200 in the world compared with none prior to the Beijing 2008 Olympics.”

Britain’s top ranked player is Paul DRINKHALL who is ranked 88th in the world while his female counterpart Kelly SIBLEY is ranked 135th. DRINKHALL 21 said: “My ultimate dream has always been to be an Olympic medallist and to have the chance to compete in my home country is better than any dream.” Both are in Britian’s five-strong development squad which trains full-time in Sheffield.

Seventeen-year-old Liam PITCHFORD who won silver for England at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi and is ranked at 245th in the world is also in the squad alongside Joanna PARKER and Gavin EVANS. Darius KNIGHT who won a men’s double gold medal at the Youth Olympic Games with DRINKHALL in 2006 is also vying to make the team.

Table tennis joins handball volleyball and weightlifting as sports that have been handed host nation automatic qualification places. Basketball has also been offered a place although that is subject to approval by the International Basketball Federation.

(courtesy BBC)

Photo: Paul DRINKHALL and Darius KNIGHT (Photo Roscher)

Related News

Dr. Wolfgang DÖRNER Becomes New DTTB Chairman

The German Table Tennis Federation (DTTB) is set to welcome a new chairman: Dr. Wolfgang DÖRNER will assume leadership of Germany’s tenth-largest Olympic governing body on March 1, 2025. The...

Read more

Borussia Düsseldorf Enter the Title Race with a Victory

Borussia Düsseldorf kicked off their 2024/25 Champions League campaign with a win in the opening leg of the Round of 16, defeating SKST Havirov tonight. The second leg is scheduled...

Read more

Reigning Champions ENEA SIARKOPOL TARNOBRZEG Conclude Group Stage Unbeaten

KTS ENEA SIARKOPOL TARNOBRZEG completed Stage Two of the Champions League Women with an impeccable record, winning all four matches in Group A. The four-time champions and reigning titleholders from...

Read more

Exciting Week Ahead– watch it live on new ETTU TV platform

What an exciting week lies ahead! Starting tomorrow, matches in all five ETTU club competitions will ignite venues across Europe, and you can catch all the action on the new...

Read more

Contact

About Us

Privacy Policy

Terms and Conditions

The European Table Tennis Union (ETTU) is the governing body of the sport of table tennis in Europe, and is the only authority recognized for this purpose by the International Table Tennis Federation. The ETTU deals with all matters relating to table tennis at a European level, including the development and promotion of the sport in the territories controlled by its 58 member associations, and the organization of continental table tennis competitions, including the European Championships.

Powered By

All Competitions

Senior Competitions

Club Competitions

Youth Competitions

More Competitions