No Room for Table Tennis Players in Britain
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October 7, 2011 TheFreshOutlook  |
British table tennis has hit a major slump after a series of poor performances, leading to British players moving abroad.
Table tennis now receives the lowest amount of funding following a poor display by the British athletes in the Beijing Olympics. The results in the Olympics were a catalyst for a series of dismal outcomes for the British athletes, and many players have struggled to reach the latter stages of senior tournaments.
The budget for table tennis was slashed in half in 2009 and now stands at just £1.2 million, which means that it is a struggle to get the support and coaching that is needed to produce top level players.
Darius Knight, who is currently ranked 261st in the world, has found it particularly hard in the past few years and has decided to move to Austria.
“In Austria, life is not as expensive and the table tennis is much better,” stated the 21-year-old Knight.
Knight has made this move to improve his table tennis but also to get in the race for places at London 2012. There are currently three spots available for British table tennis players in the 2012 games but an athlete is selected on their results and performances in training and competitions.
“Two of my team-mates, Liam Pitchford and Paul Drinkhall, are living abroad so if I want to compete with them for Olympic places I have to move too. It shows selectors I’m thinking about my future and I’m serious about my sport,” Knight said.
By Jonathan Davies
[Image courtesy of ortegabh]
