Gareth Davies

With the Paralympics Games now less than six months away, the first wave of British athletes have been announced for the GB squad. Given that the Games are being hosted in China, where table tennis is the No 1 sport, little surprise that first out of the hat are the GB table tennis players. It will be a sell out every day from dawn to dusk from September 7 to 16 at the Peking University Gymnasium.

Have a look at this beautiful venue at
http://en.beijing2008.cn/cptvenues/venues/pkg/n214073913.shtml

For the record, it is the most experienced squad for any sport in the Great Britain team. They are: Arnie Chan, James Rawson, Neil Robinson, Sue Gilroy, Cathy Mitton, Scott Robertson, Clare Robertson, David Wetherill, Paul Karabardak and Dzaier Neil. A real blend of youth and experience.

Among those selected is Cornish teenager Wetherill, making his Paralympic Games' debut in China, and a young man representing the future. The 18-year-old sixth-form student from Torpoint, Cornwall, currently ranked No.11 in the world in the class 6 classification, is the youngest selected member of the squad and is one of three debutants.

The others are 32-year-old Clare Robertson from Deeside, North Wales and 22-year-old Paul Karabardak from Swansea.

Wetherill said: "There is only really one goal for me at the Games and that is to win the tournament, and so everything between now and Beijing will be focused towards giving me the best possible chance to achieve this goal." Not short on ambition, this teenager. Invaluable for the newcomers is the experience within the team. Begging forgiveness for recording and revealing their ages, the three new squad members will be advised by 50-year-old Chan (Mansfield, Notts), 42-year-old Rawson (Nottingham) and 49-year-old Robinson (Bridgend, Glamorgan). The three legends have been selected for their sixth successive Paralympic Games.

For those interested in veteran statistics, all three played in Seoul - a year before young gun Wetherill was born ! You cannot buy the advantage that experience brings, and in this competition in September, major event experience could make the difference between getting on the podium - or not.

Londoner Dzaier Neil, who is 50, also makes arguably the most remarkable comeback ever in Paralympic Games. She last competed at the Games in 1984. Remarkable.

Qualification for the table tennis competitions at the Beijing Paralympics was based on positions in the world ranking list after it closed on December 31, 2007. There were a number of key victories at world cups throughout 2007, including an individual class 3 gold for Chan at the Irish Open, an individual class 3 gold for Rawson and team golds for Wetherill in the class 6 competition and Rawson and Chan in class 3 all at the Slovenian Open. The squad hit gold again at the Polish Open with Robinson winning class 3 singles and Wetherill and Bayley taking the class 6 team title. A formidable list of achievements.

Steve Ward, the Team Manager, insists the squad go to Beijing with real ambition. "We have a larger squad than in Athens in 2004 with a number having never competed at the Paralympics before, but who have great chances to compete for medals and gain valuable experience for future Games in London in 2012 and beyond. We have some of the youngest and most improved athletes in the world - David Wetherill is an example of what a young athlete can achieve with talent and dedication. He is a great chance of a British medal in Beijing and London." GB won two medals in Athens - the Men's Class 3 team silver, and the Women's Class 2 singles bronze. Ward knows however, that Beijing will be much tougher than Athens and every player will need to find another level to challenge the Chinese in their own backyard. "The sport over there is like football here and we are being told the tickets are selling out already," said Ward. "The venue is outstanding and the biggest stage in world for table tennis, we need to pull out our biggest performances to maximise medal chances." One thing is certain - it is going to be one of the most highly anticipated and attended events of the Games. And if the Brits raise their game and win medals - it could be one of the team's greatest triumphs of 2008.