Interview with disability table tennis athete David Wetherill

Sport: Table tennis
Born: 22/12/89
Lives: Torpoint, Cornwall

David, who has a congenital bone condition called Multi Epiphyseal Dysplasia, took up table tennis five years ago. He went to the 2006 IPC Table Tennis World Championships as the youngest player on the GB squad and the second from youngest player in the whole tournament. His major achievements include runners-up places in the 2005 Swedish Open and the US Paralympic Open and he is the GB National Junior Standing Champion.

David is currently studying for his A-Levels.

Interview Transcript

I started playing down my local school and thet introduced me to the local club and I just loved table tennis just from the start, it's so active and it's just a really great sport to play.

Q What do you enjoy most about it?
A It's fast and requires quick reactions and I can get over it with my disability so that I can play and I really enjoy it, which is the main thing.

Q  What does a day in your sport involve?
A I do a lot of training on the table, hitting loads and loads of balls to get the feeling and the practice is the main thing and then I do a lot of gym work as well to help strengthen my body and enable me to gain the control when I'm on the table playing.

Q How do you relax when you're not competing or training?
A In competition its quite easy to relax because you've got your team mates to have fun with, chat, socialise, computer games - I enjoy playing, but table tennis is my relaxation really.

Q What do you hope to achieve in the future in your sport?
A Well, my short term goal would be to qualify for Beijing, obviously and any sportsman in England and Great Britain would be to qualify for London. But my long term goal is to get an Olympic medal - that would be fantastic.

Q What advice would you give somebody wanting to take up table tennis?
A Just enjoy it really and always try your best, never give up and if you want it that bad you can always achieve it.