I’ve always said that I judge players on major success,
and I’m glad I can now claim major success of my own!
But now I want
more. With just 300 days to go to the Paralympic Games, my ambition to get onto the podium there is stronger than ever. I am
hungry for London 2012!
I competed at Beijing 2008 and it was a truly great experience, although I was
very young and inexperienced. I’m 23 now and have pushed myself up to a ranking
of number two in the world. With the form I’m in, I really believe I can do something special at London 2012.
To get myself
ready I’m training six hours a day at Sheffield Institute of Sport, combining
on-the-table training with physical and footwork exercises.
My forehand top-spin
shot is the one I love using the most. I've worked on it
for years, hitting a million balls to make it as effective as it is today. If you come to see me play next summer you might be lucky enough to see it in
action!
Home advantage
At
International Paralympic Day in September I got a taster of the interest there will
be next year. I’m from Kent so having the Games in London will definitely feel
like the world is coming to play on my doorstep. Hopefully we’ll have a massive
crowd behind us to cheer us at every point and give us that home advantage.
I know tickets have sold brilliantly so far – it’s great to see so many people
getting excited for the Paralympic Games. Remaining tickets go back on sale
next month, and I’m really hoping everyone will quickly snap up what’s left of the £15 Table
Tennis and £10 ExCeL day pass tickets!
Comparing
how I feel now with this stage four years ago, I know I'm so much more prepared for what
will be the biggest competition of my life. I can’t help but be excited at
where I’ve got to, and couldn’t be looking forward to next year more!
