The Glasgow Open – a Grand Prix Disabled Table-Tennis Tournament, Donald Dewar Leisure Centre, Drumchapel, on Friday 30 May

Martin PerryThe Glasgow Open – a Grand Prix Disabled Table-Tennis Tournament

Donald Dewar Leisure Centre, Drumchapel,

Friday 30 May

Glasgow will next week play host to a Four -Nations International Disabled Table-Tennis tournament involving stars from Scotland, England, Northern Ireland and Wales. The tournament will take place in the Donald Dewar Leisure Centre, Drumchapel, on Friday 30 May at 6.00pm

This also serves as a pipe-opener to the first major Para Table Tennis Event to take place in Scotland – the Glasgow Disabled Open, on Saturday 31 May and Sunday 1 June, taking place in Drumchapel High School.

Will Bayley action 7 2014Although the Scottish Disability squad was only formed a few years ago, several of its players are already in the Development and Pathway squads of the British World Class Programme funded by UK Sport. The Scottish squad is working towards producing players who will qualify for the 2020 Paralympic Games, and the chance to play against current Paralympians in Scotland will be a great motivator in fulfilling that dream.

This tournament is the brainchild of Terry McLernon MBE, chairman of Table-Tennis Scotland and probably the best known face in Scottish Table-Tennis. He says: “This will be the start of Drumchapel Table Tennis Club’s 25th Anniversary celebrations. We mean to make the public aware of the potential to produce players, regardless of age or disability, and to develop them to world standards. We hope it will catch the imagination of the public and that people will come along to support the cream of British Table-Tennis for the disabled.”

● Will Bayley (England): The world number two, who won a memorable silver medal in the men’s class 7 singles in the London Paralympics. The Sheffield-based 26-year-old has been in great form this year, winning international tournaments in Italy and Slovenia, and is looking forward to competing in the tournament: “We don’t get to compete in the UK very often,” said Will. “So it is great to have a new tournament for Para table- tennis in Scotland. We usually compete as GB, so it will be a new experience to compete for England against the other home nations and I’m sure there will be some fierce but friendly rivalry. This is a big year for sport in Glasgow and they love sport in Scotland so I’m looking forward to playing there.”

Conor GordonMartin Perry (Scotland): The Scottish number three has congenital limb loss. This means that Martin has no lower arms and only one leg, yet he unleashes explosive attacking drives at every opportunity and is a sight to behold. He is a member of the GB Pathway squad and currently holds the Merseyside Open Class Singles Title. He has represented Scotland and was with the GB squad in the the Czech Republic, Hungary and Belgium, where he won two Bronze Medals. Last month he played in Brazil in the Selpar International Match, watched by an estimated live TV audience of 5 million people. When Martin is around, expect fireworks.

Peter_CameronPeter Cameron (Scotland): Current Scottish Champion. Having represented his country in the 1960s, Peter is the only disabled player ever to win full Scottish Caps in mainstream Table-Tennis and today, aged 70, he competes in, and wins, BTTD Grand Prix events throughout Britain, recently beating world number four David Wetherill (who is also playing in the Glasgow Open), and in March beat the current US Open Class Champion Paul Karabardak of Wales. He also hopes to be selected to represent Scotland at the Scottish Veterans Six- Nations Championships, taking place in Perth in September 2014, fulfilling a lifetime ambition to play for Scotland in three classifications.

● Conor Gordon (Scotland): The youngest member of the team, Conor has won two Silver and one Bronze Medal in the UK School Games. He is Class 6-10 junior British champion and also a member of the GB Pathway squad representing GB, winning two Bronze Medals in Hungary and Belgium. Conor has also been an Olympic Torch Bearer and a Queen’s Baton-Bearer for the Commonwealth Games. He is an outstanding ambassador for the sport and is guaranteed to produce a few surprises in the Glasgow Open.

Photo accreditation:
Michael Lovader as the photographer of Will Bayley, and Studio Cee for the other three players):

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Avatar of PatByrne Publisher of Pat's Guide to Glasgow West End; the community guide to the West End of Glasgow. Fiction and non-fiction writer.

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