Table tennis legend Desmond Douglas has given his seal of approval to Birmingham’s new ping pong hotspot SERVE.

The 11-times Senior national champion and former world No 7 visited the venue in Temple Row, which is opening its doors on Friday August 17.

“I am delighted that we have such a table tennis focused venue opening up in the city, which opens up the game for a whole new generation of players and will hopefully inspire some future stars,” said Douglas.

“It’s great that the sport will be played by people of all standards in such a cool and fun atmosphere and that table tennis is now seen as trendy.”

Birmingham, Solihull & District Table Tennis Association Chairman Steve Smith is also a massive fan of the project. He said: “I am very hopeful that there will some spin-offs for us. It’s great news for the Association to have this venue in our area. Mixing our sport with a ping pong fun element for all ages is a winner in my book.”

David Smith, SERVE Managing Partner, said: “We’re delighted that a table tennis legend such as Desmond is as excited as we are about opening up our new ping pong destination later this month.”