The RAF Table Tennis Association will be carrying the flag – literally – for the United Kingdom at the World Masters Games.

RAFTTA is sending a team of 11 to participate in the competition in Auckland, New Zealand, from April 21-30 and will compete in team events, doubles, singles and mixed doubles.

The association has also been given the honour of carrying the table tennis flag at the opening ceremony, when competitors in 28 sports will parade into the venue.

The table tennis players will proudly follow flag bearer, Flight Lieutenant Steve Preston, who is an engineering officer who currently works at Abbey Wood in Bristol.

The World Masters Games for older athletes has been held every four years since 1985 and aims to foster friendship and understanding as well as competition.

The RAFTTA team travel in good form, having successfully beaten the Army and Navy to win the team event (both men and women) at the recent Inter Service Championships at RAF Halton.

The RAF also won and the individual men’s and women’s titles plus the men’s doubles and mixed doubles in a competition which was far closer and tightly fought than the RAF haul suggests.