Olympic 2012 Long List

The BTTF has produced a ‘Long List’ as the first step towards Olympic selection. Out of this list the short-list will be selected by the 1^st February 2012 before the final team selection of three men and three women will be selected by 31^st May 2012.

The 16 players in the ‘Long List’ have between now and May to prove to the selectors that they deserve their place in the British Olympic Team.

Men:

British number one Paul Drinkhall (world rank 125) who won three golds at the European Youth Championships in 2008 is joined by number two Liam Pitchford (222), who is the British Olympic Association’s Table Tennis Athlete of the Year and also the youngest male member of the Long List.

They are joined by Darius Knight (251); the three times national under-21 champion and Andrew Baggaley (152) who is an ambassador for the London 2012 Games.

Meanwhile Daniel Reed (279) and Chris Doran (438) have also made the list after their doubles partnership beat Drinkhall and Pitchford in the English National Championships Final at Ponds Forge earlier this year.

Completing the men’s Long List are Gavin Rumgay (224); the Scottish number one and Gavin Evans (N/A) who was the European Cadet champion in 2008.

Women:

Number one Kelly Sibley (152) the National Singles Champion in 2011 is joined by number two Joanna Parker (171) who won the German Youth Open, beating the European number one in the process.

Na Liu (208) from Northern Ireland reached the final of the Luxembourg Open in 2010 while Welsh number one Naomi Owen (360) who plays in France has won seven Welsh Championships in her career.

They are joined by Hannah Hicks (551) the winner of the National under-21 Championships in March and Alice Loveridge (493) the Singles Plate winner at the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore this time last year.

The final two female members of the list are 15-year-olds Emily Bates (552) and Charlotte Carey (716). Bates has won three consecutive Cadet Masters titles while Carey was the youngest member of the Welsh 2010 Commonwealth Games squad.

London 2012 Olympic Games Table Tennis Squad Long List

Paul Drinkhall                                                                                   Kelly Sibley

Liam Pitchford                                                                                 Joanna Parker

Darius Knight                                                                                   Hannah Hicks

Daniel Reed                                                                                     Naomi Owen

Chris Doran                                                                                     Na Liu

Andrew Baggaley                                                                            Emily Bates

Gavin Rumgay                                                                                 Alice Loveridge

Gavin Evans                                                                                    Charlotte Carey