Chris Doran is the English no. 5 and the gentle giant of the England team. Another youthful member of the squad at just 20 years old he has plenty to prove and plenty of ambition. His doubles win with Daniel Reed at the English National Championships raised a few eyebrows.

Name:

Christopher Doran

Date of birth:

06/06/1991

Club:

Drumchapel Table Tennis Club (Premier British League) and Markaryds BTK (Top Division Swedish league)

Who are you?

My name is Chris Doran from Northamptonshire I have been playing since I was 11 and have been part of the England set up since I broke into the Junior team when I was 17. I am currently England No 5 in the senior men’s rankings and have been a member of the full England Men’s team over the last 2 years.

Recently I received a letter confirming that I have been selected onto the long list of 8 for the 2012 Olympics.

Proudest moment:

Would be putting out the European No 1 and World No 7 Daniel Kosiba en route to the last 16 of the World Junior Championships in Cartegena Columbia in 2009. Or Winning the Mens doubles in the English Nationals Championships in March 2011 with Daniel Reed with what turned out to be a stress fracture in my foot.

When/how did you get involved with table tennis:

I got involved in table tennis when I was Eleven years old. Before this I was a very keen golfer but had reconstructive surgery on my right collarbone, which meant I was unable to play Golf or any other contact Sports for 1 year. My father took me down the local club where he was doing some life saving training and asked if I could join in and it all grew from there.

What does the Olympics mean to you?

I have always loved watching the Olympics not just table tennis and it is the biggest stage in world sport I believe. To go to any Olympics would be a dream come true for me but there will only be one home Olympics in my lifetime and the chance to play in that be unbelievable. It really would mean everything to me go to London 2012.

Social media:

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