British Para table tennis player Craig Allen has won Herefordshire and Worcestershire Sports Partnership Disabled Sportsperson of the Year in a ceremony which took place last week.

Against stiff opposition; there are hundreds of nominations for the 12 awards including Disabled Sports Person of the Year; Craig was awarded the honour due to his achievements both on and off the table.

Craig won a gold medal at the Romanian Para Open (Under-23) in March, silver at the Spanish Para Open (Under-23) in June plus numerous other medals and awards at national level.  Alongside his playing exploits, Craig is a Level 2 qualified table tennis coach, a post-graduate from the University of Bedfordshire with a Foundation degree in Sports Coaching and has passed the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze and Silver Awards.

 

After the presentations Craig had time to share his passion of the sport informally with local businessmen and the Chair of HW Sports Partnership.  Craig is pictured here with Kate Richardson-Walsh OBE (Hockey) who delivered the main speech, she spoke with Craig afterwards and encouraged him to keep training hard.

 

Craig said this of winning his award;

I feel very honoured to have won the award as I was up against very stiff opposition and all would be worthy winners.  It was a fantastic evening and this award is really a thank you to all the many coaches who have either coached me or continue to coach me on my journey.  A special thanks to Ed Lynn, Colebridge Table Tennis Club who deals with all my highs and lows and gives me his unwavering support!