by Olalekan Okusan, ITTF-Africa Press Officer

Tin-Tin Ho is 21 years old, the youngest member of the team, Maria Tsaptsinos is 22 years of age; one year older, Charlotte Carey is the senior member.

Only nine places available for Tokyo 2020, seeded no.25 amongst an entry of 30 teams, it is a quite dauting task for the young British outfit; a fact of which Tin-Tin Ho, currently studying at Nottingham University, is well aware.

“I think it will be a very tough competition with the highest standards but if we all play to the best we can; then who knows what happen, I think we can have a chance.

My ultimate goal would be to qualify for the Olympics; win the National Championships and to really improve my level on the international scene.

It is athletes’ dreams when they were young, including mine to compete at the Olympic Games. I narrowly missed out on the Youth Olympic Games, which was also a dream of mine, which makes competing at the Olympics an even larger dream.

I have been preparing at my club in Linz, Austria. I have been working on lots of match play which involved changing the type of training I would do, which I implemented last year in Nottingham. I feel like all the experiences in the past and my training has prepared me well for the tournament. I believe the team feels the same.

Table tennis has given me the discipline, perseverance and confidence in life which I otherwise may not have developed. It has served me well in other areas of my life. Of course I have made some of my best friends through table tennis. It has helped me become aware of some things in the World which I experienced through travelling.

As my dad was the reason why I began table tennis, along with my brother, Ping, it has also given something in terms of our family bonding.”