Paul Drinkhall

Paul Drinkhall (born 16 January 1990^[1] in Middlesbrough^[2]) is a British table tennis player, currently the highest-ranked British player in the World. He is the current English Champion, winning the competition in March 2011.^[2] He is coached by Liu Jia-Yi,^[1] and is in Great Britain's Team Visa, an initiative to support young sports people to fulfil their sporting potential.^[3] He has held the position of English Number One since 2006.

Drinkhall enjoyed much success as a youngster, winning numerous national championships at his age level, and at levels above his own age. This success didn't go unnoticed, as he was shortlisted for BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year in 2005,^[4] and finished in second place after Theo Walcott in 2006. He was again shortlisted for this award in 2007. He once again finished in 2nd place in 2007.^[3]

At the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi he won a silver medal in the men's team and a bronze medal in the mixed doubles.

National Champion in every age group so far eligible to compete in - Under 10, Under 11, Under 12, Under 14, Under 17, and Senior Men. Paul became the youngest player since Chester Barnes to win the English Senior Men's title in Sheffield in March 2007 when he overcame the much more experienced former champion Alex Perry from Devon in the 4 - 1 dual^{[citation needed]}.

Paul Drinkhall is also noted for his rivalry with English No.3^[5] Darius Knight. In January 2008 the BBC screened a programme focusing on the country's top medal prospects for the London 2012 Olympics; when posed the question of who the stronger of the pair was, Drinkhall stifled a chuckle before stating that he thought everyone knew the answer to that question.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Drinkhall has eyes on top table". BBC Sport. 15 June 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/table_tennis/6745273.stm. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Drinkhall captures national title". BBC Sport. 5 March 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/table_tennis/6420793.stm. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "Paul Drinkhall – Olympic table tennis (singles and doubles)". teamvisa.com. http://www.teamvisa.com/Athletes/ApprenticesPaulDrinkhall.aspx. 
4. ^ "Paul Drinkhall Shortlisted for BBC Award". sportfocus. 1 December 2005. http://www.sportfocus.com/newspub/story.cfm?ID=16612. 
5. ^ "ETTA Rating List 196, June 2011". http://etta.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Ranking_196.pdf. 

Persondata
Name	Drinkhall, Paul
Alternative names
Short description	English No.1 and National Champion
Date of birth	16 January 1990
Place of birth	Loftus, Cleveland
Date of death
Place of death