Table tennis Olympians' bid to motivate new talent

Keely Armitt from Table Tennis England said the event was its "best opportunity in a four-year cycle" to grow the sport

The team behind Great Britain's Olympic table tennis players says Paris 2024 is a chance to "motivate" people to take up the sport.

Table Tennis England, based in Milton Keynes, has overseen preparations for the Games.

Players Liam Pitchford and Anna Hursey will represent Team GB at the Olympics which begin on 26 July.

Keely Armitt from Table Tennis England said the event was its "best opportunity in a four-year cycle" to engage the public with the sport.

About 500,000 people in the United Kingdom play table tennis every week.

"Getting people to play is easy," said Ms Armitt. "Getting eyeballs on the sport is slightly more difficult."

Adrian Christy, Table Tennis England's chief executive, said the Olympics were a "shop window" for growing participation

Adrian Christy, Table Tennis England's chief executive, said the Games were a "shop window" for boosting the profile of table tennis.

He said: "Our talent programme is all about bringing younger players in.

"British table tennis has never won an Olympic medal and our goal is to do that in the next couple of Games."

The Olympic table tennis events will run from 27 July to 10 August at the South Paris Arena within the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles.