GB Competitors Arrive In Hong Kong for World Championships 10 December 2013

Patrick Cox, aged 19 from Leicester and Adam Thompson, aged 25 from Cheshire have arrived in Hong Kong today courtesy of supporters Cathay Pacific to represent Great Britain at the 2013 Inas World Table Tennis Championships

The duo are set to compete in the class 11 singles category for athletes with learning disability and will be competing against world class opponents in hope of reaching the podium.

Patrick said "Inas events like this are so important. Without them there wouldn't be any international class 11 competition. It's such an incredible opportunity to compete outside of Europe and I'm so delighted to be in Hong Kong to compete for The Great Britain Team."

Tracey McCillen, Chief Executive at UKSA said: "UKSA has worked in close partnership with Mencap Sport and English Table Tennis Association (ETTA) in a unique collaboration to enable these talented athletes to participate in the World Championships."

"These Championships are incredibly important for players with learning disability. Adam and Patrick have worked extremely hard and deserve to reach the very highest levels of sporting excellence. Thanks also to Shaun and Chris for supporting the Team - it's a small but promising GB Team and I wish them every success.

Tracey continued: "Attendance to the Championships was made possible by the generous support of Cathay Pacific and we would like to extend our most sincere thanks to them."

Carmen Tse, Marketing and Communications Manager for Cathay Pacific said: "It is an honour to be supporting Adam and Patrick in these Championships. They are both very talented athletes and everyone at Cathay Pacific wishes them best of luck in Hong Kong."

Shaun Newcomb and Chris Turner complete the GB Team. Former International player Newcomb has taken up position as Team Manager and, supported by coach, Chris Turner will be looking to guide Cox and Thompson to victory in Hong Kong.

Patrick and Adam will be pitting themselves against some of the world's best table tennis players from Estonia, France, Hong Kong, Russia, South Africa, Turkey and the Ukraine.

The Inas World Championships are being held on the 11th-19th December. This international Championship could be the first of many for the British athletes as they set their sights on selection for the 2015 Inas Global Games in Ecuador and 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio.