Darius Knight tempted by prospect of playing in World Championship of Ping Pong

Darius Knight will keep a close eye on this weekend’s World Championship of Ping Pong as he could be targeting the trophy in 12 months.

The 24-year-old Londoner has made his name in table tennis, representing Great Britain at the 2012 Olympic Games, but could compete in the alternative format of Ping Pong in the near future.

The world’s top players will head to London for this year’s tournament, live on Sky Sports, with competitors using traditional sandpaper bats rather than the rubber covered bats used in table tennis.

Defending champion Maxim Shmyrev, a three-time winner, heads the list of competitors and Knight will watch the action from the Sky Sports studio as he considers his possible entry in this pure form of the sport.

“For me, this kind of Ping Pong is more like a Spartan warrior. Everybody has got the same sword, the same shield and you are going at each other," he told Sky Sports.

“Some sports like Formula One, it’s a bit technical, like the car is as important as the driver, it’s about the level of the equipment.

“This way everyone has the same bat. That is it. It comes down to raw talent.”

A field of 64 players will be split into eight groups and this number will be whittled down to 32 ahead of a straight knockout tournament, with a total prize fund of $100,000 at Alexandra Palace.

Discussing the two-day event, Knight said: “I personally believe this is the way forward for the sport. I’ve not seen it played properly so it’s a bit of an eye opener. I’m going to see if I can realistically play this or not.

Hopefully I’m going to come onto the scene next year with a bit of a bang.

“Hopefully I’m going to come onto the scene next year with a bit of a bang.”

Andrew Rushton reached last year’s semi-finals and Knight believes two other British players will also excite the crowds in the capital.

Knight said: “There are two guys to look out for, Christopher Doran and Gavin Rumgay. 

“Gavin Rumgay, he’s called the ‘goose’ and he’s a Scottish braveheart.

“These two people are entertaining watching them play table tennis, so you imagine them with the crowds behind them and on TV.

“They are going to be behaving crazier, but in a great way, to entertain and build characters and that’s what the sport needs.”

Darius Knight is a mentor for Sky Sports' secondary school initiative 'Living For Sport'.

http://www.dariusknight.com/blog/?p=490

You can watch the World Championship of Ping Pong, starting this Saturday on Sky Sports 3 at 12pm.