England table tennis player Andrew Baggaley bids to medal at his third successive Commonwealth Games when he competes in Delhi in October.
 
Baggaley has won medals at both of the Games to feature the sport to date, having struck gold in the men’s doubles and the men’s team event in Manchester in 2002 and following that up with men’s doubles silver in Melbourne four years ago.
 
The 27-year-old from Milton Keynes says he is aiming to win medals in all four of the competitions that he will contest in Delhi – the men’s singles, men’s doubles, mixed doubles and men’s team event.
 
“The Commonwealth Games is the big one on the calendar now and I’m very excited about it,” said Baggaley, who claimed his third senior men’s singles National Championships title in March.
 
“I want to try to get medals in all of the events I’m competing in. I think I’ve got a good chance of that, although the competition has got stronger at every Commonwealth Games.
 
“I’m capable of beating all of the best players on my day, and I’m fit, injury free and playing well at the moment. I’m a better player than I was in 2002 and 2006 and I’ve been training very hard.”
 
Baggaley is today named by Commonwealth Games England in an 11-strong England team for Delhi that also features Paul Drinkhall.
 
Drinkhall had just turned 16 before the Melbourne Games, where he just missed out on the men’s doubles medals finishing fourth with veteran Alan Cooke. Cooke returns to Commonwealth Games duty in Delhi, but this time as a member of the coaching team.
 
Drinkhall meanwhile names his last-32 defeat in the men’s singles at Melbourne as the biggest disappointment of his career to date. He hopes to make up for that with some podium places in Delhi.
 
“Going to Melbourne I hadn’t played against many of the players that were playing at the Commonwealth Games,” he said. “This time I’ve played against all of the top players who will be there and beaten them all apart from one.
 
“Obviously I’m going there aiming to win,” said Drinkhall, who collected a bronze medal in the men’s singles at last year’s Commonwealth Championships in Glasgow.
 
Drinkhall says the Singapore team will be particularly tough to beat – they won six of the seven titles at the 2009 Commonwealth Championships, with the only other one, the men’s doubles, going to India.
 
India also ended England’s hopes of reaching the men’s team final beating England 3-2, although Drinkhall won both of his matches.
 
“We’ve got a strong team and I think we’re capable of beating everyone in the team competition, although Singapore will be difficult,” said Drinkhall. “We can beat them all, we just have to perform on the day.”
 
The England team also features Joanna Parker, who won the women’s singles title at the National Championships in March and Liam Pitchford, who battled his way to the final of the men’s singles at the 2010 National Championships aged just 16, before going down to Baggaley in the final.
 
He is one of the four members of England’s table tennis team that will still be teenagers when they play in Delhi. Pitchford and Karina Le Fevre both turned 17 in July, while Hannah Coulthurst who plays in the women’s wheelchair singles, is also 17. Hannah Hicks is 19.
 
Coulthurst is joined by Leanne Stephen in the women’s para-sport competition in Delhi.
 
Craig Hunter, England’s Chef de Mission for the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games, said: “I’d like to welcome the table tennis players to the England team for Delhi and wish them well for their continuing preparations for the 2010 Commonwealth Games.”
 
Delhi will be table tennis’ third appearance at the Commonwealth Games, following its debut at Manchester 2002.
 
England are currently second to Singapore in the Commonwealth Games table tennis medal table, with four golds, a silver and two bronzes.
 
The England table tennis team for Delhi is
Men
Paul Drinkhall –  born 16.01.90, Middlesbrough/ lives Saltburn, Cleveland
Andrew Baggaley – born 26.02.83, Northampton/lives Milton Keynes
Liam Pitchford – born 12.07.93, Chesterfield/ lives Chesterfield
Daniel Reed – born 05.12.89, Northallerton, North Yorkshire/ lives Sheffield
Darius Knight – born 22.02.90, London/ lives Redhill, Surrey

Women
Kelly Sibley – born 21.05.88, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire/ Leamington Spa
Joanna Parker – born 10.06.87, Chertsey, Surrey/ Rotherham
Hannah Hicks – born 29.04.91, Swindon/lives Rotherham
Karina Le Fevre –  born 17.07.93, Stockton-on-Tees/ lives Thornaby, Stockton-on-Tees

Para-sport women’s wheelchair competition
Leanne Stephen – born 11.11.88, Grimsby/ lives Grimsby
Hannah Coulthurst – born 16.06.93, Wakefield/ lives Wakefield
 
The 2010 Commonwealth Games take place in Delhi, India, from 3 to 14 October 2010. They will feature 17 sports - archery, aquatics (swimming, synchronised swimming & diving), athletics, badminton, boxing, cycling, gymnastics, hockey, lawn bowls, netball, rugby 7s, shooting, squash, table tennis, tennis, weightlifting and wrestling. With the 2012 Olympic Games in London and the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Commonwealth Games England is entering a breath-taking four years of sport.

Commonwealth Games England (GCE) is the organisation responsible for selecting and organising England's team at the Commonwealth Games.   England finished second to Australia on the medal table at the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games with 36 golds, 40 silvers and 34 bronzes.

Sport England is responsible for building the foundations of sporting success, by creating a world-leading community sport system of clubs, coaches, facilities and volunteers. Their focus is growing and sustaining the numbers of people taking part in sport and improving talent development to help more people excel.
 

For further information about  Commonwealth Games England please contact the Commonwealth Games England press  office at Matchtight Ltd on 07765 071683 or 07831 755351 or see the CGE’s  website at www.weareengland.org <http://www.weareengland.org <http://www.weareengland.org> >