Para table tennis was there from the beginning. When the Paralympic Games debuted at the Rome Olympics in 1960, para table tennis was one of the eight charter disciplines. Thus, it could be rightly said that para table tennis is on the Mount Olympus of the Paralympics. 62 years later, another quadrennial sporting event is finally catching up. The Commonwealth Games, open to the vast network of countries which are current or former members of the British Empire, will formally introduce para table tennis at the 2022 Games in Birmingham. This is great, if long overdue, news for all parties involved. Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) President Louise Martin heralded the inclusion of three new sports, stating, "I would like to congratulate and formally welcome Women’s T20 Cricket, Beach Volleyball and Para Table Tennis to the official sports programme for Birmingham 2022 and I know they will all help enhance what will be a spectacular and vibrant multi-sport event.” For his part, ITTF President Thomas Weikert took the opportunity to highlight the accessibility of table tennis for athletes of all abilities, arguing, "The inclusion of para table tennis in multi-sport competitions that are not exclusively 'para events' is also a clear proof of how popular table tennis is and how viable it is for local organizing committees to stage our sport.” 2016 Paralympic gold medalist Will Bayley of Great Britain (pictured) will certainly welcome the challenge to defend his home soil against the best para athletes in the Commonwealth. Whatever the result, it is a win for all involved, and for sport itself.

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