Giant among table tennis players

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Giant among table tennis players

‘It’s hard to believe when you see me in person, but when I was born, the doctors said I would be very small in stature,’ said Christopher Doran. This 202 cm tall table tennis player is a student at the University of Nottingham and he is representing England at the European Universities Games Zagreb – Rijeka 2016. A condition from early childhood caused his clavicle to break multiple times, and it was clear this would cause him problems later in life. Against all odds, he started taking up sports at the age of seven, including golf, tennis, and rugby.

‘My clavicle first got broken when I was ten. This came out of nowhere, and the accident repeated itself a few more times. The doctors said I had a bone-eating virus, and because of that I had to have a part of my hip bone transplanted into the shoulder area,’ he said.

In the end, he opted for a career in table tennis, and since then he has made a name for himself as one of the best players in that sport.

‘Because of my long arms, I cover a greater range. I’m good at coordinating eye and hand movement, which compensates for the fact that I tend to be slower than my shorter colleagues. I also return strong serves much easier than the others, because I know when to retreat. That’s my secret.’

And his secret works. Today’s 3-0 victory secured Cristopher a place in the singles quarter-finals, and his ultimate goal is to win one of the medals. This is not his first European championship – he participated in the European Universities Table Tennis Championship in Turkey, as well as the European Universities Games in Rotterdam. Nevertheless, Zagreb fascinates him.

‘Zagreb is amazing. I love #EUG2016!’