Olympic carrot dangled for Ollie

OLLIE LANGLOIS has joined Alice Loveridge as a targeted player for the Great Britain table tennis team to compete at the London 2012 Olympics. In September, the 12-year-old Loveridge was invited onto the British Table Tennis Feder-ation's 'Talent ID' programme. Four months on, Langlois, 13, has been selected for the BTTF observation group with a view to possibly being upgraded to the Talent ID group.

The scheme is designed to identify and nurture players between 12 and 14 years old to be able to represent Great Britain in 2012.

'It's a big achievement,' said Guernsey's table tennis development officer Becks O'Keefe.

'I'm really, really proud and it shows his hard work has paid off. It's fantastic.

'There were 25 boys at the training camp and nine boys were noticed,' she added.

Before Christmas, both Langlois and Loveridge attended a three-day assessment camp hosted by the BTTF at the Lilleshall National Sports Centre.

The Grammar School students had to undergo specific drills and some fitness work while being scrutinised by BTTF assessors.

After successfully making the observation group, Langlois will have to attend training camps and tournaments to see if he merits an invitation onto the Talent ID group. There are currently 13 juniors in the top section, of which Loveridge is one, and this number is to be extended to 20.

'I think he has a fair chance,' said O'Keefe.

Loveridge was invited onto the Talent ID by top BTTF coach Steen Hansen when he visited the island last year. The national under-12 and under-14 champion went on to cement her selection after a solid performance at Lilleshall.

Next month she is off with the squad to compete in Sweden.

'It's fantastic for her,' said O'Keefe.

'But it just means they've got to keep working hard to stay in the groups.'

The GTTA president, Derek Webb, was delighted with his two young charges' achievements.

'It's fantastic and it's very exciting for these players,' he said.