Desmond Douglas
| Desmond Douglas MBE | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Desmond Douglas | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | English British | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 20 July 1955 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Desmond Douglas MBE (born 20 July 1955[1] in Jamaica) is a British table tennis player. He lived and was brought up in the area of Handsworth, Birmingham, West Midlands. He was an attacking, left-handed, player, notable for his scissor jump smash. He was famous for his use of close to the table blocks on the backhand side, mixing pace with powerful topspin from his forehand side.[2]
Douglas was 11 times English Table Tennis champion, who peaked at equal World No. 7 and European No. 3. He represented Great Britain at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, in both the singles and the doubles, where he was partnered by Sky Andrew. Douglas played professionally in The German Bundesliga for eight years , between 1977-1985.[3][4][5]
Douglas is still actively involved in table tennis, coaching throughout the country, including training some of the top young British prospects at the Youth Development Squad. He also coaches at Sutton Coldfield College and Woodfield Table Tennis Club, Wolverhampton.
Douglas was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 1987 Birthday Honours, for services to table tennis.[6] He lives in Walsall, West Midlands.
See also[]
References[]
- ^ "Weekend birthdays". The Guardian. 20 July 2014. p. 52.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ [2][dead link]
- ^ "Skylet Andrew". British Olympic Association. Retrieved 9 July 2009.
- ^ "Skylet Andrew". Sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 30 November 2009. Retrieved 9 July 2009.
- ^ United Kingdom list: "No. 50948". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 June 1987. p. 12.
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- English male table tennis players
- Living people
- 1955 births
- English people of Jamaican descent
- Jamaican emigrants to the United Kingdom
- Members of the Order of the British Empire
- Olympic table tennis players of Great Britain
- Table tennis players at the 1988 Summer Olympics
- Black British sportspeople
- Sportspeople from Walsall
- Sportspeople from Handsworth, West Midlands
- British table tennis biography stubs