Callum Evans is the First Named Welsh Athlete Heading to Birmingham 2022
With Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games now just under 4 months away Table Tennis Wales is pleased to announce that Callum Evans has been named as the first individual athlete to represent Team Wales at the games.
Callum, who only last month was crowned Welsh National Champion for the 5th time and is currently ranked 350 in the world, will be competing at the Commonwealth Games for the first time said “It’s been a goal that I’ve been chasing for a long time, and I can’t wait to represent my country at a major games. To play in front of my friends and family in what will be like a home games will be amazing”.
Along with Callum’s qualification we are excited to announce that we will also be represented in Birmingham by our Woman’s Team. Wales have had a Woman’s Team play at every Commonwealth Games since Manchester 2002 when Table Tennis was introduced to the games. With a team qualification it will mean that Wales will have Woman representatives in Singles, Doubles and of course the Woman’s Team event. The individuals who will make up the team will be decided later this month.
As well as Callum and the Woman’s Team we hope have Para athlete representation for a 2nd games in a row. This will be decided in May when the qualification window ends for para athletes.
Table Tennis Wales CEO Rhian Pearce said; “We are delighted to announce that both the women’s team and Callum Evans have qualified for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. We have focused on building on our achievements from the Gold Coast Games and I’m proud of the commitment and resilience that our coaches and players have shown over the past few years, despite the challenges of the pandemic. Representing Wales at a Commonwealth Games is a huge accolade for our players and doing this at a ‘home games’ in Birmingham means that they can share this moment with more family and friends. Preparations are underway for an intensive programme of training and competition to give the players the best chance of success.”
Joshua Morgan, National Coach, said; “It’s exciting to have our first named athlete for the games as well as confirmation that our Woman’s Team have qualified. It’s been a long process with the qualification routes changing multiple times due to complications following the COVID-19 pandemic. We hope our team will grow with the addition of our Para athletes. Now our focus will turn to preparation in the build up to Birmingham”