In the latest in our series focusing on the England squad for the forthcoming Commonwealth Games, we speak to Jack Hunter-Spivey.

Previous articles

Charlotte Bardsley | Tom Jarvis | Fliss Pickard | Tin-Tin Ho

Jack Hunter-Spivey is ready to shoulder the burden of being top seed as he goes in search of Commonwealth Games gold in Birmingham.

As a Paralympic bronze medallist in Tokyo, and the world No 5, Hunter-Spivey will be the athlete everyone else in the Class 3-5 men’s singles is chasing in the battle for the podium places.

It brings pressure, but the Liverpudlian has confidence and belief in his game to deliver in those circumstances.

“Maybe a little bit of pressure, a bit of expectation,” he said. “There’s some good players in the field that I’ll be competing against so although on paper I should do well, if I can execute my game well I can definitely bring back that gold medal.

“Doing it might be a little bit difficult so I’m going to try my best to bring a gold back but just getting out there and competing, for me is the absolute dream.

“I feel great, I can’t wait for the Games to begin – it’s an absolute privilege to be playing for Team England in the Commonwealth Games and a home Games and can’t wait to get out there an experience a home crowd.”

Drawing on the energy of the crowd is something the 27-year-old Hunter-Spivey expects to boost his game.

He added: “I think it can bring me a lot and definitely add points on to my game and definitely give me all the motivation I need to do well in this competition.

“Competing in front of a home crowd is something I’ve always dreamed of doing and I can’t wait to get out there and try to bring home the gold for Team England.

“I started playing this sport around the time London won the bid for the 2012 Olympics and Paralympic Games. Unfortunately, I missed out on that and I really feel I missed out on that home crowd experience.

“So, having that at a home Games and being No 1 seed, hopefully I can do the business. It will be amazing, really.”

Why not host an event to provide an opportunity for new people to get into table tennis and create a lasting legacy from the Commonwealth Games? We’ve created a toolkit to help organisations and individuals stage events – click here to download a toolkit.