Tom Purcell never really wanted to be an umpire – but he went on to take charge of an Olympic final and has been selected for this summer’s Paralympic Games.

Tom, a former Table Tennis England Director, had played since the age of about 12, first in the Manchester leagues and later in Liverpool.

It was there that the late Stan Clarke suggested that he turned his had to officiating, and Tom recalls: “I didn’t want to do it, but the local umpires’ secretary Stan Clarke came to me and said ‘you’re slowing down, why not try umpiring?’

“I said ‘I didn’t realise I was fast in the first place’, but Stan persuaded me and I went along with him one day to a tournament – I loved it and it went from there.”

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That was 1996 and Tom went on to qualify at (National) Level 2 in 2001 and (International) Level 3 in 2004. When London was awarded the Olympics in 2005 that gave him the push to take the Blue Badge level which would enable him to be eligible for the Games.

Not only was he selected, but he was given the honour of officiating the Men’s Singles final, in which Zhang Jike of China beat compatriot Wang Hao.

He has also umpired at World Championships in Malaysia and Sweden and at the Men’s World Cup in Paris – the city he is returning to this summer for the Paralympics – and, more recently the European Para Championships in Sheffield last year.

“The Olympics and Paralympics are the major events for every country and you only get the chance to do them once, so to be selected for the Paralympics after the Olympics in London is very special,” he said. “I’m looking forward to it.

“We’re staying in the Athletes’ Village, in a block for officials, so that will be great, and the facilities will be very good. I know about half of the umpires from other events, but there’s some I’ll be meeting for the first time.

“There’ll be 10 singles finals, plus the team and doubles events, so hopefully I’ll be able to get one of those.”

Tom is prepared for the nerves that come with knowing the eyes of the world will be on the French capital – and one incident in the Men’s Singles final in London will also help him take it in his stride.

“When you first go on, all umpires are nervous because you’re being watched by a stadium full of people, and by the world, and you don’t want to make any mistakes or have any issues,” he said.

“Sometimes, they do happen – I had one in the final in London when there was a dispute over whether the ball had touched the edge.

“I didn’t think it had but Zhang Jike had blocked my view. Wang Hao was adamant but Zhang Jike said he wasn’t sure, so I had to go with my decision. If Zhang had said it had, I would have changed my mind.

“When they showed it later on TV, they showed it touched – a very faint edge – and commented that it was such a small edge it wasn’t surprising I hadn’t seen it.

“Nowadays, you’ve got the tablets controlling the scoreboards all around the venue and that puts pressure on the umpires as well because you don’t want to be on court with everyone screaming that the score is wrong.”

With England hosting the 2026 World Team Championships, and more international events heading to these shores, Tom may still have some career highlights ahead of him – and he is keen to encourage others who are considering umpiring to go for it.

“It just shows what you can do,” he said. “I didn’t want to do it at first, but I loved it and ended up at the Olympics and now the Paralympics.

“The message to everyone else is you can take the tests and progress like I did.”