Desmond Douglas
| Desmond Douglas MBE | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Douglas (right) in 2013 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality | English British | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 20 July 1955 Jamaica | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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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 West 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, Albrighton table tennis club, Albrighton
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
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Weekend birthdays". The Guardian. 20 July 2014. p. 52.
- ^ "ITTF_Database". Archived from the original on 17 October 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 July 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Skylet Andrew". British Olympic Association. Archived from the original on 3 February 2010. 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.
  | This biographical article relating to a British table tennis figure is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- English male table tennis players
- Living people
- 1955 births
- English people of Jamaican descent
- Sportspeople of Jamaican descent
- Jamaican emigrants to the United Kingdom
- Members of the Order of the British Empire
- Olympic table tennis players for Great Britain
- Table tennis players at the 1988 Summer Olympics
- Black British sportsmen
- Sportspeople from Walsall
- Sportspeople from Handsworth, West Midlands
- Jamaican expatriate sportspeople in Germany
- English expatriate sportspeople in West Germany
- British table tennis biography stubs