EIS Sheffield: Elite table tennis moves to city in bid to win first Olympic medal in Paris

Sheffield is the new home of table tennis in Britain as the sport bids to win a medal at the Paris Olympics.

Bosses chose the English Institute for Sport in Attercliffe after an 18-month search for an elite training centre.

It gives them exclusive use of a training hall as well as ‘world-class’ support after seven years at Nottingham University in a space shared with archery and fencing.

British para table tennis is already based there.

Table Tennis England CEO Adrian Christy hailed the news as “a huge step forward towards our ambition to deliver that historic first ever Olympic medal for GB table tennis.”  

He added: “We want to make this one of the best elite training facilities in Europe and open our doors to players from across the world to train with our athletes – and for our athletes to know they can get the best possible practice and preparation without having to leave these shores.”

It is set to be operational by March 1, he added. The Paris Olympics are in July.

The EIS has produced stars including OIympic heptathlon gold medal winner Jessica Ennis and gold medal-winning boxer Nicola Adams.

The English men’s table tennis team is 15th in the world, the women’s team is in a ‘rebuild phase’ after recent retirements and the mixed team is 86th, but rapidly climbing the rankings, Table Tennis England says.

Paul Hudson, director of sport and leisure at Sheffield City Trust, said: “We are delighted to welcome Table Tennis England and the GB Table Tennis Programme to the EISS in Sheffield. 

“Having recently been recognised by UK Sport as one of only eight national elite training centres, alongside the dedicated sporting facilities, our culture and network of research, testing and proven sporting success will support table tennis’s medal aspirations.”