Dumbarton’s Martin Perry admits that finding out he had secured a wildcard for the Para Table Tennis World Championships in November was a whirlwind of emotion.
But after securing his spot following a tense six-week wait, Martin is now determined to enjoy the opportunity on the biggest stage.
In July, Martin travelled to locations as far afield as Argentina and Thailand aiming to secure his place in the World Championships, however a defeat left him waiting anxiously to see if he had the wildcard.
Late last month, he was granted a wildcard - despite a prank from performance director Gorazd Vecko initially making him fear he’d missed out.
Martin, who has a condition known as congenital limb loss and deformity which resulted in him being born with no hands and only one leg, said: “It took me by surprise.
“When automatic qualification didn’t quite go to plan then I knew we’d apply for a wildcard, but you can never count on being awarded one.
“I just carried on as normal with my training and my preparation. I’ve still got other competitions this year before the World Championships, so it was business as usual.
“Every day and night it was at the back of your mind though. Am I going to get it?
“I was actually at training when it was released. I’d been refreshing it for as long as I could, but I had to go out at some point.
“The performance director phoned me. He said it was, as expected, bad news and we hadn’t got it.
“I said I understood and thanked him for trying. And he was like ‘Martin, I’m only kidding’.
“I didn’t know what to do!
“I ran to the computer and there I was. I feel a bit guilty because my wife wasn’t the first one to find out, the whole table tennis club did.”
Martin is now focused on preparations for the World Championships - admitting he didn’t spend much time celebrating his wildcard inclusion.
He continued: “I think I had 10 minutes and then I was straight back to work.
“It was a whirlwind of emotions to say the least.
“I’m so fortunate to be going to the World Championships. It’s my first world singles championship so there are no expectations. I’m just going to go out, enjoy it and see what happens.
“It’s just another match.
“There will be added pressure, but that’s why we work with sports psychologists. I probably will be a bit more nervous than usual, everyone gets nervous before matches.
“The joy of table tennis is that you go out and get a warm up right before you start playing. We have two minutes to practice with the opponent. As soon as you hit that first ball then everything else will be forgotten about.”
And whilst he’s going in with no expectations or pressure, Martin is allowing himself to dream.
He added: “Now that the players list has been finalised there is a great talent pool there. There are a lot of players who I’ve beaten previously.
“You never know what will happen. At the Tokyo Paralympics someone who hadn’t originally qualified went on and won it. So it’s not unheard of.
“I just want to enjoy it to be honest. If I can play my best table tennis along the way then that’s a bonus. Whatever else happens, happens.”
