Martin Perry is the first to correct people who call him a Paralympian.
Perry, nicknamed ‘the Paisley powerhouse’, has won 51 international medals and is Scotland’s most successful ever para table tennis player.
But Rio 2016 came too soon and, after a crowdfunding campaign, he fell two wins short of a place at Tokyo 2020.
“Whenever I go and visit a school, they introduce me as, ‘Paralympian Martin Perry’ and I’ll tell them, ‘don’t give me that title, I’ve not earned it.’” said Perry.
“Some of the best athletes in the world never become an Olympian or a Paralympian. You have to earn it, it’s a unique club to be a part of.”
It took time to flush out the trauma of coming so close to Tokyo. In 2019, Perry crowdfunded his way to events in Italy, Spain, Poland, Mexico, Thailand, Finland and China to try to qualify.
When crunch time came at the World Qualification Tournament in June 2021, he was beaten in a very close match by Kazuki Schichino from Japan.
“That was tough, that was heartbreaking,” he remembers. “I knew my level was good enough but it came down to a lack of consistency.
“I started taking all these medals internationally but in the early stages of my career, I was my own worst enemy. I’d beat a player in the world top 10 and then lose to someone way down the rankings.
“All of that hard work would be undone in the next match. Consistency in your performance just comes from within - it’s not something you can replicate in the training hall.”
Now, the 30-year-old is already preparing to log on to his social media channels on 28 August and add the letters ‘PLY’ after his name.
That’s because Perry has put his participation in Paris beyond doubt thanks to a brilliant series of performances in recent years, flying high with fewer than 100 days to go until the Games.
He has risen to be ranked eighth in the world, winning bronze at the 2022 World Championships and a medal of the same colour at European level the following year. Perry has uncorked a steady stream of that elixir - consistency - banking another bronze medal at the Polish Open in April to effectively rubber-stamp a place on ParalympicsGB.
Perry’s young family have given the perspective required to put everything on the line.
“I’ve made sure I’ve put the right processes in place,” said Perry. “I’ve got the right people around me and I always had an unrelenting belief that it would click.
“My wife Siobhain helped pick me up massively after not qualifying for Tokyo. I realised one day that I was beating myself up so much about a little ball travelling over a net when, no matter what happens, I get to come home and see my wife and now my daughter Beira every night.
“I sat back and analysed my life and I realised that even if I take out table tennis, I still have a bloody good life.
“Up until then, it was very much table tennis that defined me. I realised that I have a great position in life and playing table tennis is a privilege, it’s a job, but it’s just a bit of fun at the end of the day.
“All of a sudden, I just felt this relief and the shackles were off. I’ve been on a massive upward trajectory since then and this is all off the back of what I thought was my worst day in sport.”
Perry has always felt most at home while playing table tennis.
He was born with congenital limb loss and deformity, resulting in him being born with no hands and only one leg. The youngest of three brothers, he was the first member of his family to be disabled.
“It was definitely a shock to the system for my family,” said Perry, who was born in Dumbarton.”
“To be honest, they accepted it incredibly well.
“They never pandered to it or treated me any differently. If anything, my brothers used it to their advantage - we’d be out playing football and they’d be like, ‘Martin, you’ve got no hands, you go in goals!’
“For want of a better phrase, they didn’t care. I was never wrapped up in cotton wool or hidden from the world, they just let me get on with it and that’s definitely shaped who I am today.
“It’s taught me to be incredibly independent and I’m so thankful for that because without that, my life could have turned out very different.”
Perry also had a positive experience of disability integration in school sport, taking up table tennis in his last few years at Gleniffer High School in Paisley, where he tried basketball and rugby too.
Perry’s time at the University of the West of Scotland was largely spent honing his craft on the table tennis table. The decision to let his studies slide paid off handsomely when, in between lectures, he got a call from British Para Table Tennis inviting him to join their programme in Sheffield.
These days Perry trains five days a week at Drumchapel Table Tennis Club, complemented by three days of gym and strength and conditioning work.
He is now one of over 1,000 elite athletes on UK Sport’s National Lottery-funded World Class Programme, allowing him to train full time, have access to the world’s best coaches and benefit from pioneering medical support.
Nowhere does London 2012’s ‘inspire a generation’ resonate more than in the stories of people like Perry, who watched now Great Britain team-mate Ross Wilson win a medal.
“I was captivated, completely blown away,” he recalls. “I knew that was what I wanted to do with my life.”
Perry passionately believes that London 2012 has left a legacy for disabled people in the UK.
“I have the privilege of travelling the world to play table tennis and I genuinely think that the UK is one of the best countries in the world for accommodating people with disabilities,” he says.
“Even in the furthest corners of the world, they do try to make accommodations but what we do really well in the UK is that we force it. Try opening a building today without an accessible toilet - you can’t.
“I’m proud that we push inclusion to the extent we do and I think that stems from the Games - legislation brought in around 2012 and since to make sure it keeps happening.
“Recently, when the Disability Minister was axed, I was like, ‘come on, we can’t let this slip’ because we’re one of the leading forces in the world, we don’t want to let all of that progress go to waste.”
Another issue that Perry is passionate about is sustainability. Having witnessed the impact of climate change on his travels around the globe, he is using his platform to raise awareness of environmental issues and is a sporting ambassador for Prevented Ocean Plastic.
“Going to compete in Japan made me realise that it is possible for everywhere to be clean and lovely,” said Perry. “It was such an eye-opener that there is so much waste and rubbish in the world that is left on the basis of someone else dealing with it.
“It’s ruining almost everything we have - it’s ruining the air, the land, the water, even our food chains.
“It’s something I’m even more aware of now I’m a father. In every sense, I want to give my daughter the best possible chance in life and one of those things is her having an environment to live in.
“It’s not to say I’m perfect, but we all have to start somewhere and it’s something I’m very conscious of.”
Perry is desperate to add a Paralympic medal to his roll of honour this summer but his new perspective means it is far from make or break.
“I do table tennis because I absolutely love it,” Perry said. “It’s so much fun for me and it’s what I’ve wanted to do for more than half of my life now. I can’t get enough of it.
“The joy of having Siobhain and Beira is that whatever emotion I feel from table tennis - whether it’s good or bad - it’s always better for having them.
“Of course the medal matters, but it also matters to the other 15 players who will be competing for it. It would be idiotic for me to say it matters more to me than it does to them.
“I’ll give everything I have to try and win it. But to call myself a Paralympian, no matter what, no-one will be able to take that away from me.”
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