Rising table tennis star Darius Knight blasts London 2012 Olympic funding cuts

Only £550million has been allocated to support Team GB's athletes - £50m less than had originally been promised - but more than twice the £265m given to support athletes in the build-up to the Beijing Games.

And 18-year-old Knight, who left his life in a young gang to become a genuine 2012 medal hope, is disappointed table tennis is one of eight sports set to have their backing cut.

"If we had received that money to invest in coaches, there would always have been a great core of players," said Knight, who was born in south London but now lives in Sheffield.

"That would recycle itself. We can have 10 Dariuses or more - it's not a problem if we get them working early. No funding makes it so hard to actually sustain a career and develop the sport in this country."

Knight began training in a shed in Wandsworth in an attempt to get himself out of the drug culture that consumed many of his friends.

He now receives private sponsorship from Fred Perry - a fact made more important in the wake of UK Sport's guidance to table tennis players they will need to look elsewhere for funding in the wake of a shortfall.

"I am just trying to show young kids there are things you can do rather than hang around on the streets and get into trouble," said Knight, who will play at the Fred Perry Urban Cup at York Hall on Saturday week.

"I don't see myself as a role model, it's flattering but I am just like a normal guy. I like TV and playing computer games and before I played I'd never been abroad or even stayed in a hotel.

"Now I see my life as becoming the best table tennis player I can be with the ultimate goal of Olympic gold."

While Knight is still confident he can achieve that goal, table tennis as a whole has been hit hard by yesterday's funding announcement.

Richard Yule, chief executive of the English Table Tennis Association, said: "We are very disappointed because this creates more uncertainty among players and coaches.

"This will reduce our capacity to run a national centre and training programmes."

Table tennis is one of eight sports to have suffered under UK Sport's "no compromise" funding formula focused on medal success and podium potential.

Although they are assured a basic level of funding which starts next March, they face a struggle to top that up through sponsorship or public grants.

British Shooting, which had received £5m in the last Olympic cycle, paid the price for failing to win a medal at the last two Games and said the outlook was now "bleak" for London.

Chief executive Philip Boakes conceded that the uncertainty may force some of his coaches to move abroad.

His sport was being penalised for failing to medal in an Olympics since Richard Faulds won a shotgun gold in the Sydney Games.

Boakes said: "We have a big competition in Europe in January but we are not even able to book flights."

Sports hoping to make the Olympic debut at 2012 also suffered a setback.

Although the British volleyball team automatically qualifies as hosts, the sport now faces a £5m funding gap for 2012 and may not be competitive.

Richard Callicott, chair of British Volleyball, said: "We appear to have been penalised.

"We have ticked all the boxes and even more so than some of the sports that are receiving guaranteed funding."

UK Sport has now been handed responsibility by the Government for plugging the £50m gap and is targeting cash from wealthy benefactors and corporate sponsors.

Chairman Sue Campbell said of the sports affected: "We are not abandoning these people but we have to look at it in a very business-like way."

* For more inforomation on the Fred Perry Urban Cup at York Hall, visit www.fredperry.com/urbancup