WHEN the organisers of the 2012 Olympics talked of delivering a long-lasting legacy, they surely cannot have meant the kind of fall-out that Cleveland table tennis star Paul Drinkhall is having to deal with as he prepares for the start of the World Championships in China this weekend.

In terms of his own sport, the legacy Drinkhall is experiencing is one of scything funding cuts, disbanded facilities and a need to pay his own way to compete in national and international competitions. So much for the Olympic ideal.

Having received £2.53m from UK Sport in the cycle leading up to the Beijing Olympics and £1.2m of support in the build-up to London, the British Table Tennis Federation saw their funding completely removed in the wake of the 2012 Games.

Despite Drinkhall, who is from Loftus, making the last 32 of the men’s singles in London, UK Sport’s ‘no compromise’ approach meant the unlikelihood of a medal in the Rio Olympics resulted in a complete withdrawal of financial support.

British table tennis’ high-performance centre in Sheffield was closed down, training camps were cancelled and the country’s best players were forced to look overseas for employment.

Drinkhall secured contracts in Germany and Belgium, and has enjoyed a successful three-year spell that saw him claim a mixed doubles gold medal and a team silver at last summer’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

He reached the final of last November’s Russian Open, beating several top-25 ranked players along the way, and became the first Englishman to compete in the ITTF World Tour finals when he qualified for the event in Bangkok in December.

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When he competes in the World Championships, which begin on Sunday, he will do so with a world ranking of 35, yet as he reflects on his experiences since the London Games, the extent of the difficulties he has had to overcome is clear.

“It’s made things much more of a challenge,” said Drinkhall, who will compete in the both the singles and doubles, alongside Liam Pitchford, in Suzhou. “It was never like we were getting lots of money before, but there was a national training centre where we could meet and train together and everything was much more structured than it is now.

“We don’t train together as a group any more, and other than the really big tournaments like the World Championships, we have to pay our own way to play. Given that table tennis is played all over the world, that’s expensive.

“I’m playing doubles with Liam at the worlds, and we’re probably going to have a day and a half to train together once we get out to China – that’s hardly ideal.

“Then away from the sport, I’m having my first child soon and I don’t really want to be playing away in Europe all the time and leaving my wife and baby at home. But that’s the only option I’ve got because if I stay over here, I won’t get paid.”

Drinkhall has spent the last year playing for Belgian side TTC Nodo, and while the travelling might be  a strain, at least the quality of the continental competition has enabled him to continue rising through the world rankings.

His international performances last autumn were as good as anything he has produced throughout his career, and while the standard of the World Championships is even higher than the Olympics because the host nation, China, is able to field six competitors rather than two, the 25-year-old will begin his campaign with high hopes.

“It’s the strongest event going, but I can’t wait to get started,” said Drinkhall. “I’m seeded 35, and it’s a bit of a shame I haven’t been able to force my way into the top 32 because that would have made a big difference in terms of my passage through the rounds.

“It’s straight knock-out, although my seeding means I won’t have to compete in the first couple of qualifying rounds. The first target is to get into the last 32 and improve on where I’m seeded. Then after that, who knows?

“I’ve beaten some top-ranked players in the last few months, and that’s given me a lot of confidence for competitions like this. And if I can do well, that would have massive implications in terms of the qualifying process for Rio.”

Drinkhall benefited from a host-nation place that enabled him to compete in London, but with no such luxury available ahead of next summer, he is determined to do all he can to qualify for Rio.

“I only just missed out on qualifying for London by right, and that was a bit annoying if I’m honest,” he said. “As soon as those Olympics finished, I promised myself that I would make it to Rio, and as things stand, I’m on track.

“If the Olympics were to take place tomorrow, I’d qualify. It’s become a bit more complicated because they’ve changed the system to give more weighting to the continental qualification competitions rather than just the pure rankings, but I just keep telling myself that if I continue to improve my rankings, I’ll be there. That’s the big target, and the World Championships are a major step.”