**It’s been a golden couple of weeks for Ross Wilson but the para table tennis player is determined to keep pushing forwards and help drive the sport on in the country. **

The 22-year-old successfully defended his Open Standing national title at the weekend, coming a week after he clinched the men’s TT6-10 Commonwealth Games title on the Gold Coast.

That victory in Australia came courtesy of an entertaining 3-1 win over fellow Englishman Kim Daybell, while Welshman Joshua Stacey took bronze to demonstrate the strength in depth of British para table tennis.

All three normally represent Great Britain but friendships – Daybell and Wilson even shared a room on the Gold Coast – were put aside in the battle for the medals.

It is a scenario that is not uncommon for athletes throughout their career, coming up against a teammate whose game you know inside out – although Wilson and Daybell compete in different classes at Paralympic level.

Ross Wilson celebrates receiving his gold medal

And Wilson is keen to look at the positives, seeing the fact British players are battling it out for top honours on the Commonwealth stage as a sign they are on the right track.

“It is always difficult to play one of your teammates because it is different to prepare for the match but you try and keep it as similar as you can and that is what I did,” he said.

“Kim is a great player and a really tough opponent so after losing that first game I really thought I was in trouble. I was down in the second one, so the pressure was really on and he is a fantastic player so it was a great feeling to come through it and to share the moment with Kim as well.

“Competing against each other is always difficult but I think in our team (British Para Table Tennis Team) we have a lot of healthy competition and that really does drive us on.

“We can forever keep pushing and constantly improving each other - trying to get the maximum benefits from having each other to train with and I definitely think healthy competition is a good thing.

“We are not dominating at the moment in any class and that is something we can keep pushing for and hopefully we can go from strength to strength.”

Wilson’s Commonwealth success added to the two Paralympic team bronze medals he has in his collection from London 2012 and Rio 2016.

He didn’t have things all his own way on the Gold Coast, having to come from behind in both the semi-finals and final to take the gold.

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“I think it is part of sport to get knocked down and every athlete's job to get back up again."

Ross Wilson

“I have had it a lot through the years where I have been injured a lot and had to pick myself up again,” he added.

“To use that mentality again and again is something that I have strengthened quite a lot.

“Going down a game doesn’t necessarily mean that you are going to lose - it means you have to stick to your guns, stick to your tactics and follow it through until the end.”

Competitions continue at pace for Wilson and the British contingent with the Slovakia Open next month while later this year it’s the 2018 World Para Table Tennis Championships in Slovenia.

And buoyed by his Commonwealth title, the Minster-born player is looking ahead with confidence.

“I think it [Commonwealth gold] is up there with one of the best achievements of my career so far,” he explained.

“It is a big event and I’m really very proud to have won it

“It is something I’ve always dreamed of and to go out and win was just an absolutely amazing feeling and one I can’t really describe.

“I’ve taken a bit of down time since I got back just to regather because I’ve still got a lot of competitions this season so I’ve not tried to go out and celebrate too much.

“It is a big thing for me individually to win but now it is about getting back to training and carrying on the competitions.”

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