Two athletes with a learning disability will represent Great Britain at the 2013 Inas World Table Tennis Championships

The UK Sports Association (UKSA) has announced that two people with learning disabilities have been selected to compete in the 2013 Inas World Table Tennis Championships.

Patrick Cox, aged 17 and Adam Thompson aged 25 will compete in the class 11 singles category with hopes of reaching the podium ahead of athletes from across the globe.

Tracey McCillen, chief executive at UKSA said: “These Championships represent a critical step for the athletes as they set their sights on selection for the 2015 Inas Global Games in Ecuador and 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio.”

Inas is an international charity that promotes inclusion through sports for people with an intellectual disability.

Representing people with an intellectual disability on the International Paralympic committee, Inas was formed in 1985 and now has a membership of over 65 nations across the world.

Mr Thompson, currently top British male in his class, said: “I’m really delighted to be part of the team; it’s such a great opportunity to compete outside of Europe. Inas events like this are really important - without them there wouldn’t be any international class 11 competition - I just can’t wait to get out there now!”

Cathay Pacific Airlines are the official travel partners for the Great British team which was arranged by sports consultancy Mencap Sports, which works to ensure people with a disability have the same opportunities as anyone else.

Ian Carpenter, national sport manager at Mencap Sport: “Patrick and Adam are two very promising young players and it’s exciting to see them competing for Great Britain in the World Championships.

“I'd like to say a big thank you to Cathay Pacific Airlines for their support. Without their offer of free flights it would have been too expensive to send a team to Hong Kong. I wish both players the best of luck in their training for the Championships.”

A representative at Cathay Pacific added: “It truly is a great honour to be able to support these talented athletes in their quest to achieve the very highest levels of sporting excellence, and we wish them the best of luck for the championships.”

The games will be hosted in Hong Kong from 11-19 December 2013 and will be a big boost to athletes planning to compete for a place on the team GB for the Paralympic Games in Rio 2016.