Guest column: Supporting sport for all in Bassetlaw

The 22-year-old is representing England at the Games for the second time and has already added a bronze medal in the team event to the silver he won four years ago in Glasgow.

At the time of writing, Walker still has plenty of other medal opportunities, having progressed through to the last 16 in the men’s singles, men’s doubles and mixed doubles.

Many of these matches were due to take place in the early hours of Thursday morning and we wish Sam the best of luck.

Sam’s talent for table tennis was developed at Redlands School, which is a Centre of Excellence for the sport and is currently honing the skills of future potential elite players.

But Bassetlaw is not only a hotbed of talent for table tennis.

It is home to a number of young people who are representing their country in their respective sports.

The council is proud to support these young athletes who compete at a national level and, in partnership with BPL, has put in place free access to local leisure centres that will aid with their development and training.

This year, the council is also providing professional and specialist support to local sports clubs should they wish to apply for external grant funding that will assist with large-scale developments, such as clubhouse extensions or improvements.

This is in addition to the community sports funding that the council has previously provided local clubs.

The council aims to provide access to sport for all of residents, no matter what level they wish to compete at.

Should you wish to become involved in a sporting activity within Bassetlaw, there is a wealth of information in the sport, leisure and culture section of the website at www.bassetlaw.gov.uk