Lynne Riding, a three-times Paralympian and still one of the best disabled table tennis players in the country, will not be in Beijing this summer because she missed out on vital funding.

Wheelchair-bound Lynne, of Starrgate Drive in Larches, Preston, saw her funding scrapped after being struck down with an illness as she prepared to represent Great Britain at the last Games in Athens four years ago.

That means she has been unable to afford the £1,000-a-tournament it costs to attend qualifying sessions to be in contention for this year's Paralympic Games, which start on September 6 after the Olympics have finished.

She has missed out on this year's Games in China because British athletes are selected on the back of their world rankings which are based on performances at international events and national training camps, none of which Lynne was able to afford to attend.

The cream of Britain's able-bodied athletes will line up for the start of the Olympics tomorrow backed by £235m in funding from the taxpayer.

Lynne, 51, said: "I cannot deny that there will be a part of me which will feel a bit bitter than I am not in Beijing.

"I got funding to go to Athens and I was expected to get a medal there but I fell ill while I was out there which put me out of the whole tournament. That set me right back.

"I went from world class funding to nothing and I was struggling to afford to go to the events I needed to be in contention for Beijing.

"But at £1,000 per competition, because I need medical back-up all the time, it was just too much.

"If I had come back from Athens with a medal I would probably have been okay."

To underline she has still got it, Lynne was named the outstanding sportswoman at the Disability Sport Events (DSE) National Table Tennis championships three weeks ago.

UK Sport performance director Steve Ward, who is in charge of selecting the table tennis squad for the Games, said: "World-class funding works against targets and you will literally have objectives and, as a result of hitting them or not, there is an annual review.

"In Lynne's case this took place in January 2005 after the Athens Games.

"The simple fact is she did not qualify and there is nothing you can do."

In 2004, Lynne went to Athens with high hopes of a medal on the back of a silver win at the World Championships two years before and having also represented her country at the Paralympics in Atlanta in 1996 and Sydney in 2000.

DSE spokesman Jennine Butler, who watched her at last month's championships, described the Lancashire athlete as "not only an excellent player but a great role model for young players".

She said: "Lynne is definitely good enough to still be representing Great Britain, no question."

Now Lynne, who has been wheelchair-bound for 14 years since an accident falling out of a bed, is hoping to use this year's disappointment to drive her towards getting sponsorship to send her to the 2012 Games in London.



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