Ross Wilson won his first Paralympic medal in table tennis at the 2012 London Games, but now hopes to build off of that success after qualifying for this summer's Rio games, writes Greg Porter.

The 20-year-old from the Isle of Sheppey began playing table tennis at the age of eight and quickly found success in the sport. He was runner-up in the able-bodied under-10 National Championship. He kept competing in the able-bodied league and won two national titles in doubles: one for the under-12 league and another for the under-14 league.

At the end of 2010, he was diagnosed with multiple epiphyseal dysplasia, a disorder that prevents the ends of his long bones from properly forming. His late diagnoses only gave him a year to qualify for the London games by being ranked in the top 12 in the sport.

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“Qualifying for London was really difficult," said Wilson, who won silver at the European Championships that year. "To get there in a year was really tough, but I had a really good Europeans and I think that’s what got me there."

Wilson was only 17 at the time of the London Paralympics, the youngest person on Great Britain’s Para-table tennis team.

He said: “The experience of London was absolutely incredible. I can't really put it into words. It was really special.

"The public support was amazing. You can't really put it into words, going into an arena when there is 5,000 people there."

Wilson trains five days a week for more than six hours a day. While training, he is crafting his skill at disguising the spin he puts on a ball while serving, learning to read exactly what his opponent will do before he does it and then honing his ability to return the ball with precision.

He will again compete in doubles and the singles event and this time hopes to bring home a medal in both. He said: “It means absolutely everything. It was one of my dreams ever since I was young and do it in London was incredible.

"So to get to an away games, as well, in my second year is really special. I would have never thought I'd get this far. I don’t want to take it for granted."