Arnie Chan, one of Britain’s top flight Paralympic Table Tennis players, turned the tables on his injury issues this year and is fighting fit for his Paralympics campaign in Beijing.

 

After undergoing a shoulder operation earlier this year, Chan faced a race against time to recover in time for the Paralympics. His determination to reach fitness and a tailored rehabilitation programme through the English Institute of Sport, ensured things were back on track in time for the Games.

 

Once the operation had been done, EIS Yorkshire lead for the sport Rachel Williams, coordinated a programme of interdisciplinary support services to ensure he had the best opportunity to recover.

 

Chan was seen by EIS Physiotherapists Jill Guizzetti (Table tennis lead) and Tamara Singer for his rehab.

 

“We saw Arnie twice a week for his rehab which was initially accelerated post surgery due to both time constraints for the Paralympics and the need to use his upper limbs for mobility” said Singer.

 

“Normally after this sort of surgery, the athlete would be restricted to not doing any resisted work for a minimum of 6-12 weeks but Arnie was cleared to start using his shoulder straight after his operation” she added.

 

Training out of the EIS Sheffield base, Chan accessed a number of EIS support services under the watchful eye of his coach Neil Horsfield.

 

“The treatment consisted of both mobility, soft tissue and strength work but also involved analysing his playing technique alongside his coach so we knew what musculoskeletal requirements he most needed for the shots Neil wanted him to produce” explained Singer.

 

“All these factors combined allowed Arnie to return to training early in order to gain optimal condition to compete at the Paralympics” she added.

 

Linking with EIS Strength & Conditioning Coach Ian Pyper, Chan’s rehab programme was mapped out pre-operation as well as once he got back to training.

 

“We regressed Arnie’s strength programme back to a lower level from what he had been doing before his operation” said Pyper.

 

“Arnie worked hard in a short space of time, coming in around two to three times a week, which meant we could build his programme up gradually, ensuring he could obtain the desired results” Pyper explained. “It was important for the support team to meet to discuss how the rehab programme would work, with further meetings to discuss his progress” he added.

 

Beijing will be Chan’s sixth Paralympic Games, at which he is hoping to add to his successes of team bronze at the Seoul ’88 Games and individual bronze at the Barcelona ’92 Games. More recently he won silver at the European Championships in Slovenie (’07) and a gold medal at this year’s Liverpool Open.

 

Alongside Arnie Chan is a strong GB line up in Beijing, including experienced athletes Sue Gilroy, Cathy Mitton and James Rawson.

 

The Table Tennis Matches at the Paralympics begin on Sunday 7^th September with finals being played on Wednesday 10^th and Thursday 11^th September.