Tapper aims for Olympic, Paralympic podium

Initially a reluctant Paralympian, table tennis athlete Melissa Tapper will compete in the Olympics and Paralympics, hoping to win a podium finish.

Melissa Tapper

Table tennis athlete Melissa Tapper will compete in the Olympics and Paralympics. (AAP)

Table tennis star Melissa Tapper was once a reluctant Paralympics contender.

She managed to become the No.1 junior female table tennis player in Australia in 2008, despite having nerve damage in her right arm.

With such success in regular competition, the Paralympics weren't quite on the radar for Tapper.

"I was quite young, quite naive and I was winning a lot in able-bodied events as a junior so I guess I didn't really see it benefiting me in a sense," she told AAP.

That was until she was left in awe at the ability of the world's Paralympic athletes.

"I saw people that were competing that were missing both their arms and were able to play table tennis," she said.

"(People) that were missing a leg and an arm, and it was just really amazing and it was just something from then on I knew I wanted to be a part of."

Tapper is set to become the first Australian athlete to compete in both an Olympic and Paralympic team in the same year when she goes Rio de Janeiro in August.

Coming back from a couple of international tournaments and having a solid block of training at home, Tapper is confident she'll be in good stead for a podium finish.

"It's all going really well. Everything in the gym is going really well. My body is very strong, my head's really clear, which is really good.

"We're under 100 days to go, so if I haven't sorted it out already I'd be in a bit of trouble."

She came fourth at the London 2012 Paralympics, just shy of a podium finish.

One of five Australian table tennis paralympians in 2016, Tapper is chuffed to see the team's co-captain and five-time paralympian Daniela Di Toro make the team.

Di Toro has left tennis to take on table tennis.

"She's amazing," Tapper said.

"Just her knowledge from what she's experienced from all her previous games is fantastic for our team.

"She's just an all-round legend."


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Source: AAP



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