Kelly Sibley
Encyclopedia
Kelly Sibley is a professional table tennis
player from England
. She started playing the sport at her local club in Lillington
, Leamington Spa
. Sibley won the singles, girls doubles and mixed doubles at the UK Junior Championships and has represented England at senior level at the Commonwealth Games
, European Championships and World Championships. She is currently the 2nd highest ranked senior woman in English table tennis and is sponsored by local firms Wright Hassell and Building and Plumbing Supplies.
Kelly began playing table tennis aged 8 years old at Lillington Free Church table tennis club, inspired by her mother Lynn Bolitho, a former county-level table tennis player.
In 2000, she represented England at the English Schools Championships.
At the age of 13, she was invited to live and train at the National Training centre in Nottingham where she was coached by Alan Cooke before relocating to the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield
Kelly represented England at the Commonwealth Games twice; once in Melbourne, Australia (2006) and again in Delhi, India (2010) where she finished in fourth place in the team women's event.
She also gained a Ladies Doubles Bronze Medal at the 2009 Commonwealth Championships and a Division Two Gold Medal at the 2008 World Team Championships in China.
Kelly won 10 consecutive international matches at the 2011 European Championships in Poland and promoted the England Women’s team to the top tier.
In England, Kelly Sibley is currently ranked 2nd in women's table tennis and 153rd in the world.
Despite her high ranking, funding cuts may inhibit her ability to compete at the London 2012 Olympics.
Table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...
player from England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. She started playing the sport at her local club in Lillington
Lillington, Warwickshire
Lillington is an area of the town of Leamington Spa in Warwickshire, England. Lillington was formerly a village which existed before the time of the Domesday Book , until it was subsumed into Leamington Spa, the parish being incorporated into that borough in 1890.-Geography:Lillington itself has...
, Leamington Spa
Leamington Spa
Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or Leamington or Leam to locals, is a spa town in central Warwickshire, England. Formerly known as Leamington Priors, its expansion began following the popularisation of the medicinal qualities of its water by Dr Kerr in 1784, and by Dr Lambe...
. Sibley won the singles, girls doubles and mixed doubles at the UK Junior Championships and has represented England at senior level at the Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 and takes place every four years....
, European Championships and World Championships. She is currently the 2nd highest ranked senior woman in English table tennis and is sponsored by local firms Wright Hassell and Building and Plumbing Supplies.
Kelly began playing table tennis aged 8 years old at Lillington Free Church table tennis club, inspired by her mother Lynn Bolitho, a former county-level table tennis player.
In 2000, she represented England at the English Schools Championships.
At the age of 13, she was invited to live and train at the National Training centre in Nottingham where she was coached by Alan Cooke before relocating to the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield
Kelly represented England at the Commonwealth Games twice; once in Melbourne, Australia (2006) and again in Delhi, India (2010) where she finished in fourth place in the team women's event.
She also gained a Ladies Doubles Bronze Medal at the 2009 Commonwealth Championships and a Division Two Gold Medal at the 2008 World Team Championships in China.
Kelly won 10 consecutive international matches at the 2011 European Championships in Poland and promoted the England Women’s team to the top tier.
In England, Kelly Sibley is currently ranked 2nd in women's table tennis and 153rd in the world.
Despite her high ranking, funding cuts may inhibit her ability to compete at the London 2012 Olympics.