Rio 2016: Table tennis star Melissa Tapper close to being 13th in world to do Olympic-Paralympic double

INSPIRATIONAL table tennis star Melissa Tapper is just a step away from being the first Australian to compete at the Olympic and Paralympic Games — and only the 13th in the world.

TABLE tennis star Melissa Tapper, who won bronze in table tennis at the recent Commonwealth Games, is visiting Gruyere Primary School Melissa shows grade 6 student Darcy, 12 years her skill Photo: Janine eastgate

INSPIRATIONAL table tennis star Melissa Tapper is just a step away from being the first Australian to compete at the Olympic and Paralympic Games — and just the 13th in the world — after surging through the Oceania Championships.

Tapper, 26, moved to the verge of her history-making feat by finishing in the top two at the Bendigo tournament on Thursday and only needs to end up ranked in the top three of a final, five-player Olympic qualifier on Friday.

Up against players from Fiji and Tuvalu, Tapper is considered a very strong chance to finish the day as a member of the Australian Olympic table tennis team to compete in Rio.

Tapper competed at the London 2012 Paralympic Games but has often competed against able-bodied rivals throughout her career.

Born with nerve damage in her right arm, Tapper is Australia’s top Paralympic table tennis player and she competed at the London Paralympics in 2012.

But having grown up first aiming to be an Olympian — and progressing through the juniors as a top-ranked able-bodied player — Tapper set her sights on making the Rio Games and is close to fulfilling a dream.

“At the moment I’m quite excited but I can’t really look too far forward at the moment, because it’s another big day tomorrow,” Tapper said yesterday.

“I am really excited to have the opportunity to even compete at the trials, and to get as far as I have I am really excited.

“To be a part of what would be an amazing Australian team, with Jian Fang Lay, and to get the opportunity to play at the Paralympics with another amazing group of people, I just consider myself very lucky.”

Jian Fang Lay is set to make her own piece of history by making a fifth Olympics — equalling Natalie Cook’s record — but given 384 others have also achieved that before her, Tapper’s much rarer milestone will rightly take the headlines.

Just 12 athletes have competed in both the Paralympics and Olympics; most famously the Bladerunner, Oscar Pistorius. Tapper would be the second table tennis player to do the double.

Tapper was born with nerve damage in her right arm and would be the second table tennis player to do the Games double.

Tapper was such a junior star she would routinely play and beat able-bodied men while growing up rural Hamilton. Though she once disregarded her disability as a factor in her table tennis career, Tapper says she now embraces it.

“Earlier on when I was a teenager I probably would have said I am just another athlete but I see my disability as something that’s individual to myself and it has made me who I am and the sort of person I am,” Tapper said.

“I don’t look at myself as having a disability; I see my imperfections as my perfections.”

The drive to perfect her table tennis game allowed Tapper beat fellow Aussie star Sally Zheng on Thursday, meaning a good result today will earn her a place not just on the team, but likely allow her to play singles in Rio as well.

Tapper hopes she can inspire others with her achievements. Pic: Janine Eastgate

She says she even has scope to improve.

“To be honest, no, I am not in my best form,” Tapper said.

“I have improved on my worst performances so I am closing the gap between my good ones and my bad ones, so that is definitely helping me.”

Tapper is set to blaze a historic trail, and one of her big joys would be to inspire other kids with disabilities.

“If at the end of the day they say they achieved something because of me that would be amazing,” she said.