IN historical terms, Paul Drinkhall’s success in securing an automatic qualifying place for this summer’s Olympics in Rio is a landmark achievement for British table tennis. The only surprise to the 26-year-old, however, is that it did not happen sooner.

Along with team-mate Liam Pitchford, Drinkhall became the first Briton to claim an Olympic table tennis place by right for almost two decades when his world ranking entitled him to a men’s singles spot at Rio.

His selection was formally confirmed last week, and having won a gold and silver medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, as well as a bronze as part of the English team at this year’s World Team Championships, the North-Easterner is adamant he will not be travelling to Brazil simply to make the numbers up.

Britain continues to live in the shadow of world table tennis powerhouses such as China, Japan, Germany and South Korea, but in Drinkhall and Pitchford, Team GB will boast two players who have soared up the rankings in the last couple of years.

Having been touted as a future star when he excelled as a junior, Drinkhall admits it has taken him a while to come to terms with the challenges of life on the senior tour. But as he enters what should be his peak period, he is determined to make up for lost time.

“From a young age, I always thought and expected things of myself,” said Drinkhall, who hails from Loftus, in Cleveland. “I always saw myself winning Pro Tours and winning medals at World Championships and Commonwealth Games.

“It’s actually taken longer than I would have hoped. At a young age, my level was there but it was actually doing it on the table consistently that was the issue.

“That was the challenge, and there have been times when I’ve probably had to take a step or two back in order to go forward.

“But over the last 24 or 36 months, I really feel as though I’ve taken some big steps forward. I’ve moved up the rankings, but more importantly I’ve proved I can achieve things in major competitions. I feel comfortable in that environment now.

“The Olympics is obviously another step up because it’s the biggest competition in our sport. Every match will be difficult, but I’m going there knowing I’ve got nothing to fear.”

Drinkhall will also be drawing on the experiences he gained at London 2012 as he prepares to make his second Olympic appearance this summer.

Back in 2012, he was awarded a host-nation place after failing to meet the automatic qualifying criteria for the singles tournament, and made the most of it as he beat world top-50 player Yang Zi to make the last 32 before losing to current world number five Dimitrij Ovtcharov.

That represented an impressive return for the then 22-year-old, but while he looks back on his participation in a home Games with a large amount of pride, he concedes the event probably came slightly too soon for him.

“In hindsight, I probably wasn’t quite ready,” said Drinkhall. “I was still feeling my way a bit at world level and didn’t have anything like the experience I have now. If I’d known some of the things I know back then, I might have done a few things a bit differently.

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“It was still an amazing experience though, and I think it will definitely help me in Rio. Just having experienced how big the whole Olympics thing is will make it easier to adjust this time.

“It’s not just the Olympics – I’ve been to the Commonwealth Games and European Games too in the last few years – and the more you’re a part of those big multi-sport events, the easier it becomes.

“I’m at an age now where the next two or three years are probably going to see me at my peak, so this might be my best chance of really doing some damage at an Olympics. I’ve been playing consistently well for about two years now, so it’s just a case of carrying that forward into Rio.”

It should also help that Drinkhall will be accompanied by Pitchford, with the pair having spent most of the last decade playing and training alongside each other as part of the national high-performance set-up.

They combined to great success in March’s World Team Championships, and will travel to Rio together, with the Olympic table tennis tournament due to begin on the first full day of the Games on August 6.

“It’s great to have Liam there,” said Drinkhall. “We’ve been pushing each other for the last year or so trying to get an automatic place, and the fact we both did it is great for the sport in this country.

“Hopefully, we’ll be able to help each other out a bit. We’ll be there if either of us needs a chat about anything, and that’s important when you’re at something as big as the Olympics.

“We’ll be playing a lot of matches if we get deep into the competition, and the pressure will increase. So it’ll be good to have a friendly face to turn to for a bit of support.”

* British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) is the national governing body for Higher Education (HE) sport in the UK, organising leagues and competitions for more than 150 institutions across 52 different sports. Supported by Deloitte, BUCS offers programmes to athletes from a grass roots level through to Commonwealth and Olympic Games hopefuls www.bucs.org.uk