Battersea's table tennis star Darius Knight may not have had the best tournament at the Olympic test event last weekend - but is adamant he will be back at ExCeL as a Great Britain Olympic competitor.

The 21-year-old London 2012 ping pong hopeful got some idea of how next year’s Olympic Games table tennis event at London Docklands venue will look during last week’s ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals, which doubled up as the test event.

Unfortunately, Britain's number three lost all three of his group games in the U21 event - 4-1 to Singapore's Chen Feng, 4-2 to Hung Tzu-Hsiang of Taiwan and 4-1 to world number 28 from South Korea Kim Min Seok - all players well above his current world ranking of 250.

Knight, who reached the last 32 in this year’s European Championships, only received news of his entry to the tournament the evening before it was due but was still critical of his performances and felt he should have come better prepared.

“Even though I got that call at 11pm, it is my fault because I should have been preparing a lot more,” he said.

“I feel I have embarrassed myself.

“Me playing here well was asking for a lot seeing as it wasn’t the best preparation and these guys are the top U21s in the world.

“Even if it looked bad, everyone I lost to is ranked higher than me.

“I just need to make another level where I can compete with these guys on a regular basis. I really need to be up for it.

“But the positive thing is at the end of the day I qualified for this rightfully. I wasn’t selected, I earned my place to be here.”

And Knight is now setting his sights on qualifying in next year’s Olympic Games showpiece.

“I am confident of qualifying for the Olympics. I want to play well and show everybody I’m the man to play here next year," he said.

“Hopefully, if I continue my good run in the tournaments and training keeps going well then why shouldn’t I?

"My claim for an Olympic place begins right here.”

Knight will take time out from competition to head the annual Fred Perry Urban Cup Finals this Saturday in Islington from 10.30am.

The nationwide table tennis team competition for youngsters between 11 and 14, is aimed at a grassroots level of participation within major towns and inner city areas and Knight is a big supporter.

“I’ve been doing this tournament for four years now and it’s all about getting kids all over the country playing table tennis," he said.

“It’s great going back to the grass roots of the sport and help influence thousands of kids. I’m so privileged to be part of this great event.”