Table tennis was first introduced to the young Darius Knight by his mother as a ruse to keep him off the streets and out of trouble. The coach at his local club in Battersea soon discovered that he had a natural ability and Darius swept the board at the 2001 Greater London Championship, winning the under-12, under-14 and under-17 competitions, only to be beaten in the final of the under-21s.

Darius won the competition for his age group at the Luxembourg Open, has beaten some of the best juniors in China, and is already ranked in the top 50 for senior men.

The speed at which Darius has developed has made him the talk of the sport, across Europe and beyond. Even Matthew Syed, British No. 1 since 1995, marvels at his technical brilliance, "Darius is improving at an incredible rate," says Matthew. "I don't want to put pressure on him, but it seems to me he has almost limitless potential."

Darius is representing the following Malls, click to visit their What's On pages:
Uxbridge; Edgware; Wood Green; Walthamstow; Ilford; Romford; Epsom and Bexleyheath