“I WON’T be able to sleep tonight — I am just too excited” was the response of Gideon Ashison, a table tennis coach from London, upon hearing that readers of The Times had spontaneously donated a total of £10,400 after reading about his remarkable club.

The influx of money has stunned many besides Ashison. Alan Ransome, chairman of the English Table Tennis Association (ETTA), said: “Our sport, like many others, is in a difficult funding situation at the moment. It is astonishing that Gideon’s story has brought about such generosity.”

The total amount received already makes it one of the most significant non-government injections of cash into the sport for a decade. In addition to numerous smaller contributions, there were large cheques from two City businessmen. New offers of support, financial and otherwise, are being received daily.

The donations come in response to a remarkable tale of hardship and determination published in The Times last month. Ashison, a library assistant for Hammersmith and Fulham council, had been running special coaching sessions for youngsters at the tenant’s hall in the London Bridge estate where he lives with his three children. His charges are mostly kids from single-parent families living in Battersea council estates who had discovered table tennis at the nearby York Gardens club.

It was when Ashison lost use of the tenant’s hall that, without meaningful finance, he was stuck for a venue. Tom Draper, head coach at York Gardens, was on hand with a possible solution — a facility in Wandsworth. Despite a journey of up to an hour to get there, Ashison and the boys jumped at the chance.

Zane, 10, said: “We were all happy to have a place where we could play every day. I would take the bus after finishing my homework and then walk 20 minutes so that I could train with the other boys.”

And the venue? Draper’s garden shed. With barely enough space for one table, the dozen or so kids spent most of their time watching from the side. In the winter the facility was scantily heated by a small stove fuelled by wood supplied by one of Ashison’s helpers; in the summer it was like a sauna. One of the youngsters played a defensive, away-from-the-table style but with a run-back of only a few feet he had to slice the ball from around his ears.

Yet, within months the youngsters were taking English table tennis by storm. Darius Knight, the star player, is being hailed as the new Desmond Douglas — in July he won the under-12 event at the Luxembourg Open and is widely regarded as one of the best players of his age group in Europe. Three of the others — Christopher Lewis, Dorian Robinson and Jimmy Mujinya — have been selected for the national under-13 squad.

As a consequence, Ashison acquired a nickname — the Pied Piper of ping-pong.

When I first visited the shed I was mesmerised by the contrast between the ability of the youngsters and the meagreness of their surroundings. Talent was being slowly suffocated by a lack of resources. Ashison, who has never charged the kids for his considerable time or expense, was dipping into his own modest finances to cover entry fees and to drive them to competitions. The strain was beginning to show. But no longer. The garden shed brigade has been propelled into a multi- table sports hall at Southfields Community College in Wandsworth and the donations have enabled Ashison to acquire a state-of-the-art table tennis robot and new nets.

Dave Holt, director of sport for Southfields, said: “We are delighted that the co-operation is working. Ours is a comprehensive, multi-ethnic school with an intake comprised primarily of youngsters from council estates. Gideon has the use of our hall for his sessions while the school benefits from the coaching he provides for our students.”

Ashison’s players are beside themselves with excitement. “This place is fantastic,” Christopher, 13, said. “Now we can play all the time without having to wait our turn. The hall is warm and dry and you can see the ball much better.” The vastly expanded club is recruiting new players all the time.

The donations have been placed into a fund and a project has been set up under the auspices of the ETTA to assist Ashison and other coaches operating on the rough edges of the capital. It will be led by Alan Sherwood, the retired businessman and table tennis benefactor who financed the Commonwealth Masters event at Wembley in May, and I will be working alongside him; its mission is to enhance the aspirations and life chances of kids from deprived areas through table tennis. Charitable status is pending and if the project is successful it will be rolled out to other cities across the country.

Ransome said: “Ashison has demonstrated that table tennis is an ideal tool with which to motivate and encourage young people from disadvantaged communities. Lots of tables can be accommodated in a relatively small amount of space, providing sporting opportunities for the many rather than the few.”

“When I saw the new hall I just couldn’t believe it,” Zane said. “Suddenly anything seems possible.”

Donations can be sent to: Table Tennis for Kids Project, c/o English Table Tennis Association, Queensbury House, Havelock Road, Hastings, East Sussex TN34 1HF.

Matthew Syed is the British No 1 and three-times Commonwealth table tennis champion.

matthew@msyed.freeserve.co.uk