Knight of the rectangular table

In the rough-and-tumble world of inner-city life, a youngster needs to find an outlet for his aggression.

Table tennis may not be the typical form of therapy for an urban kid in London, but Darius Knight took that route and is making the most of it. Now ranked No. 2 in England, he expects to be playing for Britain at the London Olympics in 2012.

"Definitely," the 18-year-old Knight said Wednesday. "Just got to keep my head down. Keep working."

Knight started training seriously when he was 10, quit school at 15 and recently moved to Sheffield to train at the English Institute of Sport. He spent years playing around the country, …