A MARRIED couple have been left devastated on the eve of their participation at the Paralympic Games after their “one-in-a-million” coach died.

But wheelchair table tennis players Scott and Claire Robertson, of Saltney, are determined to honour the memory of Stefan Trofan by going for gold in Beijing.

Mr Trofan lost his six-month battle with cancer of the oesophagus last Thursday (August 21), three days before the Great Britain table tennis team jetted out to Hong Kong for a training camp in advance of the Games.

The 46-year-old, from Sheffield, was a former doubles partner of Scott’s and won silver medals at the 2000 and 2004 Paralympics before becoming a GB elite coach.

Scott, 32, who has brittle bones, said: “We always knew it was going to happen but we were hoping he would still be with us until we got back from Beijing.

“The players and coaches have spoken about it and we all agree we can’t let it affect our performance. Stefan would be the first one to say, ‘stop your crying, train hard and go and win a medal’.

“We’ve got to use this heartbreaking news for the good and use how we remember him as our inspiration. He will be in our hearts and we are determined to bring back more medals than the targets we’ve been set.

“He was one-in-a-million.”

The China extravaganza, which gets under way on September 6, will be the third time Scott, who works as an administration assistant for Cheshire County Council in their education personnel department, will have competed at a Paralympics after Athens and Sydney.

But it will be the first time 33-year-old Claire, originally from South Wales, has taken part on the greatest sporting stage of all.

Claire said: “We spoke to Stef’s wife after we found it and it was really, really upsetting. His funeral is on September 2 and we fly into Beijing the following day having had 10 days training in Hong Kong. It’s going to be hard.

“Stef was a one-in-a-million coach and a star in everybody’s eyes. We really want to do well for him at the Games.”

Scott met Claire at the 1993 World Junior Games, with their selection for Beijing marking their second anniversary.