It is fantastic news that the Paralympic Movement and Paralympic Sport will include athletes with Intellectual impairments at the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

As we have just celebrated 50 years following the Opening Ceremony of the Rome Games in 1960, the inclusion of athletes from a wide variety of backgrounds continues to reach new and exciting horizons.

The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) and the International Sports Federation for Persons with an Intellectual Disability (INAS-FID) have certainly set the stage for more to come.

I would like to extend my congratulations therefore to the ITTF Executive Committee and to INAS-FID. I would also like to thank Leuven University in Belgium, where much of the work on this development took place.

And along the same lines, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) remains a committed partner to ITTF to further elaborate on the full inclusion of athletes with Intellectual impairments in the Paralympic Movement.

Together with the IPC, both ITTF and INAS-FID have put in a lot of hard work into delivering this project by individuals and groups. This is proof of the successful partnership between the IPC members and external parties.

Without a doubt, I applaud this result in the relatively short time frame since the decision to re-include athletes with Intellectual impairments at the IPC General Assembly in November 2009.

I can say that it is wonderful to see that table tennis is the first Paralympic Sport to confirm the participation of athletes with Intellectual Impairments at London 2012, and my hope is that other sports, including athletics and swimming will follow suit.

We will see you in London in less than two years.

Sir Philip Craven is the President of the International Paralympic Committee. He represented Britain in five consecutive Paralympic Games between 1972 and 1988, competing in athletics, basketball and swimming