CRAIG HOWIESON is delighted he will be going to the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games — but said today that he fears he will be left counting the cost of funding cuts.

The 27-year-old was named in the Team Scotland squad which will depart for Australia in early April.

Yet the Edinburgh player remains bitter about Sport Scotland’s decision to withdraw financial backing for table tennis competitors in the wake of the Glasgow Games four years ago.

Howieson — who is preparing for his third Commonwealth appearance — and teammates Gavin Rumgay and Colin Dalgleish are even having to fund their own trip to Dusseldorf for a training camp in the build-up to going down under.

The Edinburgh PE teacher said the lack of support had already put his medal bid on the back foot.

The Scottish No 2, who will compete in the singles and team events and possibly the doubles alongside Rumgay, said: “We’ve had £0 invested in us in terms of performance since the games in Glasgow.

“For the last four years we’ve had to pay our own way to everything or find sponsors to help out.

“Commonwealth Games Scotland are very supportive and will pay for us to go to Australia but we’ll have to find the money ourselves for the Germany trip.

“You’ll be hard pushed to find any other Scottish athlete going to the Gold Coast who is paying for a training camp themselves.

“I could go on for hours about how frustrating that is. Between the age of 18 and 20 I made huge progress and had some really encouraging results in the lead up to the Delhi Games.

“But when we came back they took the funding away from us.

“In 2012 we got funding again and by 2014 my results were improving again as we’d had 18 months of good training.

“But three months after Glasgow they took our funding away again. It feels like we’re being treated with contempt.”