The Bay of Plenty recipient of a Gold Heart scholarship is making good on his grant and has his eyes set on the gold.

Mark Wilson, 15, was awarded $5000 to achieve his goal in table tennis. Named the Most Promising Table Tennis Player in the Paralympics Tournament, he is now heading to Darwin to compete in the Arafura Games on May 7.

Mark's mum Shirley Wilson says Mark has been enduring some 'very full on training. He was doing eight to 13 hours week training around his school work”.

The Arafura Games are a week long, multi-sport competition, held every two years in Darwin. They target developing athletes across the Asia Pacific region and beyond. This year, the games consist of 20 sports and for the third time, incorporate the Oceania Paralympic Championships.

Mark is the only table tennis player in New Zealand with a class six disability. The class system places athletes between six to 10, depending on how able-bodied a standing athlete is. Class six is the least able-bodied.

Shirley says this is an exciting opportunity for Mark to compete against competitors from around Oceania, giving him the opportunity to rank himself amongst other athletes in his class.

The team of 12 athletes are part of 2300 competitors. The athletes range between Mark, who is the youngest and a 72-year-old. Staying in self-contained apartments, this will be Mark's first time staying away from his parents.

'Glenn and I are going over there the weekend when the games begin, but Mark is going on his own with the team so that will be interesting. They have to do cooking and laundry, but there will be someone on hand to help.”