Paralympian Melissa Tapper is on the verge of earning an Olympic place ©Getty Images

Melissa Tapper is on the verge of becoming the first Australian to compete at both an Olympics and Paralympics after reaching the final stage of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Oceania Championships in Bendigo.

The 26-year-old appeared at the London 2012 Paralympics and narrowly missed out on a bronze medal, losing in the third/fourth place play-off to China's Lei Fan in the class ten women's singles.

She also made Australian Commonwealth Games history after becoming the first to qualify for the able-bodied squad at Glasgow 2014.

Tapper, who has Erb's palsy which has caused paralysis in her right arm, was beaten 11-3, 11-8, 9-11,11-4,12-10 today by compatriot Jian Fang Lay in the final of Oceania's continental event.

But that was still enough to send her through to the Olympic qualification round tomorrow, where she will battle with Jian and competitors from Fiji and Tuvalu for three Olympic spots in Rio.

Jian Fang Lay won the women's Oceania title in Bendigo and will also play in the Rio qualification round
Jian Fang Lay won the women's Oceania title in Bendigo and will also play in the Rio qualification round ©Getty Images

Only 12 athletes have ever appeared at an Olympics and Paralympics and Poland's Natalia Partyka is the only person to achieve the feat in table tennis.

Tomorrow's action at Bendigo's Ulumbarra Theatre will feature a series of "do or die" matches where players could quality for Rio or have their hopes ended.

"I haven't begun to think about what it would mean to compete at both the Olympics and the Paralympics," said Tapper.

"I'm definitely playing well."

In the men's tournament, Xin Chris Yan beat David Powell 11-5,11-5, 9-11,11-7, 7-11,17-19,12-10 in an all Australian final.    

Both players will play in the men's Rio 2016 qualifier tomorrow.