World champions Karabardak and Shilton face French challenge in bid for Paralympic title in Paris
The draw for the Paralympic doubles events that start in Paris on Thursday has thrown up some tough challenges for the table tennis team representing Paralympics GB.
Men’s class 14 World champions Paul Karabardak and Billy Shilton start their bid for the Paralympic title in the last 16 against the class 7 French pair of Kevin Dourbecker and Stephane Messi while Will Bayley and Martin Perry will face Thomas Rau and Bjoern Schnake from Germany.
Aaron McKibbin and Joshua Stacey have a first-round bye in men’s class 18 and face class 8 European bronze medallist Maksym Chudzicki and class 10 World number five Igor Misztal from Poland in the last 16. In men’s class 4 Rob Davies and Tom Matthews have a last 16 bye but face a tough quarterfinal against the number one seeds Jang Yeongjin and Park Sung Joo from Korea Republic.
Women’s class 14 starts with quarterfinals and Fliss Pickard and 14-year-old Bly Twomey will play Nora Korneliussen and Jenny Slettum from Norway with the winners guaranteed a medal.
In mixed class 17 Joshua Stacey and Bly Twomey play Kayode Alabi and Faith Obazuaye from Nigeria in their first-round match while in mixed class 4 Tom Matthews and Megan Shackleton face Chen Junjian and Lisa Di Toro from Australia in their first-round match.
The table tennis events in Paris will take place from August 29-September 7 at the South Paris Arena 4.
The full Para table tennis team that will compete for ParalympicsGB in Paris is:
Will Bayley, 36, Tunbridge Wells/Brighton
Events – men’s class 7 singles, men’s class 14 doubles (with Martin Perry)
Paralympic record – Beijing 2008, London 2012 (silver, men’s class 7 singles; bronze, men’s class 6-8 teams), Rio 2016 (gold, men’s class 7 singles; bronze, men’s class 6-8 teams), Tokyo 2020 (silver, men’s class 7 singles; silver, men’s class 6-7 teams)
Rob Davies, 39, Brecon
Events – men’s class 1 singles, men’s class 4 doubles (with Tom Matthews)
Paralympic record – London 2012, Rio 2016 (gold, men’s class 1 singles)
Paul Karabardak, 38, Swansea
Events – men’s class 6 singles, men’s class 14 doubles (with Billy Shilton)
Paralympic record – Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020 (bronze, men’s class 6 singles; silver, men’s class 6-7 teams)
Tom Matthews, 31, Aberdare
Events – men’s class 1 singles, men’s class 4 doubles (with Rob Davies), mixed class 7 doubles (with Megan Shackleton)
Paralympic record – Tokyo 2020 (bronze, men’s class 1 singles)
Aaron McKibbin, 32, London (Wandsworth)/Epsom
Events – men’s class 8 singles, men’s class 18 doubles (with Joshua Stacey)
Paralympic record – London 2012 (bronze, men’s class 6-8 teams), Rio 2016 (bronze, men’s class 6-8 teams), Tokyo 2020 (bronze, men’s class 8 teams)
Martin Perry, 29, Paisley/Dumbarton
Events – men’s class 6 singles, men’s class 14 doubles (with Will Bayley)
Paralympic record – debut in Paris
Fliss Pickard, 29, Burnley/Sheffield
Events – women’s class 6 singles, women’s class 14 doubles (with Bly Twomey)
Paralympic record – debut in Paris
Megan Shackleton, 24, Todmorden/Sheffield
Events – women’s class 4 singles, mixed class 7 doubles (with Tom Matthews)
Paralympic record – Tokyo 2020 (bronze, women’s class 4-5 teams)
Billy Shilton, 25, Stonehouse (Gloucester)/Sheffield
Events – men’s class 8 singles, men’s class 14 doubles (with Paul Karabardak)
Paralympic record – Tokyo 2020 (bronze, men’s class 8 teams)
Joshua Stacey, 24, Cardiff/Sheffield
Events – men’s class 9 singles, men’s class 18 doubles (with Aaron McKibbin), mixed class 17 doubles (with Bly Twomey)
Paralympic record – Tokyo 2020
Bly Twomey, 14, Brighton
Events – women’s class 7 singles, women’s class 14 doubles (with Fliss Pickard), mixed class 17 doubles (with Joshua Stacey)
Paralympic record – debut in Paris