Paul Karabardak
Home town: Swansea
Lives: Swansea
TT Class: 6
Current world ranking: 13
International debut: 2001, Frankfurt
Major titles: European team champion 2017/2019; World doubles champion 2022
Paul’s story:
Welshman Paul was a keen footballer until he suffered a massive stroke at the age of ten and was subsequently introduced to table tennis at a local disabled youth club.
“As I could no longer play football, I felt lost without sport and bored with nothing to do,” he recalls. "My mum found out about a club for disabled people called Friends of the Young Disabled. One day I started playing table tennis and just loved it. I enjoy table tennis because it's great fun, really challenging mentally and physically and it is a sport anyone can enjoy.”
Not only did table tennis provide him with a new sport but it also proved to be an important part of his rehabilitation.
“A big thing for my recovery was weight-bearing exercise to get weight through my bad leg so to be on my feet playing table tennis - and to be stepping on to my left leg and putting a lot of weight through it - definitely got my legs better. I was playing three times a week so physically it played a big part in my recovery and in getting me as fit and ambulant as I could be after suffering a stroke.
Within two years Paul was playing for the local Swansea League and progressed through the leagues before being selected to play for the GB Para Table Tennis Team at the age of 16 in the European Championships, winning a team bronze medal. Someone who influenced Karabardak in the early stages of his career was Paralympic gold medallist and fellow Welshman Neil Robinson, now a coach with the British team.
“Being such a fantastic player himself Neil has been great for me to look up to,” he said, “and made me want to be as good as I can, so I was lucky to have him around.”
Having just missed out on qualification for the Paralympic Games in Athens 2004, Paul achieved his ambition of competing in a Paralympics in Beijing four years later and also competed in London 2012. He won team medals with Will Bayley at World and European level as a class 7 athlete and after being reclassified as a class 6 in 2015 he won European singles bronze in 2015, European team gold in 2017 and 2019 and World team bronze in 2017.
In 2021 Paul won his first Paralympic medals at his fourth Paralympic Games, taking bronze in the men’s class 6 singles and then combining with old team partner Will Bayley to take silver in the men’s class 6-7 team event. They reached the final with a dramatic and emotional win against Spain in the semi-finals when Paul beat the class 6 World number one Alvaro Valera for the first time.
“I don’t think I could have dreamt of two medals,” he said. “Coming into it I just wanted to play well in the singles and try my best and try to get out of the group which I’d never done before at a Paralympics. I didn’t know if I would ever get a Paralympic medal because you just don’t know if time is running out so to win two medals is really special and I never thought I could have done that before the Games started.”
In 2022 he became World champion for the first time, taking gold in the men’s class 14 doubles with Billy Shilton.
“Obviously Tokyo was really special,” said Paul, “but to be World champion here is one of the best things I’ve ever won and to do it with such a great doubles player like Billy who is such a good friend makes it even more special. I’m not sure there are many World champions who come from Swansea so I think they will be really proud and it is going to be really special for the city as well.”
Paul won gold in the men’s class 6 singles at the Polish Open in 2023 but was disappointed to lose in the last 16 at the European Championships in Sheffield where he and Billy were also unable to reproduce their best form in the doubles, losing in the quarterfinals.
In 2024 Paul qualified for his fifth Paralympic Games and won his third Paralympic medal after taking bronze in the men’s class 14 doubles with Billy Shilton. He was unlucky to be drawn against the World number one Peter Rosenmeier in the last 16 of the men’s class 6 singles and the two-time former World and Paralympic champion from Denmark won a high-quality match 3-0.
“I think I played possibly as well as I could have today,” said Paul. “He’s a fantastic player - he is probably one of the best class 6’s of all time not just of this era and I’m just really pleased to have battled the way I did and given a good performance. I’m over the moon with the bronze medal in the doubles. I think it was superb and that was the aim - to get a medal in the doubles and have the opportunity to battle for a medal in the singles where I knew I had a chance, but it just wasn’t to be.”
Swansea City AFC fan Paul is in no doubt what sport brings to his life. “It gives you a chance to see the world, make amazing friends and be the absolute best you can be. Our disability is the shackles and chains that imprison us; sport is what sets us free.”
2024 Results:
Paralympic Games, Paris – L16, men’s singles (class 6); bronze, men’s doubles (class 14)
Czech Open – QF, men’s singles (class 6); gold, men’s doubles (class 14)
Slovenia Open – L16, men’s singles (class 6); bronze, men’s doubles (class 14)
Polish Open – QF, men’s singles
Lignano Masters Para Open, Italy – group stages, men’s singles (class 6); bronze, men’s doubles (class 14)
US Open – bronze, men’s singles (class 6); silver, men’s doubles (class 14)
2023 Results:
European Championships, Sheffield, UK – L16, men’s singles (class 6); QF, men’s doubles (class 14)
Czech Para Open – QF, men’s singles (class 6); gold, men’s doubles (class 14)
Polish Open – gold, men’s singles (class 6); bronze, men’s doubles (class 14)
Slovenia Open – L16, men’s singles (class 6); L16, men’s doubles (class 14)
2022 Results:World Championships, Spain – L16, men’s singles (class 6); gold, men’s doubles (class 14)
Finland Open – silver, men’s singles (class 6); silver, men’s doubles (class 14)
Argentina Para Copa Tango – gold, men’s singles (class 6); bronze, men’s doubles (class MD14)
Czech Open – bronze, men’s singles (class 6); gold, men’s doubles (class MD14)
2021 Results:
Paralympic Games, Tokyo – bronze, men’s singles (class 6); silver, men’s teams (class 6-7)
2019 Results:
Dutch Open – silver, men’s singles (class 6)
European Championships, Sweden – gold, men’s teams (class 6); QF, men’s singles (class 6)
Slovenia Open – silver, men’s singles (class 6); QF, men’s teams (class 6)
Lignano Master Open, Italy – QF, men’s singles (class 6); gold, men’s teams (class 6)
2018 Results
World Championships, Slovenia – group stages, men’s singles (class 6)
Slovenian Open – silver, men’s teams (class 6); QF, men’s singles (class 6)
British Championships – gold, men’s singles (class 6)
Lignano Master Open, Italy – silver, men’s singles (class 6); bronze, men’s teams (class 6)
2017 Results:
Belgian Open – gold, men’s singles (class 6)
European Championships, Lasko, Slovenia – gold, men’s teams (class 6); group stages, men’s singles (class 6)
Bayreuth Open, Germany – bronze, men’s teams (class 6); QF, men’s singles (class 6)
World Team Championships, Slovakia – bronze, men’s class 6
Lignano Master Open, Italy – gold, men’s singles (class 6)
2016 Results:
Paralympic Games, Rio de Janeiro - group stages, men’s singles (class 6)
Slovenia Open - bronze, men’s teams (class 6); last 16, men’s singles (class 6)
British Championships – gold, men’s singles (class 6)
Lignano Master Open, Italy - bronze, men’s singles (class 6); silver, men’s teams (class 6)
2015 Results:
European Championships, Vejle, Denmark - bronze, men’s singles (class 6); silver, men’s teams (class 6)
Slovakia Open - QF men’s singles (class 6); QF men’s teams (class 6)
Slovenia Open - gold, men’s singles (class 6); QF men’s teams (class 6)
Lignano Master Open, Italy - silver, men’s singles (class 6); 4th men’s teams (class 6)
Hungarian Open - gold, men’s singles (class 6); gold, men’s teams (class 6-7)
2014 Results:
World Championships, Beijing, China - bronze medal, men’s teams (class 6-7); group stages, men’s singles (class 7)
Slovakia Open - silver, men’s teams (class 7); QF men’s singles (class 7)
Slovenia Open - gold, men’s teams (class 7); last 16 men’s singles (class 7)
Lignano Master Open, Italy - silver, men’s teams (class 6-7); group stages, men’s singles (class 7);
Career Highlights:
2022: World Championships, Spain – gold, men’s doubles (class 14)
Argentina Para Copa Tango – gold, men’s singles (class 6)
2021: Paralympic Games, Tokyo – bronze, men’s singles (class 6); silver, men’s teams (class 6-7)
2019: Dutch Open – silver, men’s singles (class 6)
European Championships, Sweden – gold, men’s teams (class 6); QF, men’s singles (class 6)
Slovenia Open – silver, men’s singles (class 6)
2018: British Championships – gold, men’s singles (class 6)
Lignano Master Open, Italy – silver, men’s singles (class 6)
2017: Belgian Open – gold, men’s singles (class 6)
European Championships, Lasko, Slovenia – gold, men’s teams (class 6)
World Team Championships, Slovakia – bronze, men’s class 6
2015: European Championships, Vejle, Denmark - bronze, men’s singles (class 6); silver, men’s teams (class 6)
Slovenia Open - gold, men’s singles (class 6)
Hungarian Open - gold, men’s singles (class 6); gold, men’s teams (class 6-7)
2014: World Championships, Beijing, China - bronze medal, men’s teams (class 6-7)
Slovenia Open - gold, men’s teams (class 7)
2013: US Open, San Diego - gold, men’s singles (class 7); gold, men’s teams (class 6-7)
European Championships, Lignano, Italy - bronze, men’s teams (class 7)
2011: European Championships, Split, Croatia - silver, men’s teams (class 7)
2009: European Championships, Genoa, Italy - bronze, men’s singles (class 7)
2001: European Championships, Frankfurt, Germany - bronze, men’s teams (class 7)