Paris 2024 Flash Quotes: Para Table Tennis

Comments from ParalympicsGB para table tennis players following the day’s first session.

Billy Shilton and Paul Karabardak are through to the quarter-finals of the Class 14 men’s doubles tomorrow after beating French pair Kévin Dourbecker and Stephane Messi 11-8, 12-10, 11-4.

Will Bayley and Martin Perry are also through to the MD14 quarter-finals tomorrow after winning 11-9, 11-4, 11-9 over German pair Bjorn Schnake and Thomas Rau.

Billy Shilton

Sport: Para Table Tennis, Men’s Doubles Class 14

Age: 25

Hometown: Stonehead, Gloucestershire

“The atmosphere was amazing. I came in a little bit before our match and I just wanted to listen to the crowd, just to get a feel for the noise and how loud it was. It was louder in the stands than on the court but it was amazing. To play in front of the French crowd against French opposition was really difficult but I think the way we handled it was superb and I’m really, really happy.

“We were just trying to be as consistent as possible early in the match. They play quite safe, they don’t play many crazy shots so that was the tactic going in. We were prepared for that and I think we executed the game plan really well so I’m buzzing.”

Paul Karabardak

Sport: Para Table Tennis, Men’s Doubles Class 14

Age: 38

Hometown: Swansea

“The atmosphere was crazy, the French fans were really loud. I think it was good from us to go out and deliver that performance as it made them quiet which made it a bit easier. I’ve never played in front of such a passionate fanbase as they are here today which I think is really good for table tennis.

“We’re really happy. We started slowly but we grew into the game. We didn’t hit the heights that maybe we can but we still played really well and we did enough to win the match quite comfortably which is really pleasing.”

Will Bayley

Sport: Para Table Tennis, Men’s Doubles Class 14

Age: 36

Hometown: Tunbridge Wells

“The atmosphere reminds me of London 2012. I was sitting in the stands this morning watching the girls play and it was special. I was just thinking to myself ‘I can’t wait to get out there’ and it felt special to be out there. Tomorrow will feel even more special, playing the best doubles team the French have put out in this competition [the number two seeds]. That’s going to be really exciting and I can’t wait for that.

“I’m so happy with the way we played. We said beforehand we just needed to do what we do and do the basics we’d be hard to beat. We didn’t overcomplicate it and that’s what we do, we try to get the win without any dramas. We did well to stay on task and we played really well.”

Martin Perry

Sport: Para Table Tennis, Men’s Doubles Class 14

Age: 30

Hometown: Dumbarton

“It was amazing. Walking out I was a bit nervous as there’s a lot of fans out there, but I turned to Will and he said ‘come on you can do this, you’ve got this’ and it just filled me with belief. I made a couple of mistakes early on and Will just said: ‘don’t worry about it, you’ve got this, you’ve got the next ball’. To have Will next to me, filling me with that confidence and knowing that he believes in me, meant that after that I felt like I was standing ten feet tall. We fought for every ball and we played some good stuff. To finally get a match at the Paralympic Games means so much to me.”