Bayley and Bishop take doubles bronze in Slovenia
Will Bayley and Theo Bishop took bronze in the men’s class 14 doubles on the final day of the ITTF World Para Challenger Lasko in Slovenia today. In a strong tournament against some of the best doubles teams in the world there were also signs of promise from some new British combinations that will gain further experience in the ITTF World Para Elite Lasko tournament that starts on Monday.
Men’s class 14
In their first match since taking silver in the European Championships last November Will Bayley and Theo Bishop fought back from 6-2 down against Peng Weinan and Chen Chao to take the third set 13-11 and lead 2-1, before taking the deciding set 11-7 after the Para Asian Championships bronze medallists from China had levelled the match at 2-2. They had to fight hard again in their second match to come back from 2-1 down against Marcin Zielinski and Piotr Manturz, taking the fourth set 11-7 to level at 2-2 before edging the deciding set 14-12 to beat the European Paralympic Youth Games champions from Poland 3-2.
That took them through to the knockout stages and as group winners they received a round of 16 bye into the quarterfinals. After losing a tight first set 12-10 Bayley and Bishop levelled at 1-1 against Luka Trtnik from Slovenia and Ben Despineux from Belgium and went on to win 3-1.
They never really got going in the semi-final against Sam Gustaffson and Jonas Hansson and the Swedish pair, gold medallists in Italy and Chile already this year were too strong today in a 3-0 win.
“I think we could have done a lot better,” said a disappointed Bayley. “I didn’t really get going and I was frustrated with myself. I wasn’t brilliant mentally today and I think I let myself down at times. Mentality is my strength but sometimes it’s my weakness and I didn’t really come in with the right frame of mind to play my best and support Theo.
“To be honest we’ve had an amazing couple of years playing together – we’ve achieved a lot and got to a European final and won the Elite in America last year. We’re capable of a lot more and that’s down to me being more positive and encouraging and a better team player. I think I let the team down today, but I know I’ll be back in the Elite with a better attitude, and I can only learn from this disappointment. I’ll reflect on it tonight and think about how I can be a better player and the best teammate that I can be.”
“Getting to the semi of a Challenger is a solid performance,” said Bishop, “but if I’m honest through the whole tournament we’ve not played to the level that we can. I think when we do bring that level out – hopefully in the Elite next week – we’re going to cause a lot more issues for a lot more teams. Semi-final is a strong start but at best we were at 50% and we can do a lot more going forward. It’s nice having another tournament to get straight back into it because there are massive areas as a team we can improve on and in the next few days when we play again, I think you’ll see a much stronger team.”
Women’s class 14
Playing in their first tournament together since the European Championships in 2023 Fliss Pickard and Grace Williams fought back from 2-1 down to beat Kim Seongok and Yang Bok Soon from Korea Republic 11-9 in the deciding set. They lost a tight first set to Katarzyna Marszal and Magdalena Sutkowska Pawlasek 13-11 and having levelled at 1-1 they lost the third 11-6 and saved four match points in the fourth before the Polish pair clinched it 15-13 to win 3-1.
Pickard and Williams led Wang Rui and Jiang Shan 2-0 in their final group match, but the Chinese pair came back to level at 2-2 and force a deciding set. The GB pair led 8-3 but Wang and Jiang won eight consecutive points to lead 10-8 before Pickard and Williams saved two match points and clinched the set 12-10 and the match 3-2.
That sent them through to the quarterfinals and at 1-0, 7-1 they appeared to be in control against Lethicia Lacerda and Aline Meneses Ferreira, but momentum can change so quickly in table tennis, especially in doubles, and the Para Pan American Championships bronze medallists from Brazil took the second set 11-9 and went on to win 3-1.
Men’s class 18
Aaron McKibbin and Joshua Stacey were 3-0 winners against Lucas Didier and Julien Cigolotti from France and were then involved in a great battle with Paralympic bronze medallists Zhao Shuai and Lian Hao. The GB pair produced some great play to lead 2-1 and after the Para Asian champions from China had levelled at 2-2, McKibbin and Stacey fought their way back from 8-4 down to 8-8 in the deciding set before Zhao and Lian took it 13-11 on their third match point to win 3-2.
McKibbin and Stacey progressed to the knockout stages as group runners-up and although they started well in their round of 16 match, taking the first set against Chalermpong Punpoo and Bunpot Sillapakong 11-6, mistakes started to creep in as the 2023 Asian Para Games bronze medallists from Thailand changed tactics and came back strongly to win 3-1.
Ryan Henry and Shae Thakker won the first set against Ho Ka Sing and Wong Chi Yin 12-10 and after the Para Asian Championships bronze medallists from Hong Kong China had levelled at 1-1, the GB pair led 10-8 in the third, but Ho and Wong edged it 12-10 and went on to win 3-1. Henry and Thakker did not progress after a 3-0 loss to Chalermpong Punpoo and Bunpot Sillapakong.
Men’s class 4
Tom Matthews and Chris Ryan had a tough first match against Jan Riapos and Peter Lovas and were beaten 3-0 by the Paralympic and European champions from Slovakia. They did not progress after a 3-0 loss to Francois Geuljans and Alan Papirer from France.
Men’s class 8
After a walkover in their first match following the withdrawal of Krszysztof Zylka and Maciej Nalepka from Poland, Jack Hunter-Spivey and Neil Robinson started well against Colin Judge and Kevin O’Callaghan, taking the first set 11-8. However, they lost the second 11-9 and the third 12-10 before the Irish pair secured a 3-1 win, 11-7 in the fourth. Hunter-Spivey and Robinson did not progress after a 3-0 loss to Yuttajak Glinbanchuen and Wanchai Chaiwut, the 2023 Asian Para Games gold medallists from Thailand.
Women’s class 20
Lowri Hurd and Jeanelly Scarlett Gongora Magana, the class 10 World number 15 from Mexico were beaten 3-1 by Zsofia Arloy and Alexa Szvitacs from Hungary and did not progress after a 3-0 loss to Bruna Alexandre from Brazil and Yang Qian from Australia.
Mixed class 7
Playing in only their second tournament together Neil Robinson and Megan Shackleton made a great start against Florian Merrien and Flora Vautier, taking the first set 11-8 before the Paralympic and European bronze medallists from France took a close second set 11-9 to level and went on to win 3-1. After a slow start in their second group match Robinson and Shackleton combined well to beat Vasyl Petruniv from Ukraine and Lisa Di Toro from Australia 3-1 and progress through to the round of 16 where they faced Shi Yanping and Huang Zhirui from China. The first two sets were very close, and Robinson and Shackleton took the second to level at 1-1 before the Chinese pair went on to win 3-1.