Page and Thomson take doubles bronze at European Para Youth Games

Bailey Page and Dan Thomson added a bronze medal in the men’s class 14 doubles to the bronze medals they won in singles on the final day of competition in the seventh European Para Youth Games in Istanbul, Turkey.

Page and Thomson were 3-1 winners against Mario Joao Bastardo and Eurico Andre Silva from Portugal and then were just edged out in a close match against Clement Gambart and Clement Latorre from France, losing the deciding set 12-10 having twice come back to level. That took them through to the semi-finals as group runners-up and after losing a tight first set 13-11 they were beaten 3-0 by the top seeds from Poland Marcin Zielinski and Piotr Manturz.

“Today was a tough test and I thought we played really well,” said 18-year-old Page. “We fought for every ball, kept each other positive and we always tried to implement the right tactics. Overall, the tournament has been a great one for me personally and it feels good to have won two medals at my first European Youth Games. Now it’s on to Kazakhstan and I hope to be better at things I struggled with here.”

“I’m very pleased with the tournament overall,” said Thomson, “and I’ve won medals in both singles and doubles which is definitely a positive. Today was a difficult task against a very strong doubles team – not just in the U23s but in the world men’s game – but I think Bailey and I played well. We had set points in the first set and then after that I think maybe their level was too high for us. I’m definitely taking away things to work on for future tournaments and to implement in training in Sheffield.”

In men’s class 18 Max Flint teamed up with Ireland’s Sean Geoghegan and they lost 3-2 to the Spanish/Irish partnership of Kevin Valls Carrasco and Sam Brennan, 11-5 in the fifth having levelled at 2-2. They lost a tight first set 15-13 to Daniel Oanta from Romania and Flip Prchlik from Czechia and although they levelled at 1-1, they did not progress after Oanta and Prchlik took the third 11-7 and secured a 3-1 win, 12-10 in the fourth.

“Having the opportunity to compete in a multi-sport event was very enjoyable,” said Flint. “I had a lot of fun watching the other sports when I had some free time, especially the GB squad in the Para judo. It was also great to meet some new people and get to know a bit more about their sports. Overall, it was a memorable experience that I will treasure as I continue my career.”