Three gold medals for British team in USA Challenger singles
Gold medals for Will Bayley (men’s class 7), Aaron McKibbin (men’s class 8) and Joshua Stacey (men’s class 9) were the highlights for the British Para table tennis team in the singles events at the ITTF World Para Challenger Spokane in Washington State, USA while Fliss Pickard (women’s class 6) and Bly Twomey (women’s class 7) took silver and Paul Karabardak (men’s class 6) bronze.
Men’s class 7
Will Bayley secured his place in the knockout stages and a bye into the semi-finals as group winner with 3-0 wins against Brazilian teenager Joao Martins Narvais and 2004 Paralympic champion Stephane Messi from France. At 13-13 in the first set against Patrick Vaughan, coach Andrew Rushton called a timeout and it worked as Bayley edged the set 15-13 with a little help from a net cord and went on to beat the Irishman 3-0.
That took him through to the final against Liao Keli, the Tokyo 2021 Paralympic bronze medallist from China. Bayley won their most recent meeting in Beijing in June in five sets and he started well, taking the first set 11-3. Liao took the second 11-3 to level at 1-1 but Bayley took the third 11-4 and clinched a 3-1 win, 11-9 in the fourth with his fourth match point after another timeout call from Rushton.
“Really happy to get the win,” said Bayley. “For me Keli is a world class player – one of the best in class 7 so I’m really pleased with that. It will give me a lot of confidence going into the Elite tournament next week so I’m excited and looking forward to it. It was a big challenge for me today, so I’m pleased to win it.”
Men’s class 8
Aaron McKibbin began with a 3-0 win against Enrique Preza from Mexico and progressed to the semi-finals as group winner with a 3-0 win against 18-year-old American Cole Rothenberger. He recovered from dropping the first set to beat Jean Carlos De Souza Mashki, the Para Pan American silver medallist from Brazil, 3-1 and in the final he faced another Brazilian in Luiz Filipe Guarnieri Manara, the four-time Para Pan American champion. McKibbin recovered from 8-4 down to edge the first set 15-13 but Guarnieri Manara took the next two sets 11-8 11-8 before McKibbin levelled at 2-2 and then dominated the final set to take it 11-4 and win 3-2.
“It’s very nice to take the gold,” he said. “I wouldn’t say that I’ve played well in the singles but I’m happy to show that even when I’m not at my best I could find a way to win. If I’m going to win gold in the Elite next week I for sure need to up my level overall. I think I showed it in patches and in the fifth set of the final I ran away with it, but I need to be at that level in every set as all players can play and I’m only the better player if I’m at my best.”
Men’s class 9
Joshua Stacey won 3-0 against Hsieh Tsung Ying from Chinese Taipei, the silver medallist in the 2024 World Abilitysport Youth Games and finished top of his group after a 3-1 win against Logan Watson, the Para Pan American bronze medallist from the USA. A 3-0 win against Chen Hsien Jue, the World Abilitysport Youth Games champion from Chinese Taipei earned him a place in the final against Tahl Leibovitz, the 13-time Para Pan American champion and 1996 class 7 Paralympic champion from the USA. Stacey edged a tight first set 12-10 and went on to take the match 3-0.
“Overall if I’m being completely honest, I’m not especially happy with how I’ve played,” said Stacey, “but I’m pleased with how I’ve got through matches when things aren’t feeling as good as any athlete would like them to feel. The final was probably the toughest match - Tahl likes to play the game at his own pace and is quite an interesting character, but I felt that I managed that really well. I took my opportunities when they came and managed to win relatively comfortably after the first set. I’m looking forward to the doubles now with Aaron – I think we’ve had a really good season so far and I’d love to carry that on with him.”
Women’s class 6
Women’s class 6 was played in a round-robin format and Fliss Pickard came through a great battle against European bronze medallist Cajsa Stadler, fighting back from 4-0 down in the deciding set to lead 9-4 before clinching it 11-9 to beat the world number 12 from Sweden 3-2. Pickard edged a tight third set 12-10 to lead 17-year-old Jin Yucheng 2-1 and took the deciding set 11-8 after the world number six and Para Asian champion from China had levelled at 2-2. Her final match was to decide the gold medal and Pickard had to be content with silver after 18-year-old Liu Xiaowu from China took their match 3-0 to continue her rapid rise up the world rankings since making her debut in Turkey in April.
“I’ve had a difficult few tournaments, but I took a massive step forwards here,” said Pickard. “I didn’t shy away from those tough opponents and got the silver. We go again next week so I’ve got another opportunity.”
Women’s class 7
Bly Twomey started slowly against Claudia Perez and at 2-0, 9-5 down she looked to be heading for a 3-0 loss but with her now trademark resilience she dug deep and having taken the third set 11-9 she levelled at 2-2 before winning the deciding set 11-8 to beat the former two-time Para Pan American Games champion from Mexico 3-2. Twomey was a 3-1 winner against world number nine Aline Meneses Ferreira, the Para Pan American silver medallist from Brazil and secured her place in the semi-finals as group winner with a 3-0 win against Josie Jackson from the USA.
After taking the first set against Jiang Shan from China Twomey recovered from 10-5 down in the second to take it 12-10 and although Jiang took the third set Twomey secured a 3-1 win, 11-7 in the fourth. She faced Lethicia Lacerda in the final, having beaten the world number one from Brazil 3-0 in Thailand last month. Twomey raced into a 7-1 lead in the first set but Lacerda levelled at 7-7 and went on to take the set 11-9. The Brazilian took the second 11-9 and although Twomey fought back to take the third 11-5 Lacerda took the fourth 11-9 for a 3-1 win.
“I had some close matches and awkward players to play against,” said Twomey, “so I’m happy to get through it. I knew the final could go either way, but I felt I knew her game and that could give me the edge. I felt that in Thailand I had more control within the match but she played a very good game today and deserves the gold. Hopefully I get to play her again in the Elite as I believe I can give her a much harder and better match but I’m very pleased with silver.”
Men’s class 6
Paul Karabardak was a 3-0 winner against David Cucaita Vargas from Colombia and then twice came back to level against 17-year-old Samuel Altshuler before the American world number eight took the deciding set 11-6 to win 3-2. Karabardak progressed to the knockout stages after receiving a walkover against Michael Godines from the USA and lost his semi-final 3-0 to old rival Bobi Simion, the world number three and former European silver medallist from Romania.
“I’m pleased to have won bronze,” said Karabardak. “I felt that I played well in the group, especially against Sam but he played really consistently and I struggled to break him down and ran out of steam in the fifth set. I struggled against Bobi in the semi, but he played really well which made it difficult but overall, I’m pleased. There are plenty of positives to take into the Elite next week so hopefully with a bit of rest I can get my energy back and play well.”
Women’s class 8-9
Lowri Hurd lost 3-1 to class 9 world number five Danielle Rauen, the Para Pan American champion from Brazil and then received a walkover against Liu Meng, the 2016 Paralympic champion from China. Hurd did not progress from her group after a 3-1 loss to the in-form class 8 world number five Zu Mingyu from the USA, gold medallist in Brazil, Chile and Chinese Taipei this year.
The tournament continues with the doubles events that conclude on Sunday.