Newly crowned European Women’s Class 7 Champion, Bly Twomey, completed a successful ITTF European Para Table Tennis Championships in Helsingborg, Sweden with gold in the Mixed Doubles Class 14 with Will Bayley and bronze in the Women’s Doubles Class 14 with Fliss Pickard. Bayley also took silver with Theo Bishop in the men’s doubles class 14.
Mixed class 14
Will Bayley and 15-year-old Bly Twomey (pictured above) were No. 1 here after a successful season, with gold medals in Slovenia and the US. The combination of Bayley’s intensity and Twomey’s youthful exuberance is irresistible and they made a great start to the final, winning the first set 11-4 against Clement Berthier & Morgen Caillaud.
The French pair, bronze medalists two years ago, led 9-6 in the second, but Bayley & Twomey leveled at 9-9 and took the set 11-9 before recording a comprehensive 3-0 victory, and 11-5 in the third.
“It was a good match,” Bayley said. “I was disappointed to lose the doubles with Theo (Bishop) and I was quite emotional before the match thinking about Gorazd and it was difficult to play but we just did our best to win.
“Bly always tells me to have fun and she carried me. The first point we played she hit it into Berthier and I thought, ‘Yeah, we’re in a good place here’. She led the way and we gained confidence together and by the last set we were flowing and I was actually smiling, which means a big change for me.”
Bayley has had a major influence on Twomey’s career since the pair first met at the Brighton Table Tennis Club in 2021.
“Winning a European title with Bly means everything to me,” he said. “I saw her for the first time when I came back from Tokyo and she asked me if I wanted a game. She hit the ball straight past me and I thought ‘this girl is going to be good’.
“She even surprised me with how good she is. She’s a great person and she puts that first – she even teaches me things. She teaches me to have fun playing table tennis, which is new to me.”
“The relationship is constantly changing because she is now a world-class player and I am so proud of her and what she has achieved. She will be the best player in the world and what an inspiration that will be.”
Twomey has made astonishing progress in four years and her smiling demeanor on the pitch masks a fierce competitiveness close to Bayley’s.
“From the beginning, Will has been my inspiration,” she said, “and it’s great to play with such a great player and the world number one. I couldn’t ask to play with a better player.”
“If someone had told me at the beginning of this season that I would win two golds and one bronze at the European Championships, I wouldn’t have thought that would happen. I knew that Will and I might be able to win gold, but I didn’t expect gold in singles at such a young age.”
“I couldn’t have done it without British Para Table Tennis and Brighton Table Tennis Club. I just want to keep having fun and try to reach the Paralympic final in LA.”
Bayley paid tribute to the late British Para Table Tennis Performance Director Gorazd Vecko, who passed away last month.
“I just want to thank Gorazd’s family and everyone at home for the support and messages,” he said. “As a team we did it for Gorazd. We fought for every point and never gave up. He was with us, and he will be with us in LA.”
Men’s class 14
Will Bayley and Theo Bishop took on defending champions Clement Berthier and Esteban Herrault and they had chances at 10-7 to take the first set before the world and Paralympic bronze medalists and the world number 2 pair from France won 11-9. Bayley & Bishop fought hard, but Class 8 European champion Berthier began to dominate with his powerful forehand and after winning the second set 11-7, the French duo took the third 11-8 and the match 3-0.
“I actually felt very confident going into the game that we could win,” Bayley said, “and I never felt like we were out of the game, but Berthier is a very good player and very strong. I felt like we had the ability to stop him, but we have to stick to a game plan.”
“I don’t mind losing by taking away that part of his game, but I think we lost by letting him play the way he can play and that was the most worrying thing about today.
“We have to try and find a way to stop him attacking everything and that’s just tactics and making sure we are brave and take risks sometimes to stop him from doing that. It’s easier said than done – they do that against a lot of teams so it’s something we can work on.”
“I’m very proud of what Theo and I have achieved. We fought back from a defeat against Denmark and we got a very good win against JP and Paredis, who are a very good 14-point team and can beat anyone on their day.
“Today we had really good chances in the first set at 10-7 and 4-1 in the second, so we are there or close to that and that’s a good thing. It’s just a shame that we couldn’t perform as much as I think we can in the final. I think we can play a lot better than that, so that’s frustrating.”
Participating in his first major final The 22-year-old Bishop’s disappointment at his loss showed the extent of his ambition.
“I’m learning a lot,” he said. “Every time I come to a tournament and step onto the court, I think I’m getting a little better. This was a very difficult match, both on the table and mentally afterwards. I don’t think I played nearly as well as I can.”
“I agree with Will that if we play the right way and stop Berthier from controlling the game, we can definitely win, but I don’t think Will had enough backup today to prevent that, so it really pains me.
“As a pair, we can win anything. I just have to catch up and pull my weight. I’ve had a good season, but I don’t think it’s anything special. It’s the result of what I’ve been doing for the last four or five years, just fighting every day. I know if I keep working like that, I can go further and further. Next week, hopefully I can take the emotion out of it and work on what I need to work on to get better.”
“To be honest, if I started this week I would have taken two medals. I’m sure when I get home and relax and look back at what I’ve done, I’ll be very proud and happy. I just want to do it again and go even further next time.”
Women’s class 14
Bly Twomey & Fliss Pickard took a 5-0 lead to take the first set 11-8 against Juliane Wolf & Stephanie Grebe, but as Class 8 European champion Wolf used her power to great effect, the World and Paralympic silver medalists from Germany came back to take the next two 11-5 and although Twomey and Pickard continued to battle, they lost the fourth 11-9 and the match 3-1.
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