British Para Table Tennis Pathway Atleten Max Flint (herenklasse 10), Bailey Page (herenklasse 7) en Dan Thomson (hierboven afgebeeld, herenklasse 6) namen allemaal brons in hun respectieve singles op de European Para Youth Games in Istanbul, Turkije – Turkije – Turkije – Turkije – Turkije – Turkije – Turkije – Turkey and Thomson added double bronze.
Flint, 21, from Guildford, achieved the first place in his group with 3-0 wins against Mert Caliskan from Turkey, Daniel Oanta from Romania and Kristijan Bozek from Croatia who gave him a bye in the semi-final.
He led 2-0 against Lorenzo Magarelli for the 23-year-old Italian, who took bronze in 2017 in the European Para Youth matches, was a tense third set 15-13 and then took the next two 11-9, 11-8 for a 3-2 victory.
“I won my group by playing very well and doing the basics,” said Flint. “After it went 2-0 in my semi-final, it only shows that the game is never over. In general, I think the singles tournament went well and with many ups and downs I think there is much to take and to implement in training.”
Page, 18, from Plymouth, all his fighting qualities showed his opening match against 14-year-old Eliott Denoyelle from France 3-2, 12-10 in the decisive set and then secured his place in the semi-final as the winner of group 2 with 3-0 wins against Filip Prchlik of Czech Republic and Sami Keles from Turkey.
Page fought back from 2-0 against Tahir Sahin to level 2-2, but the 12-year-old from Turkey defeated the decisive set 12-10 to win 3-2.
“I am very happy to win my first international singles medal,” said Page. “I managed to get through a difficult first game and then had a great victory against Prchlik, which meant that I had awarded my group.
“The semi-final was very tight and I felt that I could have done better in the first two sets, but I am very happy with the way I fought back to give myself a chance at 2-2. In general, a good tournament is for me with many learning opportunities winning a medal with so many areas that I can improve is a promising drawing.”
Thomson, 20, from Brighton also fought well back from 2-0 to level at 2-2 against the No. 1 Seed Benedikt Muller, but the 22-year-old world no. 15 from Germany took the decisive set 11-7 for a 3-2 victory. Thomson insured his place in the semi-final with a 3-1 victory against Gabriel Diez Alvarez from Spain and lost in three narrow sets to 21-year-old Piotr Manturz, the world no. 18 from Poland.
“I am happy with my singles competition,” said Thomson. “I had a difficult first game, but adjusted my tactics and found one way back in and although I lost the game, I took some positive and things to work on it and then adjusted my game for the second game.
“The semi -final was another difficult match and I tried to change things, but his level is better than mine. I have taken some positive and many points to work on to improve myself in the future.”
Page & Thomson have added a bronze medal in the men’s class 14 Doubles on the last day of the competition.
Page and Thomson were 3-1 winners against Mario Joao Bastardo and Eurico Andre Silva from Portugal and then just got in a close match against Clement Gambart & Clement Latorre from France and lost the decisive set 12-10 with twice back to level. That brought them to the semi-final as second place and after losing a tight first set 13-11 they were beaten 3-0 by the best seeds of Poland Marcin Zielinski and Piotr Manturz.
“Today was a tough test and I thought we played very well,” said the 18-year-old page. “We fought for every ball, kept each other positive and we always tried to implement the right tactics. In general, the tournament has been a great one for me personally and it feels good to have won two medals in my first European youth games. Now it is to Kazakhstan and I hope to be better in this.”
“I am very happy with the tournament in general,” said Thomson, “and I won medals in both singles and Doubles, which is definitely a positive one. Today was a difficult task against a very strong Doubles team – not only in the U23s, but in the world men’s game – but I think that Bailey and I played well.”
In Herenklasse 18, Flint collaborated with Sean Geoghegan in Ireland and they lost 3-2 to the Spanish/Irish partnership of Kevin Valls Carrasco & Sam Brennan, 11-5 in the fifth that was taken on 2-2. They lost a tight first set 15-13 to Daniel Oanta from Romania & Flip Prchlik from the Czech Republic and although they leveled on 1-1, they did not progress after Oanta & Prchlik achieved the third 11-7 and achieved a 3-1 victory, 12-10 in the fourth.
“It was very nice to have the opportunity to compete in a multi -port event,” said Flint. “I had a lot of fun watching the other sports when I had some free time, especially the GB team in the Para judo. It was also great to meet new people and get to know more about their sport. In general it was a memorable experience that I will cherish while I continue my career.”
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