An inexperienced British squad did not win any singles medals at the ITTF World Para Future Ostrava tournament in Czechia there was some valuable experience gained against some of the world’s best players and signs of promise for the future, with Chris Ryan (men’s class 2) and Jacob Wicks (men’s class 6) just missing out on a medal in their respective events.
“It’s been a tough singles tournament but also a very productive one for the majority of the players,” said BPTT programme manager Shaun Marples.
“We’ve seen the level of the players getting much stronger but equally we’ve seen some basic mistakes, and it shows their vulnerability in certain areas so there are definitely things we need to work on – both on and off the table – for all the athletes in terms of their preparation and how they are approaching matches.
“Jacob was in a good position in the fifth set but just tightened up and it was a good learning experience for him and for his long-term future; he will remember that match for years to come. Chris had a great win over Rodriguez and then came up against a style he’s not used to and found it quite tricky and difficult to adjust so it was a big learning curve for everybody but a lot of good progress in the right direction.
“You have phases where you progress your game for the good in terms of the quality of your shots but it’s that chess game – the first move, the return of serve, the first ball, the first shot that you commit to – that’s the area that needs to now come up to speed with everybody’s backhands and forehands and movement and once that starts to fall into place for these athletes we will see some very good results very quickly.”
Men’s class 1
On his debut Nathan Drayner had a tough introduction to international competition and was beaten 3-0 by the Russian Dmitrii Lavrov, the world No 18 and former two-time European bronze medallist, 3-0 by world No 19 Alan Papirer, the former European team silver medallist from France and 3-0 by European champion Endre Major, the world No 2 from Hungary.
Men’s class 2
Chris Ryan started with a 3-0 win against Peter Isherwood from Canada and then came through a great battle against Daniel Rogriguez 3-2. The world No 10 from Spain won doubles gold with Ryan at the Brazilian Open last year and on opposing sides of the net here it was Ryan who came out on top, winning 11-5 in the fifth to record another win against top-10 opposition.
He started slowly in his final group match against Daniel Pauger and after edging a tight second set 14-12 the world No 30 from Austria, bronze medallist in the French Para Open last year went on to secure a 3-0 win, 11-9 in the third.
With three players all recording two wins the group was decided on countback and it was Ryan who lost out on a place in the semi-finals.
Men’s class 6
Jacob Wicks played well in defeat to world No 4 Bobi Simion, taking the third set before the former European silver medallist from Romania took the match 3-1, and he secured his place in the knockout stages from group 1 with a 3-0 win against 16-year-old Gabriel Diez Alvarez from Spain.
The Welsh teenager fought back from 2-1 down to level at 2-2 in his quarter-final against Rafal Kraft and had match point in the deciding set at 10-9 having led 7-1 but was just edged out 12-10 by the world No 28 from Poland, silver medallist in the French Para Open last year.
Dan Thomson took the first set against world No 15 Benedikt Muller before the 22-year-old former European team bronze medallist from Germany came back to win 3-1. Thomson did not progress from group 2 after a 3-0 loss to 20-year-old Leon Wim Schuep from Switzerland.
Men’s class 7
Bailey Page had a difficult first match against world No 4 Michal Deigsler and the former two-time European team medallist from Poland was a 3-0 winner. Page did not progress after losing in three close sets to the Austrian Christian Scheiber, last year’s US Open silver medallist.
Men’s class 8
Ryan Henry was a 3-0 winner against the veteran Gyula Zborai, the former world No 2 and two-time European silver medallist from Hungary and then lost a close match to the Belgian former World number one and Paralympic team medallist Marc Ledoux 11-6 in the fifth having twice fought back to level.
He progressed from group 4 with a 3-0 win against German teenager Hannes Ruderisch but lost his last 16 match to 33-year-old Marko Vracan from Croatia 3-1.
Jaiden Caldeira led 2-1 against Hamza Taleb but the 21-year-old world No 27 from Belgium levelled at 2-2 and then took the deciding set 11-7. Caldeira lost 3-0 to the 26-year-old Norwegian Pablo Jacobsen and did not progress from group 5 after a 3-1 loss to 19-year-old Marcin Zielinski, the World Abilitysport Youth Games champion from Poland.
Men’s class 10
Shae Thakker lost 3-0 to world No 3 Mateo Boheas, the World and Paralympic bronze medallist from France and then beat Jan Michal from Czechia 3-0. He did not progress from group 1 after a 3-0 loss to world No 12 Pawel Wlodyka from Poland, bronze medallist in the French Para Open last year.
Max Flint was beaten 3-0 by world No 4 Igor Misztal, the former two-time world team gold medallist from Poland and then lost 3-1 to 17-year-old Marlon Lopez from Spain. He did not progress after a 3-0 loss to 18-year-old Mio Wagner, the world No 21 from Germany.
The tournament continues with the doubles events which conclude on Saturday.
