Comments from ParalympicsGB table tennis players after the evening session.
Paul Karabardak and Billy Shilton secured a Class 14 men’s doubles medal after beating Brazil’s Paulo Salmin and Israel Stroh 3-1 (7-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-5). They play their semi-final against Thailand’s Rungroj Thainiyom and Phisit Wangphonphathanasiri on Saturday at 12:00 (CET).
Name: Paul Karabardak
Age: 38
Hometown: Swansea
On fighting back to win:
“It was really difficult. To have such a slow start made it really hard but to come out and play the way we did was superb. We held our nerve and did what we needed to do, we focused really well. it was an amazing performance and one we can be proud of.
“It’s the biggest stage so to have another Paralympic medal is really special. It’s hard to describe, it’s the ultimate for a disabled athlete. It sums up how much it means.”
Name: Billy Shilton
Age: 25
Hometown: Gloucester
On the turning point:
“It was massive to win the third set. At 9-9, I was thinking if I receive the ball short, we watched a video about two hours before the match and I said what I was going to do, and I did it. It was perfect and it was really important we won that set.
“We’re not finished yet. Paul said it five minutes after we won, we have to go for gold now and we genuinely believe we can do that.”
Will Bayley and Martin Perry were beaten 2-3 (6-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-7, 9-11) by France’s Clement Berthier and Esteban Herrault in the Class 14 men’s doubles quarter-finals.
Name: Will Bayley
Age: 36
Hometown: Tunbridge Wells
On the performance:
“We never gave up. Martin played one of the best shots I’ve ever seen at 2-0 down and 5-5, we took momentum from that and I felt massive belief after that. I really felt confident going into that fifth set that we were going to win but the margins are so small and it could have gone either way.”
Name: Martin Perry
Age: 30
Hometown: Dumbarton
On facing home favourites:
“It was an unbelievable experience. To have that atmosphere, however many thousands of us there were against the two of us, we showed our character. We were two points away from a Paralympic medal.
“We had all the momentum going into that fifth set, we had played exceptionally well to get there from 2-0 down. We always believed in each other. They are European champions, ranked two in the world. We have shown we can win major medals, we just need that bit of luck.”
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