TTT31. Summer 2023

British Para National Championships
22 nd -23 rd April 2023: Sheffield
All photos by Chris Rayner
It was a very welcome return of these Championships which were last held in 2019 and due to Covid-19 hadn’t
been played since. It was a familiar venue at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield and some familiar
established names as well as some new faces. The Championships cover England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales
and due to the number of classification groups there are a high number of titles to be won. A reminder that
categories 1-5 are for wheelchair players and 6-12 are the standing categories.
Class 1: A round robin of three and it was Rob Davies who came out on top. Unfortunately, top player Tom
Matthews was not in attendance.
Rob Davies, Kevin Plowman, Paul Karabardak
Classes 2-3 (combined): Veteran Kevin Plowman (Class 3) got the win over Romain Simon in the final in a well
fought match that went all the way with Plowman just getting over the line 12-10 in the fifth.
Classes 4-5 (combined): Jack Hunter-Spivey won his three matches in another round robin event. The
remaining places resulted in Megan Shackleton beating Simon Heaps and Lee York beating Shackleton. In the
end it was Heaps who finished in second place.
Class 6: Welshman Paul Karabardak took the title beating Scotland’s Martin Perry and England’s Fliss Pickard.
Class 7: It was another title for Will Bayley who beat youngster Theo Bishop in the final of this event 3-1.
Class 8: A tough event with several players at the top of their game but it was a win for Ross Wilson over Billy
Shilton in the final 3-0. They had met earlier in the group stage and it was Ross who had also won that
encounter although it was a much closer 3-2 result.
Will Bayley, Ross Wilson, Joshua Stacey
Class 9: There were five entrants who played a round robin and it was Joshua Stacey who won this title.
Table Tennis Times 31: Summer 2023
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