Karabardak and Shilton hail 'great achievement' after bronze

Paul Karabardak and Billy Shilton were left wondering what could have been after winning bronze at Paris 2024.

The pair fell 11-9 11-9 11-7 to Thailand’s Rungroj Thainiyom and Phisit Wangphonphathanasiri in their men’s doubles semi-final which meant that they claimed one of two bronze medals on show for table tennis at the Paralympics.

Despite taking the lead early on, the duo were unable to overcome the first seeds and reach the final at the South Paris Arena.

Karabardak noted his disappointment in being unable to challenge for gold but after a quarterfinal showing against Brazil the previous day, coming from one game down to win, the Welsh star admitted that he was still over the moon with a bronze.

“I think when we were leading we could have been a bit more positive,” said Karabardak, who won team bronze and singles silver at Tokyo 2020.

“Had we taken one of those first two sets it might have been a different game. But you could say that the other way against Brazil [in the quarter-finals], that’s sport and we have to give them credit for taking their opportunities.

“It is disappointing but we played superbly against Brazil, we’ve done really well and we can be pleased with that bronze. It’s a great achievement for me and Billy.”

The duo started strong in their semi-final, eventually leading the way with just two points to play for but the Thai pair were ultimately too strong for the British duo and they were forced to settle for bronze.

Shilton, who team class 6-7 bronze in Tokyo, was delighted to get that medal winning feeling back once more in Paris.

“I’ve been thinking about feeling that feeling again of winning a medal since Tokyo and it’s a special thing so I’m absolutely delighted I can do it again with Paul,” he said,

“I think we got to 9-7 in both of the first two sets and we played really well up until that point.

“There was just a few balls at the end and we were a little inconsistent in patches but I’m proud of myself, I’m proud of Paul and I think we can be happy.

“When we look back in a couple of days when it all settles we’ll be happy we won a bronze for sure.”