British Para Table Tennis Pathway athletes Max Flint (men’s class 10), Bailey Page (men’s class 7) and Dan Thomson (men’s class 6) all took bronze in their respective singles at the European Para Youth Games in Istanbul, Turkey – and Page & Thomson (pictured above) added doubles bronze.

Flint, 21, from Guildford secured first place in his group with 3-0 wins against Mert Caliskan from Turkey, Daniel Oanta from Romania and Kristijan Bozek from Croatia which gave him a bye into the semi-finals.

He led 2-0 against Lorenzo Magarelli before the 23-year-old Italian, who took bronze in the European Para Youth Games in 2017, edged a tense third set 15-13 and went on to take the next two 11-9, 11-8 for a 3-2 win.

“I won my group by playing very well and doing the basics right,” said Flint. “After going 2-0 up in my semi-final it just shows the match is never over. Overall, I think the singles tournament has gone well and with lots of ups and downs I feel there is a lot to take away and implement in training.”

Page, 18, from Plymouth showed all his fighting qualities in coming through his opening match against 14-year-old Eliott Denoyelle from France 3-2, 12-10 in the deciding set and then secured his place in the semi-finals as winner of Group 2 with 3-0 wins against Filip Prchlik from Czechia and Sami Keles from Turkey.

Page fought back from 2-0 down against Tahir Sahin to level at 2-2 but the 12-year-old from Turkey edged the deciding set 12-10 to win 3-2.

“I’m very happy to win my first international singles medal,” said Page. “I managed to get through a tricky first match and then had a great win against Prchlik which meant that I topped my group.

“The semi-final was very tight, and I felt I could have done better in the first two sets but I’m very happy with the way I fought back to give myself a chance at 2-2. Overall, a good tournament for me with a lot of learning opportunities – winning a medal with so many areas I can improve is a promising sign.”

Thomson, 20, from Brighton also fought back well from 2-0 down to level at 2-2 against the No 1 seed Benedikt Muller but the 22-year-old world No 15 from Germany took the deciding set 11-7 for a 3-2 win. Thomson secured his place in the semi-finals with a 3-1 win against Gabriel Diez Alvarez from Spain and lost in three close sets to 21-year-old Piotr Manturz, the world No 18 from Poland.

“I’m pleased with my singles competition,” said Thomson. “I had a difficult first match but adapted my tactics and found a way back into it and although I lost the match, I took some positives and things to work on from it and then adapted my game for the second match.

“The semi-final was another difficult match, and I tried to change things up, but his level is better than mine. I’ve taken some positives and plenty of points to work on to improve myself going forwards.”

Page & Thomson added a bronze medal in the men’s class 14 doubles on the final day of competition.

Page and Thomson were 3-1 winners against Mario Joao Bastardo & Eurico Andre Silva from Portugal and then were just edged out in a close match against Clement Gambart & Clement Latorre from France, losing the deciding set 12-10 having twice come back to level. That took them through to the semi-finals as group runners-up and after losing a tight first set 13-11 they were beaten 3-0 by the top seeds from Poland Marcin Zielinski and Piotr Manturz.

“Today was a tough test and I thought we played really well,” said 18-year-old Page. “We fought for every ball, kept each other positive and we always tried to implement the right tactics. Overall, the tournament has been a great one for me personally and it feels good to have won two medals at my first European Youth Games. Now it’s on to Kazakhstan and I hope to be better at things I struggled with here.”

“I’m very pleased with the tournament overall,” said Thomson, “and I’ve won medals in both singles and doubles which is definitely a positive. Today was a difficult task against a very strong doubles team – not just in the U23s but in the world men’s game – but I think Bailey and I played well. We had set points in the first set and then after that I think maybe their level was too high for us. I’m definitely taking away things to work on for future tournaments and to implement in training in Sheffield.”

In men’s class 18, Flint teamed up with Ireland’s Sean Geoghegan and they lost 3-2 to the Spanish/Irish partnership of Kevin Valls Carrasco & Sam Brennan, 11-5 in the fifth having levelled at 2-2. They lost a tight first set 15-13 to Daniel Oanta from Romania & Flip Prchlik from Czechia and although they levelled at 1-1, they did not progress after Oanta & Prchlik took the third 11-7 and secured a 3-1 win, 12-10 in the fourth.

“Having the opportunity to compete in a multi-sport event was very enjoyable,” said Flint. “I had a lot of fun watching the other sports when I had some free time, especially the GB squad in the Para judo. It was also great to meet some new people and get to know a bit more about their sports. Overall, it was a memorable experience that I will treasure as I continue my career.”