Will Bayley & Bly Twomey, gold medallists in the men’s and women’s class 7 singles respectively, combined to take gold in the class 14 mixed doubles on the final day of the ITTF World Para Challenger Lasko in Slovenia today.

World doubles champion Grace Williams won gold in the women’s class 14-20 doubles with her Danish partner Thea Nielsen. Bayley & Theo Bishop took silver in men’s class 14 and there were bronze medals for Aaron McKibbin & Joshua Stacey in men’s class 18 and Megan Shackleton with her Israeli partner Caroline Tabib in women’s class 10.

Bayley & Twomey, who train together at Brighton Table Tennis Club, were 3-0 winners against Tong Chi Ming & Wong Yue Ching from Hong Kong and progressed to the semi-finals after receiving walkovers in their two other group matches. They took the first set 11-9 against another pair from Hong Kong, Tong Chi Yung & class 7 world No 6 Chiu Kan Shan, and then edged a tight second set 13-11 before taking the third 11-5 to secure a 3-0 win and their place in the final.

Bayley & Twomey took the first set against European men’s doubles silver medallist Henrik Brammer from Denmark & class 7 world No 8 Smilla Sand from Sweden 11-9 but lost the second 11-8. Undeterred, they ran away with the third set 11-3 and completed a 3-1 win, 11-5 in the fourth.

“I must have got a rush of blood to the head in the second set,” said Bayley, “and I started missing everything and played terribly. But Bly held it together and she kept it calm – she didn’t have a go at me which was good and then in the next set I tried to slow it down again, keep the ball on the table and play relaxed and calm and we brought it back.

“I always believed we were the better team if we did the things we can do and that is what made a big difference in that match.

“I was a bit up and down, but Bly was just solid the whole way through, and it was good to get the win. That is the beauty of doubles – if one player is struggling the other person has to try and encourage them and take over and that is what Bly did really well today. I was struggling but she stayed calm and relaxed and that made me have the opportunity to come back in the match.”

Bayley & Twomey last played together at the European Championships in 2023 since when 15-year-old Twomey has won two Paralympic bronze medals and established herself as one of the top players in the world in women’s class 7.

“We are still getting used to each other and I think we will get much better the more we play together,” said Bayley. “When I see her playing there are so many things that remind me of me – the way she walks around the court and touches the table and the way she plays. We have similar backhands and forehands.

“It is special to see her do so well – she works so hard and she deserves it. It’s exciting because we haven’t had many opportunities to play doubles together so hopefully it is the start of a long career for us in doubles – she can keep me out of retirement.”

“Will has been my biggest inspiration since I started playing table tennis,” said Twomey, “so just to play with him is incredible. He’s like family and he’s been my coach so I’m really proud to get a gold medal with him. I didn’t think we would do it so soon.

“I think I’ve improved a lot in two years, and we have improved so much as a pair. I was completely fine when we lost the second set – we just tried to keep the ball on the table and that is what we managed to do and that is how we won. Will has got such a positive mentality and to have him alongside me is amazing. We’re playing together again next week and hopefully we can go for gold again.”

Mixed class 7

Chris Ryan teamed up with Martha Verdin, the class 4 former Para PanAmerican champion from Mexico and after losing the first two sets against class 5 Paralympic bronze medallist Mitar Palikuca & class 2 European silver medallist Ana Zelen they fought back well to take the third 11-3. Ryan & Verdin had chances to level the match at 10-8 in the fourth, but the Serbian pair used their experience to take the set 12-10 and the match 3-1.

Ryan & Verdin never really got going in a 3-0 loss to Eder Rodriguez & Martina Sande from Spain and they did not progress after a 3-0 loss to European champions Thomas Bruechle & Sandra Mikolaschek from Germany.

Mixed class 10

Jack Hunter-Spivey & Megan Shackleton started slowly and found themselves 2-0 down to class 5 former world champion Ali Ozturk & class 4 world and European bronze medallist Irem Oluk from Turkey. They fought back well and saved two match points before taking the third set 14-12 and had chances to level at 2-2 but Ozturk & Oluk edged the fourth 14-12 to secure the match 3-1 on their fifth match point.

Hunter-Spivey & Shackleton lost the first set to class 4 European silver medallist Filip Nachazel from Czechia & Zorica Popadic from Serbia but came back to lead 2-1. They fought back from 8-3 down in the fourth to level at 8-8 before losing it 11-8 and Nachazel & Popadic took the deciding set 11-9.

Women’s class 14-20

Grace Williams & class 9 world No 15 Thea Nielsen won 3-0 against Chiu Kan Shan & Wong Yue Ching from Hong Kong and progressed to the knockout stages despite a 3-0 loss to Anja Handen & Smilla Sand from Sweden. They beat class 7 world No 2 Kubra Korkut & class 9 world No 5 Neslihan Kavas from Turkey 3-0 in their semi-final to set up a rematch in the final against Handen & Sand.

Williams & Nielsen lost the first set but responded well and having levelled at 1-1 they took the third set 11-9 and the fourth 11-9 for a 3-1 win.

“We realised when we were playing them in the final that we needed to look at what went wrong in the group match and what we could do to either make the score a little bit closer or even win,” said Williams, who won gold with Anja Handen in Poland earlier in the season.  

“So, we talked about tactics – what we did right and what we did wrong – and then we made a new tactic for the final. Doubles is nothing like singles and it is difficult playing with different people all the time, but I try really hard to get tactics from whoever I’m playing with so it’s about what I’m doing to help that person in that match.

“Winning another gold means so much – it means that what I’m doing in the hall is working and although it is doubles and it is with someone from another country it still feels great.”

Class 6 Fliss Pickard & class 7 Bly Twomey had a tough task in their group, but they led 1-0 and had chances at 10-8 in the third against class 8 Olaia Martinez & class 10 Maria Migueles before the Spanish pair edged it 12-10 and went on to win 3-1.

They produced another fighting performance against Kubra Korkut & Neslihan Kavas, twice taking the lead and at 2-2 moving ahead 8-4 in the deciding set before the Turkish pair came back to take it 11-9. Pickard & Twomey had a walkover in their final group match against Pilar Gonzalez from Spain & Nora Korneliussen from Norway but did not progress to the knockout stages.

Men’s class 14

Will Bayley & Theo Bishop lost their opening match to Peter Rosenmeier from Denmark & Krizander Magnussen from Norway 3-0 but progressed from their group after a 3-0 win against Alejandro Lozano Gil & Ricard Sabio Ruiz from Spain.

At 2-0 they looked to be in control of their last 16 match against Aleksej Radukic & Luka Vidovic but the Serbian pair came back strongly to level at 2-2 before Bayley & Bishop secured a 3-2 win, 11-8 in the fifth. They fought back from 2-1 down to level at 2-2 against Ben Despineux from Belgium & Bjoern Schnake from Germany in their quarter-final before taking the deciding set 11-8 and having led Katsuyoshi Yagi from Japan & Jonas Hansson from Sweden 2-1 they again took the deciding set 11-6 after Yagi & Hansson had levelled at 2-2.

That took them through to the final and they made a great start by taking the first set against Clement Berthier & Esteban Herrault but the experience of the European champions from France proved decisive and they took the match 3-1 and the gold.

“It’s amazing because we weren’t playing great throughout the whole day,” said Bayley, “and that is our strength – we never give up.  We fought really hard in every single match and some of the pairs we beat are some of the best pairs in the world.

“To beat Yagi and Hansson was an unbelievable win for us and in the final we had chances to go 2-1 up so I think to finish second was a great achievement for us. We were just trying it out to see how we got on in the doubles and there wasn’t that much expectation or pressure and to get to the final was brilliant. We can take a lot of confidence from here into the next tournament and hopefully do just as well.”

“We’ve got to be proud,” said Bishop. “We’ve only played once together a long time ago and it’s not really representative of where we are now. Neither of us brought our best level and we just managed to graft through in the close moments. We’ve got to take the positives from the fact that we still managed to win matches.

“It’s a good feeling – in the singles especially I’ve had a lot of close matches that haven’t gone my way recently and it is good to know that I can graft through in those difficult moments. Sometimes you pressure yourself and having those really tight matches and pulling through is very positive moving on to the next tournament.”

Billy Shilton & Martin Perry were 3-0 winners against Gonzalo Rodriguez & Pablo Romero from Spain and progressed to the knockout stages as group winners after a 3-0 win against Paul Karabardak & his New Zealand partner Matthew Britz.

They received a bye into the quarter-finals and led 1-0 and 2-1 against Peter Rosenmeier from Denmark & Krizander Magnussen from Norway but lost a tight fourth 12-10 and Rosenmeier & Magnussen took the deciding set 11-8.

Karabardak & Britz also progressed after a 3-0 win against Rodriguez & Romero and received a bye into the quarter-finals where they lost 3-0 to Katsuyoshi Yagi & Jonas Hansson.

Men’s class 18

Aaron McKibbin & Joshua Stacey won 3-0 against GB teammate Ryan Henry & class 10 Matteo Scuto from Luxembourg and were impressive in beating Borna Zohil & Pavao Jozic from Croatia 3-0.

They received a bye into the semi-finals and started well against Lev Kats & Maksym Nikolenko but the Ukrainian pair came back to take the next two and lead 2-1. McKibbin & Stacey edged a tense fourth set 13-11 and led 4-1 in the deciding set but Kats & Nikolenko recovered to take it 11-6.

“I feel like we played the right way,” said McKibbin, “and both Josh and I made errors that we don’t usually make but can’t afford to make and I think that was the difference. There were too many quick mistakes before we had a chance to get into a rally and they were winning points from our errors. But fair play to them they played very smart and that’s something we need to work on because that is the bread and butter of the sport – being able to do the basics well.

“I was happy with the way we communicated and the way we carried on trying to play the whole way through and it was still very tight.”

“We just need to be a bit more robust really,” said Stacey, “and I think that is where they were a little bit better than us. They didn’t give us as many cheap points as we gave them. I’ll hold my hands up and say I think I made four errors I shouldn’t really make and maybe two of them should have been direct winners on my part. Overall, I’m disappointed right now but I’m sure we’ll come back better next week.”

Henry & Scuto did not progress after a 3-0 loss to Zohil and Jozic.

Women’s class 10

Megan Shackleton & Caroline Tabib from Israel came through a great battle against Nergiz Altintas & Irem Oluk from Turkey 11-7 in the fifth. They twice came back to level against Sandra Mikolaschek & Jana Spegel and had match point in the deciding set, but the German pair took it 12-10 for a 3-2 win.

Shackleton & Tabib progressed as runners-up and a 3-0 win against Edith Sigala Lopez & Martha Verdin from Mexico took them through to the semi-finals where they lost 3-1 to Andela Muzinic Vincetic & Helena Dretar Karic, the European champions from Croatia.

“I think it is a good start,” said Shackleton. “We’re playing the Elite tournament together next week and I feel we have progressed a bit more from Poland. We found a bit more rhythm and we’re working together well so I’m excited for next week. Helena and Andela are a really strong team and have won lots of medals at Paralympic Games so I think we can be proud of that performance.

“It is difficult because we don’t train together, and you do need that consistency, but we have practised together and played tournaments together a few times now so we’re getting more familiar. I think the main thing is good communication; I know how Caroline needs to play in order to feel confident, so it is about giving her the tools to be able to do that and obviously play well myself.”

Men’s class 4

Chris Ryan & Tom Matthews faced Peter Lovas & Jan Riapos in their first match and they had chances to win the first set before the Paralympic champions from Slovakia edged it 13-11 and went on to win 3-0. Ryan & Matthews also had chances to win the second set against Alan Papirer & Francois Geuljans but lost it 13-11 and they saved five match points before the French pair secured the third set 11-9 for a 3-0 win.