Vegas win is great end to year for table tennis champ
A TABLE tennis player from the Cynon Valley has conquered Las Vegas by winning an international tournament.
Thomas Matthews, from Cwmbach, won the Men’s Class 1 event in the USA Table Tennis 2016 Para Open, winning all five of his matches at the Las Vegas Convention Center, in the tournament which ran from December 12-16.
The event marks an excellent end to the former Aberdare Boys’ Comprehensive School student’s season – which has been interrupted by injury.
The 24-year-old, who trains at Sport Wales in Cardiff and at the English Institute for Sport in Sheffield, said: “It was the last tournament of the year. I had a break in my femur so I missed lot of the year, so it was a case of going there to see how I got on.
“It was an important international competition, and the preparation leading up to it had gone really well – but I wasn’t expect- ing to win, if I’m honest.
“I had to play three matches to get through the group, and because I won all those I had a bye into the semi-finals, which I won 3-1.
“Then in the final I was 2-0 down and came back to win 3-2. Being asked to go to the tournament was a bit of a surprise – for those of us who had just missed out on Rio.
“We took three players and a coach, and it was a great experience. You do get to see a bit of these places – but the time dif- ference does dictate that. We have a day to recover and then it’s into the tournament.”
And, while Thomas is looking forward to the Christmas break, he’s also got one eye on next season. He added: “In January, I’ll sit down with the coaches and discuss the tournaments I’m hoping to enter.
“The big ones are the World and European Championships next year – they are the major aims.”
Tom also spoke about how he got into the sport as a teenager – and how it helped him recover from a serious accident on a mountain bike in 2008.
“I’ve been in a wheelchair for eight years, and have been playing table tennis for around four,” he added.
“I first played when I was at Rookwood Hospital in Cardiff, playing as part of my recovery from the accident. After that, I spent a year-and-a-half at home, and then got a bit bored and thought I’d get in touch with a coach I met at the hospital.
“I fell in love with table tennis after that.
“The opportunity to be an international athlete is something a lot of people dream of having.”