TABLE TENNIS
Double medal delight for Tom
ABERDARE’S Tom Matthews was a double medal winner at the Italian Open Para Table Tennis Championships in Lignano, writes Michael Prosser.
Competing as a member of the British team, he won the class one men’s singles and also reached the doubles final to come home with gold and silver medals.
In the singles, he beat opponents from the USA, Korea and Switzerland before facing an Argentinian in the final.
Matthews, from Cwmbach and ranked in the world’s top 10, said afterwards it was a tough fight coming back from 2-0 down in the final to win 11-9 in the fifth.
He later combined with Swiss partner Sylvio Keller to reach the doubles final.
They beat top seeds Korea in the semi-finals before losing 2-1 in the final to the Italian world champions, with Matthews winning his singles.
“I’m very pleased with my tournament overall,” he said. “I played well throughout, and even when I was struggling I still found a way to win matches.
“Not losing any of my singles shows that what I am doing in training is paying off. I’ve learnt a lot here and know what I need to work on in training.”
Matthews said his good form was a big confidence boost ahead of the World Championships later this year.
The talented 25-yearold suffered a serious neck injury while mountain biking nine years ago and took up table tennis as part of his rehabilitation at Rookwood Hospital.
He took to the sport quickly and has since competed in a number of international tournaments, winning individual and team medals in Europe and America.