Gloucestershire athletes continue to make their mark on the sporting canvas of Paris 2024 — with another bronze medal coming from the doubles match in the Para-table tennis at the Paralympic Games.
A bitter-sweet victory, Stonehouse-based Billy Shilton and his partner Paul Karabardak lost their semi-final match against their Thailand opponents, but with no bronze medal match, both losing semi-finalists proudly took their places on the podium.
Billy won bronze at Tokyo 2020 as part of the Class 8 men's team and the pair previously secured World Champion status in Spain two years ago — so Billy's trophy cabinet is quickly filling up.
Another reason to celebrate, Paul's part in the win also marks the first medal for a Welsh Para-athlete at Paris 2024.
He said: 'I think maybe we could have done a bit better and maybe progressed a bit further and got a better colour, but I think overall, me and Billy played some great stuff and we can be really pleased with our performance and hard-earned bronze medal.
'It was a really special atmosphere. I mean, table tennis is so big in France, so to play in front of a crowd like that, in an atmosphere like that, is really amazing and just really special to see the fans enjoying it.'
