Paralympic medallists Will Bayley, Rob Davies and rising star Bly Twomey headline a strong British squad heading to Slovenia this May for the ITTF World Para tournaments. The back-to-back events mark the start of a new ITTF competition structure, offering crucial qualification points for future major championships.
British squad set for ITTF World Para tournaments in Slovenia
Paris 2024 medallists Will Bayley and Rob Davies return to international competition next week for the first time since taking Paralympic silver last year in the men’s class 7 and men’s class 1 singles, respectively.
The Rio 2016 Paralympic champions are among a 14-strong British squad for the first Elite tournament under the new ITTF World Para tournament structure, taking place in Slovenia from 12th to 16th May.
It will also include teenager Bly Twomey, who became the youngest Paralympic table tennis medallist when taking bronze in the women’s class 7 singles and class 14 doubles, and fellow Paris medallists Fliss Pickard, Paul Karabardak and Billy Shilton.
The squad will be joined by Ryan Henry and Chris Ryan for the preceding ITTF World Para Challenger Lasko tournament, which began on 6th May at the same venue in Slovenia.
Understanding the new ITTF tournament structure
“The new ITTF competition structure represents a massive change,” said BPTT Performance Director Gorazd Vecko, “and it is taking some time for everyone to understand the new system.
“The biggest change is that it isn’t important who you beat or who you lose to, but how far you progress in a tournament. The Future tournaments are intended only for young athletes and those who need to be classified, but some of the first Future tournaments have included the top five players in the world. This means they don’t really understand the system because winning a Future tournament as a top athlete doesn’t really achieve anything, as they carry the least number of points, and only an athlete’s six best tournaments count towards qualification for major championships.
“With our Performance squad, we are looking to get them qualified for the major events, and the Elite tournaments are the highest-ranked tournaments and carry the most bonus points towards the world rankings.
Gorazd added: “The Challenger tournament in Lasko will be preparation for the best players for the Elite, but around 60% of the best players from other countries are also playing both tournaments, so the Challenger will be more like an Elite tournament, but it is worth only half the number of points. It will be good preparation for the doubles to try out new combinations, but will also give players a chance to play a singles tournament before the Elite.”
Will Bayley aims for fifth straight title and Paris redemption
Slovenia has been a happy hunting ground in the past for Will Bayley, who will be looking to win his fifth consecutive singles gold medal in Lasko, having triumphed in the Slovenia Open in 2019, 2022, 2023 and 2024.
“I’ve been training hard and I feel I’m in my best shape, so I’m excited to play my first tournament since Paris,” he said.
“I’m not thinking about Challenger or Elite tournaments, I just want to win every match and take it from there. I’ve never played back-to-back tournaments before, so I guess I’ll have to adapt to how I’m feeling. I’m playing in singles and doubles, so that will be an exciting challenge for me to try and manage my body through hopefully a lot of matches over 10 days.”
Will was denied a second Paralympic title in both Tokyo and Paris by Yan Shuo, but believes that he can beat the Chinese World number two.
“I like to think I’ve learnt a lot from the final in Paris,” he said, “and I actually feel more confident after Paris than I was before because of my performance and the way I played. It is hard to define, but I felt more dominant even in the final against Yan, and I’ve got a lot of confidence from that.
“I feel after Paris that if I play my way, I can win, whereas I felt he outplayed me in Tokyo, so I’ve actually gained confidence from the final even though I didn’t win it.”
You can also catch up on the other news and results from the British Para Table Tennis squad’s latest season of tournaments.
You can find out more about the British Para table tennis squad by visiting its website and following them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Read: Martin Perry: British Table Tennis Debutant Aims For First Paralympic Medal