Rob Davies guarantees table tennis medal at Paris 2024 Paralympics

By Megan Armitage at South Paris Arena

Rob Davies refused to let his emotions get the better of him as he clawed back a 5-1 deficit to guarantee a table tennis medal at Paris 2024.

The Rio 2016 men's MS1 singles champion has not seen this level of major competition since the moment he won Paralympic gold in Brazil, with a shoulder injury denying him the chance to defend his title in Tokyo.

And after beating South Korea's Hakjin Kim 11-9, 11-5, 8-11, 3-11, 11-8 in Paris, Davies admitted that hearing his brother's voice in the crowd was the inspiration he needed to fight back from a slow start in the fifth to seal a semi-final apperance, and at least a bronze medal, in the French capital.

"My emotions are very high at the moment," he said.

"I've been out for so long and this is my first massive event since Rio 2016 where I won the gold so this is unbelievable.

"In some stages I really enjoyed and then in others I was a bit nervous and edgy but I'm glad I got the win in the end.

"I was struggling with my nerves because I haven't been in that situation for a very long time but when I was down in the fifth, I heard my brother shouting and some of the guys who have come over to watch me and I dug deep and managed to get the job done."

Joshua Stacey found his form when it mattered most as he powered into the MS9 singles quarter-finals.

The 24-year-old battled past Ukraine's Lev Katz in four sets, winning 11-7, 12-10, 8-11, 11-7 to progress into the next round.

Stacey was forced to keep his cool after several controversial points in the third set did not go his way, but performed in the crucial moments to get over the line, finding confidence in aspects of his training finally coming together on the big stage.

"I'm feeling pretty good," he said. "I played really well in those key areas and a win shows that.

"I'm really proud of my receive in that match. It is one of the things that I've been working on a lot in practice and I've not had a tournament yet when the training has come to fruition.

"But I definitely started to feel that when I was out there today and hopefully it's a good sign for what's next to come."

Tom Matthews could not match his Welsh teammate's success and ultimately fell 11-5, 12-10, 11-4 to Cuba's Yunier Fernandez and will not progress to the semi-finals.

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