BURY’S British Para Table Tennis Team star, Theo Bishop, picked up a silver medal on the final day of the European Para Youth Games in Finland.
The 19-year-old did well in the singles in Pajulahti before losing out in the last eight.
But he reached the final with team-mate Ryan Henry in the doubles event before being pipped to gold.
Bishop and Henry beat Stefano Butti from Italy and Alen Becirevic from Slovenia in the semi-final 2-1, winning both singles after losing the doubles 3-2.
They won another close doubles match in the final against Croatia/Spain 11-9 in the fifth, but had to settle for silver when Henry lost 3-2 to Alejandro Diaz Tirado and Bishop was beaten 3-1 by Borna Zohill.
But it was a medal at least for Bishop who had done well to reach the quarter-finals of the singles in men’s class seven.
He won both his group matches 3-1 against Styrbjorn Ekengren, from Sweden, and 3-1 against Baptiste Lenne, from France.
However, in the last eight he lost in five sets to Italy’s Roberto Martinelli the score in the fifth 11-9 to his opponent.
“I think that overall this has been quite a positive competition for me,” said Bishop.
“In the singles I managed to win my group and narrowly lost a deciding set in the quarter-final.
“The team event was also very positive for me and it was great to play with Ryan.
“I feel that we played well together in the doubles and gave ourselves a great chance of winning gold.
“Of course, it was disappointing to lose in the final but silver is a great result for us.”
BPTT pathway manager, Shaun Marples, added: “These Games have been such a great experience for everyone.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here