Billy Shilton and Martin Perry completed a remarkable hat-trick of success by winning their third consecutive men’s doubles Class 14 gold medal on the final day of the ITTF World Para Elite Beijing 2026 tournament in China.
The victory continued the British pair’s outstanding run on the ITTF World Para circuit and underlined their status as one of the world’s leading para table tennis doubles teams.
In their opening match, Stonehouse- based Shilton and Perry led 2-0 against Kim Yong Rok and Pak Kum Jin but the pair from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea levelled at 2-2 and took the deciding set 12-10. Shilton and Perry secured their place in the knockout stages with a 3-1 win against Peng Weinan and Cheng Xuanxi from China and then defeated another Chinese pair in Chen Chao and Huang Jiaxin 3-0 in the quarter-final.
That set up a semi-final against the World and Paralympic silver medallists Rungroj Thainiyom and Phisit Wangphonphathanasiri in a repeat of the ITTF World Para Elite Lasko final last month that the GB pair won in five sets. After edging a close first set 12-10 Shilton and Perry took the second 11-4 and although the Asian champions from Thailand took the third set 11-8 Shilton and Perry secured a 3-1 win, 11-9 in the fourth.
The final was a rematch with Kim Yong Rok and Pak Kum Jin and after taking the first set 11-8 they edged a tight second set 14-12 to lead 2-0. As in their earlier match Kim and Pak fought back to level at 2-2 and looked to have all the momentum but Shilton and Perry were not to be denied this time, and they took the deciding set 11-6 for a 3-2 win.
“Another great tournament for Martin and me and so pleased to win our third tournament in a row,” said Shilton. “We have worked so hard in the doubles with Rushy (head coach Andrew Rushton) and to see it all paying off is really reassuring. The semi-final was great – we had a really good match against them in Slovenia and it was good to prove that we could beat them again – and the final was also really good as we lost to them in the group. I really believe we are one of the best teams in the world and these results prove that. Now it’s all about getting back to the training hall and improving even more to be ready for the World Championships.”
