Stonehouse table tennis ace Billy Shilton picked up silver as British players dominated a very strong MS18 doubles class on the last day of the Costa Brava Spanish Para Open in Platja d’Aro.
In an all-British final, Shilton and Aaron McKibbin lost to Ross Wilson and Joshua Stacey.
McKibbin and Shilton progressed from group 4 after beating Jaime Jara Hernandez from Chile and Marco Makkar from USA 3-0, Zborai and Csonka 3-1 and the Spanish pair of Ander Cepas and Alejandro Diaz 3-1. They took on Ma and Pellissier in the quarterfinals and recovered from dropping the first set to win 3-1 and set up a semi-final against the French pair of Thomas Bouvais and the class 10 Paralympic silver medallist Mateo Boheas. The first two sets were very close with the British pair playing some great doubles on the key points to edge them 12-10 and 13-11 before running away with the third set 11-3.
In the final, it was Wilson and Stacey who had the edge and they took the gold after a 3-0 win.
“I think on the whole we had a great doubles tournament,” said Shilton.
“Aaron and I generally play really well together so that gave me a lot of confidence going into the matches. Our performance against France was probably one of the best doubles matches we have played together. Bouvais and Boheas are both top players in their class so I was really satisfied to win that match. It is always tough when you play against your teammates, but all credit goes to Ross and Josh as they played a great match and I’m really happy that both GB teams were able to make it to the final.”
