Colin Judge was unable to secure a victory over the four-time Paralympic table tennis champion, Feng Panfeng, during Monday afternoon’s encounter at the South Paris Arena. Despite a spirited performance in the round of 16’s opening two sets, Judge succumb to the world number one’s seasoned play, with Panfeng winning 3-0 (11-7, 11-8, 11-3).
Judge, who hails from Dublin, shared his thoughts on the match, “It was a challenging game, with me giving it everything I had. I hold my own in the initial two sets but crumbled under Panfeng’s immense pressure in the third set.”
He added, “It’s no fluke that Panfeng holds the title of world number one. He’s been my role model since I took up table tennis at the age of 11. Playing with him today on such a large stage was unforgettable. Thanking those who were there to support me, I wish I could’ve granted them a more triumphant outcome, but I did my best.”
In other news, Shauna Bocquet finished in sixth place in her T54 1,500m heat at Stade de France on Monday, missing the final by just a fraction of a second. Bocquet hails from Galway and has another opportunity to compete in the Paralympic Games when she partakes in the T54 100m heats on Wednesday. Reflecting on her race, Bocquet observed, “The race was very strategic, which was anticipated.”
“I attempted to stay clear and prevent getting caught in a bottleneck. The cluster of participants was very dense and I struggled to manoeuvre past them. Finally, it boiled down to the ultimate 100 metres and more competent athletes advanced ahead of me. I simply couldn’t surpass them. My focus is now on the subsequent match.” Concurrently, swimmer Deaten Registe achieved his personal best, landing in the sixth position in the SB14 100m breaststroke final at La Défense Arena on Monday night.
From the preliminary rounds, Registe emerged as the eighth most rapid contestant with a timestamp of 1:08.49 in his introductory Paralympic Games. However, he managed to trim more than half a second off his earlier record with an aggressive performance in the final, consequently achieving a personal best of 1:07.82.