Paralympic champion Rob Davies heads a squad of 14 British athletes competing in this week’s PTT Czech Open in Ostrava from September 6-8.
The 35 year old, who will bid for a fourth consecutive European title later this month, faces strong opposition in the men’s class 1 singles from the two Koreans, world No 1 Young Dae Joo and world champion Hyeon Uk Kim, as well as fellow Welshmen Tom Matthews and Paul Davies.
“I’ve had a lot more consistency in my training over the summer,” said Davies, “so it is going in the right direction and I’m quite happy with where I am at the moment. It is all about qualifying for Tokyo next year so that is my main goal – to get qualified and keep making improvements.
“It is good to see the Koreans will be there and hopefully I will get to play them. They are obviously good players and it will be good to test ourselves against them. Tom is coming along nicely and it will be good to see how he does against the Koreans as well. We can push each other going towards Tokyo and that will be good for us all I think.”
Also hoping to lay down a marker ahead of the European Championships as well as improve their chances of qualification for Tokyo 2020 are Jack Hunter-Spivey (men’s class 5), Martin Perry (men’s class 6), Billy Shilton (men’s class 8), Ashley Facey Thompson (men’s class 9), Josh Stacey (men’s class 9), Megan Shackleton (women’s class 4) and Fliss Pickard (women’s class 6).
The tournament will also provide valuable experience for some of the Pathway and Development squad athletes including Lucie Bouron, gold medallist at the Para Copa Cristina Hoffmann in Mexico earlier this year.
The full British squad for the PTT Czech Open is:
Alex Bland, 20, Rotherham (men’s class 7)
Lucie Bouron, 24, Bracknell (women’s class 3)
Paul Davies, 52, North Cornelly (men’s class 1)
Rob Davies, 35, Brecon (men’s class 1)
Ashley Facey Thompson, 24, London/Sheffield (men’s class 9)
Ryan Henry, 19, Ardrossan (men’s class 8)
Jack Hunter-Spivey, 24, Liverpool/Sheffield (men’s class 5)
Tom Matthews, 27, Aberdare (men’s class 1)
Martin Perry, 25, Paisley/Sheffield (men’s class 6)
Fliss Pickard, 25, Burnley/Sheffield (women’s class 6)
Megan Shackleton, 20, Todmorden/Sheffield (women’s class 4)
Billy Shilton, 20, Stonehouse/Sheffield (men’s class 8)
Joshua Stacey, 19, Cardiff/Sheffield (men’s class 9)
Noel Thomas, 39, Redcar (men’s class 2)