Paul Karabardak

Paul Arif Karabardak
Personal information
NicknamePK
NationalityWelsh
Born (1985-10-03) 3 October 1985 (age 39)
Swansea, Wales
Height5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Sport
Country Great Britain
SportPara table tennis
DisabilityBrain haemorrhage
Disability classC6
ClubCardiff TTC
Medal record
Para table tennis
Representing  Great Britain
Paralympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2020 Tokyo Team C6-7
Bronze medal – third place 2020 Tokyo Singles C6
Bronze medal – third place 2024 Paris Doubles MD14
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Beijing Men's teams C6-7
World Team Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Bratislava Men's teams C6
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2017 Lasko Men's teams C6
Silver medal – second place 2011 Split Men's teams C7
Silver medal – second place 2015 Vejle Men's teams C6
Bronze medal – third place 2001 Frankfurt Men's teams C7
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Genoa Men's singles C7
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Lignano Men's teams C7
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Lasko Men's singles C6

Paul Arif Karabardak (born 3 October 1985) is a Welsh para table tennis player who has competed in three Summer Paralympics.[1]

Biography

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Karabardak was a keen footballer when he was a child but he suffered from a massive stroke aged 10, he played table tennis after his stroke in a local youth club.[2]

Sporting career

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Aged 16 in 2001, Karabardak was chosen to participate in the GB Para Table Tennis Team in Frankfurt for the European Championships. He won his first national medal along with David Hope, a bronze in the teams' event. He continued to win two silver medals and two bronze medals in the team events. In 2017, in Lasko, Slovenia, Karabardak won his first ever European gold medal with David Wetherill and Martin Perry after defeating Croatia in the final.[3]

2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, China were Karabardak's first Paralympic Games. He lost in the group stage of the tournament after losing to two matches and winning one. In the 2012 Summer Paralympics, he was second in his group by winning against Kim Young Sung and losing to bronze medalist Mykhaylo Popov. At his third games in Rio de Janeiro, he was bottom of his group and didn't advance to the final rounds.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "IPTTC Profile - Paul Karabardak". International Para Table Tennis Federation. 15 April 2019.
  2. ^ "Paul Karabardak - British Para Table Tennis Squad". British Para Table Tennis. 15 April 2019.
  3. ^ "GB trio are pure gold!". Table Tennis England. 4 October 2017.