Carroll aims high ahead of nationals

TABLE tennis player Rory Carroll continues to serve and drive for success as a top Australian para-athlete.

Carroll will compete in next month’s Table Tennis Australia National Para Championships at Sydney Olympic Park in the class 11 singles division for people with an intellectual disability, the class 11 doubles, and the men’s doubles.

“To be able to represent Victoria and Australia in table tennis where the Olympics were held is something that’s pretty special,” he said. “It’s extraordinary.

“When I look back on it, it will be pretty cool to say that I played in a venue where the Olympics were.”

Currently ranked second in Australia, and within the top 20 internationally, Carroll said he is confident in his form, and that he has been performing well.

“I’ve been playing in Ballarat three nights a week, and I’ve been trying to get as much practice in as I can,” he said.

“Sam Von Einem is the bloke I’m trying to catch, and he’s quite a bit above my standard at the moment.

“My goal for these games is to beat the players that I have beaten in the past from other states, maintain that level, and aim high.

“I need to raise the bar. You never can be complacent.”

The nationals will follow Carroll’s win at the 2023 Victorian Open in Croydon, where he beat Tokyo Paralympian Jake Ballestrino in the para singles.

Mixing with the country’s best, Carroll has a dream to reach the sport’s pinnacle like his mates.

“There’s a tournament in Taiwan in October, and that’s a qualification tournament for the Paris Paralympics,” he said.

“If I get selected, and go over there, I will be really, really keen. The prize, if I did well, would be to go to the 2024 Paralympics.

“They only send one class 11 player, but I’ll have a red-hot go at it.”

Carroll has been playing for 20 years and is supported by the FedUni WestVic Academy of Sport.

He said he continues to enjoy table tennis and can’t imagine life without it.

“It’s part of my routine, and I’ve made plenty of friends here and overseas,” he said. “I’ll keep playing as well as I can and hope to get more good results.”