Carroll the gold standard at Nationals

TABLE tennis player Rory Carroll has returned to Ballarat a triple-gold medallist following the 2022 Table Tennis Australia National Championships in Caloundra, Queensland.

The Team Vic Para athlete succeeded not only in singles and doubles, but also brought home a silver medal.

“In the Para Class 11 category, I was playing in the final against my mate Jake Ballestrino, winning three sets to one, and I also won gold in a teams match with Steven Watts,” Carroll said.

“In the doubles I won gold with my partner Sam Von Einem from Adelaide, and the silver was against him in the men’s singles, and although he won three-love, it was a good competitive game.

“After not competing at Nationals for three years it was nice to go back and do well. It was quite exciting to win the medals, and I’m really happy with how I prepared and played,” he said.

Carroll’s success on the Sunshine Coast came just weeks after he competed at the International Table Tennis Federation French Para Open in June.

“I didn’t quite win a match in my singles division but won a doubles match with my doubles partner Sam,” he said.

“Because of COVID, I hadn’t travelled for a while, so it was huge to travel with the team and so nice to see them face-to-face after three years.”

Carroll first started playing table tennis as a teenager in 2003 when he was studying at Ballarat Grammar, and went to his first international comp in Mexico that year.

He continues to train in the Australian Paralympic Squad and hopes to qualify for a comp in Spain in August.

“I enjoy being on court, the fast hand-eye coordinated game, and having the opportunity to travel with my table tennis.

“It’s been really good for me throughout my life, and I’ve made so many friendships along the way,” Carroll said.

“I’ve loved representing Australia, wearing the green and gold, competing against top-ranked players from all across the world, and stepping up onto the podium quite a number of times.”