TABLE tennis player Rory Carroll has returned to Ballarat a triple-gold medallist following the 2022 Table Tennis Australia National Championships in Caloundra, Queensland.<\/p>\n
The Team Vic Para athlete succeeded not only in singles and doubles, but also brought home a silver medal.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 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,\u201d Carroll said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the doubles I won gold with my partner Sam Von Einem from Adelaide, and the silver was against him in the men\u2019s singles, and although he won three-love, it was a good competitive game.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter 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\u2019m really happy with how I prepared and played,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Carroll\u2019s success on the Sunshine Coast came just weeks after he competed at the International Table Tennis Federation French Para Open in June.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t quite win a match in my singles division but won a doubles match with my doubles partner Sam,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause of COVID, I hadn\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
He continues to train in the Australian Paralympic Squad and hopes to qualify for a comp in Spain in August.<\/p>\n
\u201cI enjoy being on court, the fast hand-eye coordinated game, and having the opportunity to travel with my table tennis.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been really good for me throughout my life, and I\u2019ve made so many friendships along the way,\u201d Carroll said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve 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.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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. \u201cIn the Para Class 11 category, I was playing in the final against […]<\/p>\n