16 Dec 2016

Will Bayley of Great Britain has been honoured for his Men's Class 7 triumph achieved at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro with the Sports Journalists' Association handing out an award to the 28-year-old from Tunbridge Wells on Thursday 15th December.

by Simon Daish

The ceremony held at The Pavilion at the Tower of London saw Will Bayley collect the Bill McGowran Trophy, presented to athletes for outstanding achievement in Paralympic sport.

Speaking after receiving his award Bayley was delighted to see his Paralympic title win not go unnoticed.

“This is such a big award for me personally but also for table tennis and it is amazing to finally get some recognition for the sport” – Will Bayley.

Rio 2016 saw Bayley defeat Israel Pereira Stroh of Brazil by a 3-1 scoreline in the Class 7 final (11-9, 5-11 11-9, 11-4), and after his victory against Stroh the British player was over the moon with his Paralympic campaign success in the summer having missed out on gold four years previously at London 2012 “This is the best feeling in the world” said Bayley in Rio. “I never thought it was going to happen again when I lost in the final in London as table tennis is such an unpredictable sport and to get to a final in two Games is an unbelievable achievement.”

Bayley has also been elected to the Athlete Ambassador programme for the 2018 Commonwealth Games representing England.

Kadeena Cox, who won Paralympic gold medals in both cycling and athletics event was awarded the corresponding Bill McGowran Trophy for a female athlete.

Para Table Tennis Will Bayley