I may not be there yet but I'm closer than what I was yesterday.
Table Tennis Australia could hardly have named a better candidate to be Co-Captain of the 2020 national Para-squad than Jake Ballestrino, who joined Milly Tapper in the role.
The 30-year-old, who was born with an upper limb deficiency, took up Para-table tennis in 2012, representing Australia for the first time just a year later at the age of 20. He began playing right-handed but, after he broke his arm and started playing left-handed, he decided to never go back.
In 2017, he claimed the silver medal in the men’s singles C6 at the Oceania Championships – a feat which he describes as a career highlight. The Victorian, who also works as a community educator and administrative officer, spent years working towards his first Paralympic selection and was chosen to represent Australia at Tokyo 2020.
He made his Paralympic debut at Tokyo 2020, contesting in the men’s individual C7, however did not advance to the quarterfinals when he lost his three matches. He went on to play alongside Trevor Hirth in the men’s team C6-7, advancing to the quarterfinals. However, the duo were knocked out of competition by Great Britain’s Paul Karabardak and Will Bayley, who recorded a 2-0 win against Australia.
