By Gary Anderson

September 13 - Great Britain's Will Bayley will be on the hunt for European gold in LiganoBritain's Will Bayley claimed he is looking forward to doing battle at the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) European Championships in Ligano, where he will renew his rivalry with Germany's Jochen Wollmert, the man who denied him gold at London 2012.

Last year Bayley lost 3-1 to the three-time Paralympic champion in a tense and emotional men's singles class seven final and the man from Kent could get the chance to exact some revenge if he meets the 47-year-old veteran at the European Championships, which are due to  run from September 27 to October 4.

Since losing in London, the 25-year-old has been in impressive form, winning singles gold at the Italian and Slovenian Opens as well as a bronze at the Slovakian Open in May.

"I think I'm better now than I was in London actually," Bayley told website paralympic.org. 

"The season that I had before London wasn't so good, and I think I was feeling very tense in that season before London.

"I didn't play badly in London, but I didn't feel like I finished well because I think it hampered me because I was under a lot of pressure."

"I think now I've played better since, as I've felt more relaxed in tournaments, which is good."

Bayley's consistency sees him currently ranked number two in the world behind Ukrainian Maxym Nikolenko, who lost to compatriot and world number three Mykhalo Popov in the bronze medal match at last year's Paralympics.

German Paralympic champion Jochen Wollmert will be one of the men to beat in Italy at the European Para-table tennis ChampionshipsGerman Paralympic champion Jochen Wollmert will be one of the men to beat in Italy at the European Para-table tennis Championships

















































All four will be expected to be in with a shout when the medals are being handed out in Ligano.

Nikolenko sits just four points ahead of the Briton in the world rankings, with both men having beaten each other once already this season.

"He's a world-class player," said the 2011 European champion, who recently took part in a Para-table tennis exhibition match in the Copper Box Arena as part of the National Paralympic Day celebrations, which took place in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

"Someone who I think trains very hard many hours a day.

"He's the greatest competitor, that's for sure.

"I show a lot of emotion, but he doesn't.

"We're not the same characters, but it's good to get different characters in the game playing against each other."

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related Stories
August 2013: London 2012 stars to attend National Paralympic Day at Olympic Park
June 2013: Britain secure three golds at Bayreuth Para-table tennis Open
May 2013: Para-table tennis star Bayley eyes hat-trick of gold medals at Slovakian Open
May 2013: London 2012 medallists take more gold for British table tennis squad at Slovenian Open
May 2013: Bayley strikes gold again at Slovenian Open