Will Bayley missed out on the gold medal by the smallest of margins after a heartbreaking 3-2 defeat to China’s Yan Shuo in the final of men’s class 7. The match was a repeat of the final in Tokyo that Yan won in four sets.

Before Tokyo, Bayley had not played a tournament for two years due to a combination of injury and the pandemic but still managed to reach the final. Since then, he had not lost a match in men’s class 7 and came to Paris in the form of his life after regaining both the World title in 2022 and the European title last year.

He had never beaten Yan in four previous matches and the pair had not met since Tokyo. Although the Chinese World number three had not won a major title since taking Paralympic gold he also came into the tournament in good form having taken gold in Thailand in July.

Tonight’s final was a superb match between the best two players in men’s class 7 and the quality of the rallies drew gasps from a sell-out crowd as both players displayed incredible skill.

Bayley started slowly and was 9-1 down but fought his way back to 9-8 down before Yan clinched the first set 11-8. Bayley was 5-0 down again in the second but came back to level at 5-5 and then took the set 14-12 with a brilliant winner. Yan took the third 11-7 but Bayley came back to level again, taking the fourth 11-7 to force a decider.

At 3-1 in the fifth Bayley, having received a yellow card in the first game, was adjudged by the umpire to have kicked the ball away while trying to pick it up and received a red card and a point penalty. To his credit Bayley put the incident behind him and from 5-3 down came back to lead 9-8. At this point Yan took a time out and it proved to be the right call as he went on to take the set 11-9 and the match 3-2.

“I thought I played really well at times,” said Bayley. “I started very slowly but then I got my rhythm and felt really good. I just felt, weirdly, even when I was playing badly, that I’m going to find a way back into this match. I never doubted myself at all even though I wasn’t hitting the ball well. I thought I’m not catching it but then I started catching it and I felt the momentum swing in my favour, and I felt on top, especially going into the fifth set. I had a vision of how I should win the match and what I needed to do. I was thinking about spinning it down the line a few shots and I was thinking about getting into his forehand and into his backhand – I was thinking tactics and how I can win, and I just felt that it was the finest of margins and that’s sport sometimes and it can happen. It was a great atmosphere and a privilege to be part of the match.

“It’s not easy to play that level in a Paralympic final. Both of us probably played our best level – maybe I could play better at the start, but I started motoring at times and I was playing my top level and he was playing his top level and I think it was a really good match.  It’s not easy to play that way in a big tournament and I felt I did play my best at times today – not just here but in all my matches. It was just so close, and I feel that I was just millimetres away from getting the win. I’ve got to watch the video back to know what I could have done better but I felt I was in control at times.

“I was two points away and I was trying to think what I was doing. I was so nervous to serve because I was always thinking he (the umpire) is going to call my serves, so it was difficult to do what I wanted to do and I think that affected me on the big points. But I’ve got to give him (Yan) credit – he won the big points, and it was what it was and there’s nothing I can do about it now.”

Although bitterly disappointed Bayley can be incredibly proud of reaching his fourth consecutive Paralympic final.

“I think I will be proud,” he said, “but it is a tough one to take. I don’t really know what to think at the moment because it is so close to the end of the match. It’s going to be a hard one to take for a while because I was so close to winning the gold medal and it’s what I’ve been dreaming of for a long time so it’s going to hurt for a while.”