Welsh athletes win silver and two bronzes at Paralympics in Tokyo

Wales' James Ball, Paul Karabardak and Tom Matthews all won medals at the Tokyo Paralympics on Saturday.

Track cyclist Ball and his teammate were beaten to gold by fellow Brits Neil and pilot Matt Rotherham in the B 1000m time trial.

They beat their old world record of 59.278 seconds with a new mark of 58.038 to give Neil his second Paralympic gold after he won with Barney Storey at London 2012.

In para-table tennis, Karabardak, who's competing at his fourth games, lost his class six semi-final to American Ian Seidenfeld 3-0, but still collected bronze.

“It was really difficult because I was tired today,” admitted Karabardak, after he was taken to a deciding set in the quarter-finals.

"Even if I was at my best and even if I was fresh I think I would have struggled to live with him the way he was playing today," he told British Para Table Tennis.

The 35-year-old from Swansea now has a Paralympic medal to add to his world and European honours.

“It is fantastic to have got that bronze medal,” he said, “and it means everything to me."

"I thought it was slipping away so it is a dream for me because I have won a lot in my career and I’ve had some good wins and I’ve won World and European medals but it wouldn’t have been the career I would have wanted without a Paralympic medal and now I’ve got one so I think it completes my career."

"Not that I’m saying it is over yet because I’ve still got a lot to give the sport and a lot more things to win.”

Karabardak has the chance to win a second Paralympic medal as he will compete in the men’s 6-7 team event.

Matthews, from Aberdare, lost to World champion Hyeon Uk 3-0, but still picked up a bronze at his first Paralympics.

"I’ve got to be proud of coming home with a medal - I didn’t think I’d do that."

“This has given me massive motivation. I can’t wait to get back to training. I’ll have a bit of time off now, have a bit of a break to reflect and come back stronger.”