Robert Davies

Started: He took up the sport in 2006. (Athlete, 27 Jul 2016; walesonline.co.uk, 14 Sep 2016) Reason: He met British Para table tennis player Sara Head by chance while he was rehabilitating from his accident. (paralympics.org.uk, 29 Oct 2011) Awards: He received the Male Athlete of the Year award at the 2017 Disability Sport Wales Awards. (disabilitysportwales.com, 01 Jan 2024) In 2017 he was named Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire [MBE]. (ittf.com, 31 Dec 2016) Additional Info: BREAK FROM SPORT After the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, he took time away from the sport to focus on family and plan his wedding to wife Meg in 2017. "It is hard to get a balance and I definitely needed to get away from table tennis after Rio and have some family time. I'd been playing since I came out of hospital in 2006 and I needed to spend some time with family and put everything into that for a while. My wedding day was brilliant and I'm glad I gave up that time. Now it is about combining family and career and getting back to focusing on table tennis, getting the hunger back and enjoying the best of both worlds really. I've got a good support network - not only with the British team but with my family and friends - and I've got to make the most of that, be confident that I've got that behind me and go and enjoy myself on the table." (britishparatabletennis.com, 11 Nov 2020)