Joel Coughlan: Rockhampton table tennis player wins silver at Tokyo Paralympics

Joel Coughlan was co-captain of Australia’s most successful Paralympic table tennis team in history.

Rockhampton’s Joel Coughlan on the dais after winning silver in the at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

Two weeks in hotel quarantine in Sydney has given Rockhampton’s Joel Coughlan plenty of time to reflect on his memorable Paralympics debut.

The 33-year-old was part of the Australian men’s table tennis team which won silver in Tokyo.

He was also co-captain of the Australian para-table tennis team, which finished with two gold and four silver medals, the country’s best result at a Paralympic Games.

Playing at the Paralympics was a dream come true for Coughlan, who had three and a half toes amputated in 2007 after a work-related incident in which half a tonne of mining equipment fell off a forklift on to his right foot.

“Sitting in hotel quarantine leaves you a lot of time to think so I believe that it has sunk in but there will still be plenty to celebrate when I get home to friends and family,” he said.

“I’m absolutely stoked about the silver medal.

“It came with me on the plane. It was packed very safely into my carry-on backpack.

Australia’s Joel Coughlan, Lin Ma and Nathan Pellissier celebrate their silver medal in the men's table tennis team classes 9-10 at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

“Standing on the dais was a very proud moment and a time to acknowledge all the hard work that has been put in behind the scenes.”

Coughlan said it was “just phenomenal” to be able to compete against the best in the world on the biggest stage in the world.

“The other big standout for me would be the whole Australian Paralympic mob that were in Tokyo,” he said.

“Meeting everyone and hearing their journey to get to the Games was inspiring.

“Every time an Australian would compete there would be an energy in the village that would push all athletes to go out and give their all.”

Coughlan opened his Paralympics campaign in the singles, in a very tough group.

Australia’s Joel Coughlan and Lin Ma playing China’s Lian Hao and Zhao Yi Qing in the gold medal match. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

While he failed to progress through the group stages, he said he pushed the world number three and number six to the wire, something which instilled a lot of confidence moving into the teams matches.

“Our team was seeded 13th and was not expected to progress too far into the competition,” he said.

“We were confident that we could do much better than that with doubles being such a critical part of the teams event and myself and Ma Lin had played quite well together at the Victorian Open earlier this year.”

Coughlan said the Aussies’ big win came in the quarter final, when they convincingly beat second seeds France to guarantee at least a bronze medal.

They beat Nigeria in the semi-final to set up the gold medal match against China.

“Heading in, we believed that we could beat China but on that night they were too strong for us,” Coughlan said.

“They played very well straight out the gate. We missed a few easy balls early and then found it difficult to get back into our rhythm and they were able to run away with the match.”

Rockhampton's Joel Coughlan: “Meeting everyone and hearing their journey to get to the Games was inspiring.” Photo: Table Tennis Australia

Coughlan said he could not wait to get back to Rockhampton and see wife Joanne and his young son August again after being away for seven weeks.

He would do some light training and head back to work as sales and service manager for Chauvel Industrial Services, a local family-owned company which has been incredibly supportive as he chased his sporting dream.

Coughlan said competing in Paris in 2024 was an exciting prospect but something he would not commit to just yet.

“I would love to compete in Paris, but three years is still a long way away. You could look at it as say 1000 training sessions,” he said.

“Working full-time, intense training schedules and having a young family is very difficult to juggle so I will be taking it easy for the rest of the year and will reassess then.

“We set goals in life for long-term vision and short-term motivation.

“Completing goals gives you satisfaction to keep moving forward. It is always a pleasure to tick a goal off and I will be setting new ones in the near future.”