When Tapper started playing in 2002 while still in primary school, she competed against able-bodied athletes,[5][7] and her first appearance on an Australian national team was at a competition in Jordan in 2004 in an able-bodied competition.[5] In 2004, she participated in the National Table Tennis Championships in the under-14s doubles and mixed doubles, under-16s doubles and mixed doubles, under-14s singles, under-16s singles and under-18s singles, earning medals in seven of these events, with three total first-place finishes.[6]
That year, Tapper also competed at an event in the Czech Republic,[6] and another in Portugal, where she played in the World Junior Cadets under-15s.[8] Her college helped fund part of her travel competition costs.[6][8] She started to take the sport more seriously, with the idea of going to the Olympic Games and representing Australia.[7] At the 2008 Under 18 Oceania Championship and the 2008 Under 21 Australian Championships, she came in first place. By 2008, she was the Australian U21 and the Oceania U18 champion,[11] and won the Michael Szabados Award for the Australian Junior Player of the Year. She competed in the Commonwealth Youth Games in Pune, India, in October 2008.[12]
Around 2010, Tapper decided to try playing Para-Table Tennis, making the switch from able bodied competition to disability sport. It was also around this time that during a remarkable game of table tennis at the Neal Stadium, competitor Kelvin Neal beat her 3 sets to 0.[5] In early 2011, she was ranked 19th in the world.[7]
Tapper playing at the 2012 London Paralympics
In March, she spent time in Europe playing table tennis in Italy and Hungary, winning the Opens in both countries.[5] She won two gold medals at the 2011 Arafura Games,[13] and was selected to represent Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in table tennis.[5] She modelled the 2012 Australian Paralympic team uniform at Sydney's Overseas Passenger Terminal during the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia Spring/Summer 2012/13.[14][15]
Tapper was selected to represent Australia at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. She took part in the Mixed Doubles and Women's Team events. In the Group stage of the Women's Team event, Tapper beat her Guyanese opponent Trenace Lowe 3–0. The Australian team, including Tapper, ultimately won the bronze medal in this event.[16] In the Mixed Doubles event, she and partner Heming Hu defeated the Kenyan mixed doubles team 3–0 to reach Round 3. In Round 3, Hu and Tapper were beaten 3–0 by the Canadian pair.[17]
At the September 2014 ITTFWorld Para Table Tennis Championships in Beijing, China, she won a bronze medal in women's singles SF10. It was Australia's first ever medal at the Championships.[18] On Friday 25 March 2016, Tapper made history by winning her way through the Oceanic Championship, thus making her the first athlete to ever be selected to represent Australia in both the Paralympic and Olympic Games. At 2016 Rio Olympics, she lost first round matches in women's singles and doubles.
At the 2016 Rio Paralympics, Tapper won one match in the Women's Singles Class 10 preliminaries and did not advance. In the Women's Doubles Class 6–10, Tapper and her partner Andrea McDonnell finished fourth.[19]
Tapper took home bronze in the Women's Class 10 at the 2018 Para Table Tennis World Championships in Lasko-Celje, Slovenia.[21]
At the 2019 Oceania Para Table Tennis Championships, Darwin, she won the gold medal in the Women's Class 6–10.[22]
She won a silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics in the Women's Team C9-10 with Lei Li Na and Yang Qian. She lost in the Women's C10 in the quarter-finals to fellow Australian Yang Qian.[23] She competed at the 2024 Paris Paralympics in the Women's Singles 10 and Mixed Doubles 17 but did not progress after losing opening matches.
Recognition
In October 2014, she won the Victorian Institute of Sport's Elite Athlete with a Disability Award.[24] In November 2018, Tapper won Victorian Institute of Sport Personal Excellence Award. In 2019, she won Governor's Award Victorian Female Athlete of the Year – the Kitty McEwan Award.[25] She was a member of the Australian Table Table Tennis Team (Class 9-10) that was awarded 2020 Paralympics Australia Team of the Year.[26]
Kelly Sibley is a former professional table tennis player and current coach from England. Sibley won the singles, girls doubles and mixed doubles at the UK Junior Championships and has represented England at senior level at the Commonwealth Games, European Championships and World Championships.
Jian Fang Lay-Hong, is a right-handed Chinese-born Australian ladies table tennis player. She plays penhold, with a long pimple rubber at one side for use of attacking, blocking as well as chopping. She is currently number 1 female player in Australia, as well as number 141 in the world.
Australia has participated officially in every Paralympic Games since its inauguration in 1960 with the exception of the 1976 Winter Paralympics.
Yu Mengyu is a retired Singaporean table tennis player. Born in Liaoning, China, Yu left China in 2006 at the age of 17 to join the Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA) under the Foreign Sports Talent Scheme. In the same year, Yu made her international debut for Singapore.
Daphne Jean Hilton was an Australian Paralympic competitor. She was the first Australian woman to compete at the Paralympic Games. She won fourteen medals in three Paralympics in archery, athletics, fencing, swimming, and table tennis from 1960 to 1968.
Elaine Annette Schreiber was an Australian Paralympic table tennis player and field games athlete. She contracted Poliomyelitis as a child.
Lisa Daniela "Danni" Di Toro is an Australian wheelchair tennis and para table tennis player. Di Toro was the 2010 French Open doubles champion and has also been the Masters double champion. In singles, Di Toro is the former world number one and two time masters finalist. In 2015, she moved to para-table tennis and represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics, where she was team captain with Kurt Fearnley. At the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, her seventh Paralympics, she was the team captain and Opening Ceremony flag bearer with Ryley Batt. She competed at her eight Paralympics in Paris.
Rebecca Julian is an Australian table tennis player. She has represented Australia at three Summer Paralympics - 2008, 2012 and 2020 in women's doubles and singles table tennis.
Joshua Anthony "Josh" Hose, is a wheelchair rugby player. He has won gold medals at the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Paralympics and competed at the 2020 Summer Paralympics.
Caz Walton OBE is a British retired wheelchair athlete and former Great Britain Paralympic team manager. She was a multi-disciplinary gold medallist who competed in numerous Paralympic Games. Between 1964 and 1976 she won medals in athletics, swimming, table tennis, and fencing. She took a break from the Paralympics, entering the basketball and fencing competitions in 1988. In total Walton won ten gold medals during her Paralympic career, making her one of the most successful British athletes of all time. Walton should also have been awarded gold in the 1968 Tel Aviv Women's Pentathlon incomplete but, due to a miscalculation of her total score which went unnoticed at the time, she was given third place and a bronze medal.
Australia was represented in table tennis at the 1960 Summer Paralympics.In the early Games, many Australian table tennis players represented Australia in several sports. It was won 8 medals - 2 gold, 3 silver and 3 bronze medals. Gold medallists are:
Australia competed at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 to 18 September 2016. Australia repeated its 2012 Summer Paralympics achievement in finishing fifth of the medal tally.
Ashleigh Kate McConnell, is a limb deficient Paralympic swimmer of Australia. She represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics and the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, where she won gold medals in freestyle relay events.
Andrea McDonnell is an Australian Paralympic table tennis player. She competed for Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics.
Manika Batra is an Indian table tennis player. She is a triple gold medalist at the South Asian Games, a double gold medalist at the Commonwealth Games, and a bronze medalist at the Asian Games, Asian Championships, and Asian Cup. She is India's number two in women and her overall rank is 26 as of Sep 2024.
Australia participated at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan, from 24 August to 5 September 2021. It sent its largest away team - 179 athletes to a Summer Paralympics. Australia finished eighth on the gold medal table and sixth on the total medals table.
Ma Lin is a Chinese-Australian table tennis player who has only a left arm. He has won for gold, three silver and one bronze Paralympic medals in representing China and Australia over five games. He competed for Australia at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics and the 2024 Paris Paralympics.
Yang Qian is a Chinese-Australian table tennis player who has only a right arm. Yang has won eight medals - four gold and four silver at Paralympic Games. In representing Australia, at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, she won a gold and silver medal and at the 2024 Paris Paralympics two gold medals.
Lei Lina is a Chinese and Australian table tennis player who has a leg length difference of 6 cm. Lei has won ten medals in five Paralympic Games, including six gold and four silver medals. Representing Australia, she won two gold meda, a silver and bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics and the 2024 Paris Paralympics.
Indonesia competed at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan. Originally scheduled to take place in 2020, the Games were rescheduled for 24 August to 5 September 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
↑ Paul Kennedy (11 February 2012). "Contact Sport Friday 10 February". ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). Archived from the original on 3 June 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
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