Wandsworth Paralympian table tennis star Aaron McKibbin picked up his first medal of a season where places for Rio 2016 are up for grabs.

The 23-year-old, now based in Sheffield, won team silver in the class 8 category at the Lignano Masters Open last week.

With partner Ross Wilson, McKibbon, who is sponsored by James Pendleton, lost 3-2 to a Ukranian pair, before beating a French/German duo 3-0 to reach the quarter-finals.

They then beat Belgium 3-0, but lost out to the same Ukrainian pair of world number one Viktor Didukh and Ivan Mai in the final, going down 3-1.

McKibbin said: “Getting the silver was great as that was the first time Ross and I played together since London 2012 and I’m sure opponents will be scared to play us in the coming season, which will give us confidence for the singles.”

He added: “I’ve had some ups and downs. I lost a match to a new player, which is bad for rankings, but overall it’s a good start to build on.

“It takes time for the new training to come into the matches, but there were flashes where it happened, especially playing against the world number one.”