People with Parkinson’s from all over the world took part in the third ITTF World Parkinson’s Table Tennis Championships in Crete, Greece, at the beginning of November.
Taking place from 1-5 November, the event was part of the very first World Table Tennis For Health Festival which also hosted the World Alzheimer’s Championships and the first World Table Tennis For Health Congress, a platform for sharing knowledge, experiences and ideas in the pursuit of better health through playing table tennis.
ITTF and ITTF Foundation President, Petra Sörling, expressed her pride in the diversity of representation, stating, “I am extremely proud to see we have representation from five continents – it is a key factor for us because we want to be a sport for all, everywhere. Table tennis for all, for a better life, here at the first World Table Tennis For Health Festival!”
This year’s ITTF World Parkinson’s Table Tennis Championship, which was organised in partnership with The Hellenic Table Tennis Federation, saw two participants from Africa taking part for the first time. As part of the legacy of the World Table Tennis Championships held in Durban in May this year, two South African athletes with Parkinson’s were sponsored by ITTF to go to the Festival in Greece. Naseema Parak and Rajesh Nanjee from South African organisation Parkinson’s ZA made the 24-hour trip to Crete from South Africa to compete in the four-day Championship and to raise funds for Parkinson’s ZA.
Also competing was Elisabeth Ildal, a person with Parkinson’s and founder of Danish Parkinson’s group Cure4Parkinson. Now in her sixties, she has been playing table tennis for more than 50 years.
“You shouldn’t think that we were just there to enjoy Crete, sunbathe, swim, enjoy each other’s company or relax,” Ildal told Parkinson’s Europe. “Make no mistake: we are also a bunch of competitive people who came to perform. Several probably played their best ever. They fought until the last ball was played and for some the fight started even before the game started.”
Table tennis is thought to be beneficial for people with Parkinson’s because of its need for good hand-eye coordination, balance, movements in different directions and the social aspect.
“For most, the combination of table tennis and Parkinson’s seemed a contradiction in terms,” said Ildal. “How can people with dead nerve cells and very low dopamine production move and coordinate hands, arms, eyes, the body as a whole, handle strong stimuli to the brain and jump around a ring at full speed? In a way, it is more fascinating and more impressive to watch people with Parkinson’s than to watch two ordinary people play table tennis.”
The 2024 ITTF World Parkinson’s Table Tennis Championships will take place in Hennebont, France, in October.
Watch games from this year’s ITTF World Parkinson’s Table Tennis Championships on YouTube
Parkinson’s Europe is sharing this article for information purposes only; it does not represent Parkinson’s Europe’s views and is not an endorsement by Parkinson’s Europe of any particular treatments, therapies or products.
