Adrian Casha, accompanied by his coach Katia Mifsud from MTTK, has brought home a GOLD medal for Malta in the World Ping Pong Parkinson Championships 2022. These championships were held in Pula, Croatia from the 12th to the 16th October 2022.
Ping Pong Parkinson and Table Tennis
This event is the third edition of the World Championships by Ping Pong Parkinson. The first and second editions were held in New York and Berlin respectively. With one athlete and one coach, Malta was the smallest contingent in this event among the twenty countries that participated.
Men’s Doubles Group Stage
During the initial group stage, the team Adrian Casha [MLT] / Marjan Vitanc [SLO], overcame the doubles entries from the UK, Germany and Austria. Subsequently, they sailed through Group 6 Cat 3 with convincing 3-0 wins against all their opponents.
Men’s Doubles Knock Out and Final
Another three match wins against the contestants from Israel, Slovenia and Germany B were obtained on the road to the final on Friday 15th Oct. Scores were 3-0, 3-0 and 3-1 scores respectively.
The final was played on Saturday 16th Oct with the newcomers Casha/Vitanc facing the tournament top seeds Trabalski/Kalkhoff. This emotional game saw the Malta/Slovenia team winning GOLD at the Ping Pong Parkinson World Championships with a strong 3-0 score.
Men’s Singles
Earlier on during the competition, Adrian also participated in the Men’s Singles events although he didn’t qualify from the Group Stage. However, he obtained a dramatic 3-2 win in his consolation match versus Ronen Stein from Israel.
Benefits of Table Tennis
Many studies are showing how Table Tennis is helping people with Parkinson Disease. The benefits of the sport encompass improvements in motor skills, general mood, balance, coordination and fitness. There is scientific proof that Table Tennis reduces the symptoms and also reverses the progress of the condition. Therefore, more and more people with Parkinson diagnosis are taking up Table Tennis to improve their health while also having a good time.
Contact us at MTTK for details of training sessions and how to join.
All are welcome!
You can watch the Men’s Doubles Final Match on our youtube channel: https://youtu.be/Bn2xvatWcr4