Tuesday, 26th September to Saturday, 30th September 2023
Over 700 people attended the just concluded 4th edition of the PingPongParkinson World Championships 2023. Hosted in Wels, Austria these championships were the largest and most competitive PPP World Championship ever. The total number of players was 286, with 87 women and 199 men. The first day kicked off with 700 matches on 48 tables. Subsequently, over the next four days players made their best effort to take some medals home.
ALPHA TTK was represented at this event by Anna Tabone and Adrian Casha. Accompanied by their coach Katia Mifsud, they competed in the following categories:
A. Tabone Ladies’ Singles (Class 3) & Ladies’ Doubles (Class 2)
A. Casha Men’s Singles (Class 3) & Men’s Doubles (Class 2)
Tabone & Casha Mixed Doubles (Class 3)
PingPongParkinson World Championships 2023 – united against Parkinson
Throughout the event, we witnessed the power of people being united against Parkinson. Together, they demonstrated to themselves and to the world that people with Parkinson are not limited to being closed in their homes, but that there is hope when we come together to play at the table tennis tables. Playing table tennis not only improves Parkinson symptoms & halts the disease progression, but also provides the opportunity for great social interactions that fuel the spirit, uplift the mental state, and leave wonderful memories and social connections.
A total of 23 countries were represented in this edition of the championships. Amongst these were Italy and Hungary, who participated for the first time.
Austria, Brazil Czech Republic, Croatia, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Scotland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and USA.
Two BRONZE for Malta at the PingPongParkinson World Championships 2023
The final results of the competition saw both Maltese participants on the podium with bronze medals!
Women’s Singles Class 3
- Claudia Hellinger (AUT)
- Agnes Jan (AUT)
- Anna Tabone (MLT) and Hiromi Ando (JPN)
Men’s Doubles Class 2
- Norbert Hase & Horst Schunk (GER)
- Jörgen Sjöstedt (SWE) & Andreas Moroff(GER)
- Marjan Vitanc (SLO) & Adrian Casha (MLT) and Michael Busch & Wolfgang Hölscher-Obermaier (GER)
A word of thanks!
ALPHA TTK wishes to thank all those who supported the participation of the Maltese competitors in this event. Without your help, this experience would not have been possible:
- Hon Julia Farrugia Portelli
- Hon Graziella Galea
- Malta Council for the Voluntary Sector
- Maltese Olympic Committee
- Malta Table Tennis Association
- Mr Mauro Pace Parascandalo
- Mr Dag Forsell
- Ms Lucy Attard
- Mr Anthony Darmanin
The club offers the sport of table tennis as therapy for those who live with Parkinson. We encourage all those persons with this condition to reach out and contact the club for more details. In the coming months the club is also embarking on a new project with this aim. This project is funded by the SIS2024 scheme offered by the Malta Council for the Voluntary Sector.