Table tennis at the Summer Paralympics facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Table tennis at the Summer Paralympics |
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| Governing body | ITTF |
| Events | 29 (men: 16; women: 13) |
| Games | |
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Paralympic table tennis is a super exciting sport! It has been a part of every Summer Paralympic Games since they first started in 1960. In this sport, athletes with different disabilities compete.
Both men and women play in singles (one-on-one) and team events. They are grouped into ten different classes. These classes are based on how much their disability affects their play. Regular Table tennis (also called ping-pong) joined the Summer Olympic Games much later, in 1988.
Contents
Paralympic Table Tennis: A Quick Look
This table shows how many events were held at each Paralympic Games. It also shows which country won the most medals that year.
| Games | Year | Events | Best Nation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1960 | 11 |  Italy |
| 2 | 1964 | 12 |  Great Britain |
| 3 | 1968 | 15 |  Israel |
| 4 | 1972 | 19 |  West Germany |
| 5 | 1976 | 27 |  Switzerland |
| 6 | 1980 | 32 | West Germany |
| 7 | 1984 | 36 | West Germany |
| 8 | 1988 | 38 | West Germany |
| 9 | 1992 | 36 | Germany |
| 10 | 1996 | 28 |  France |
| 11 | 2000 | 30 | France |
| 12 | 2004 | 28 |  China |
| 13 | 2008 | 24 | China |
| 14 | 2012 | 29 | China |
| 15 | 2016 | 29 | China |
| 16 | 2020 | 31 | China |
Medal Winners: Who Won the Most?
This table shows all the medals won by different countries in Paralympic table tennis. It includes results up to the 2020 Summer Paralympics. Gold medals are for first place, silver for second, and bronze for third.
| Rank | NPC | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China (CHN) |
78 | 31 | 20 | 129 |
| 2 | West Germany |
43 | 28 | 26 | 97 |
| 3 | France (FRA) |
36 | 45 | 54 | 135 |
| 4 |  Austria (AUT) |
29 | 23 | 29 | 81 |
| 5 |  South Korea (KOR) |
27 | 36 | 36 | 99 |
| 6 | Great Britain (GBR) |
26 | 32 | 47 | 105 |
| 7 | Germany (GER) |
25 | 27 | 29 | 81 |
| 8 |  Netherlands (NED) |
19 | 14 | 23 | 56 |
| 9 |  Sweden (SWE) |
16 | 28 | 23 | 67 |
| 10 |  United States (USA) |
14 | 15 | 24 | 53 |
| 11 | Switzerland (SUI) |
14 | 7 | 10 | 31 |
| 12 |  Belgium (BEL) |
10 | 10 | 16 | 36 |
| 13 |  Poland (POL) |
10 | 10 | 9 | 29 |
| 14 | Israel (ISR) |
10 | 4 | 10 | 24 |
| 15 |  Finland (FIN) |
8 | 6 | 9 | 23 |
| 16 |  Slovakia (SVK) |
6 | 8 | 9 | 23 |
| 17 |  Denmark (DEN) |
6 | 5 | 8 | 19 |
| 18 | Italy (ITA) |
5 | 12 | 19 | 36 |
| 19 |  Hong Kong (HKG) |
5 | 9 | 11 | 25 |
| 20 |  Czech Republic (CZE) |
4 | 8 | 5 | 17 |
| 21 |  Australia (AUS) |
4 | 7 | 3 | 14 |
| 22 |  Yugoslavia |
4 | 4 | 3 | 11 |
| 23 |  Hungary (HUN) |
4 | 3 | 6 | 13 |
| 24 |  Norway (NOR) |
3 | 7 | 10 | 20 |
| 25 |  Ireland (IRL) |
3 | 5 | 9 | 17 |
 Japan (JPN) |
3 | 5 | 9 | 17 | |
| 27 |  Ukraine (UKR) |
3 | 3 | 8 | 14 |
| 28 |  Romania (ROM) |
3 | 2 | 4 | 9 |
| 29 |  Turkey (TUR) |
2 | 3 | 4 | 9 |
| 30 |  Russia (RUS) |
2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 31 |  Nigeria (NGR) |
2 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| 32 |  Spain (ESP) |
1 | 6 | 13 | 20 |
| 33 |  Serbia (SRB) |
1 | 4 | 3 | 8 |
| 34 |  RPC |
1 | 2 | 4 | 7 |
| 35 |  Canada (CAN) |
1 | 1 | 7 | 9 |
| 36 |  Croatia (CRO) |
1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 37 |  Thailand (THA) |
1 | 0 | 4 | 5 |
| 38 |  Jordan (JOR) |
1 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| 39 |  Slovenia (SLO) |
1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 40 |  Peru (PER) |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 41 |  Chinese Taipei |
0 | 4 | 7 | 11 |
| 42 |  Brazil (BRA) |
0 | 3 | 5 | 8 |
| 43 |  Argentina (ARG) |
0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
 Mexico (MEX) |
0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| 45 |  Egypt (EGY) |
0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 46 |  India (IND) |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
 South Africa (RSA) |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
 Unified Team |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 49 |  Malta (MLT) |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 Zimbabwe (ZIM) |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 51 |  Iceland (ISL) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Independent Paralympic Participants |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Indonesia (INA) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Jamaica (JAM) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Moldova (MDA) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Montenegro (MNE) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Philippines (PHI) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Portugal (POR) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Rhodesia |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Serbia and Montenegro |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (60 entries) | 433 | 430 | 543 | 1,406 | |
Top Athletes: Multi-Medal Winners
These are the amazing table tennis players who have won many medals at the Paralympics. Some have won at least two gold medals or five medals in total. Players who are still competing are shown in bold.
| No. | Athlete | Country | Years | Games | Gender | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zhang Xiaoling | China (CHN) |
1988-2008 | 7 | F | 9 | 1 | 2 | 12 |
| 2 | Tommy Taylor | Great Britain (GBR) |
1960-1980 | 6 | M | 8 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
| 3 | Jochen Wollmert | Germany (GER) |
1992-2012 | 6 | M | 5 | 2 | 3 | 10 |
| 4 | Natalia Partyka | Poland (POL) |
2004-2016 | 4 | F | 5 | 1 | 1 | 7 |
| 5 | Baruch Hagai | Israel (ISR) |
1964-1976 | 4 | M | 5 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Irene Schmidt | Netherlands (NED) |
1972-1980 | 3 | F | 5 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| 7 | Ján Riapoš | Slovakia (SVK) |
2004-2012 | 3 | M | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 8 | Michael Dempsey | United States (USA) |
1972-2000 | 8 | M | 3 | 4 | 3 | 10 |
| 9 | Rainer Küschall | Switzerland (SUI) |
1972-1984 | 4 | M | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| 10 | Christophe Durand | France (FRA) |
1996-2008 | 4 | M | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| 11 | James Rawson | Great Britain (GBR) |
1992-2008 | 5 | M | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| 12 | Gerda Becker | Netherlands (NED) |
1976-1980 | 2 | F | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Mati Angel | Israel (ISR) |
1960-1980 | 4 | F | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| Holger Nikelis | Germany (GER) |
2004-2012 | 3 | M | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| 14 | Carol Bryant | Great Britain (GBR) |
1968-1972 | 2 | F | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 15 | Peter Rosenmeier | Denmark (DEN) |
2004-2016 | 4 | M | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| 16 | Kelly van Zon | Netherlands (NED) |
2008-2016 | 3 | F | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 17 | Neil Robinson | Great Britain (GBR) |
1992-2008 | 5 | M | 1 | 4 | 1 | 6 |
| 18 | Thu Kamkasomphou | France (FRA) |
2000-2016 | 5 | F | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| 19 | Zlatko Kesler |  Yugoslavia (YUG) Serbia (SRB) |
1992-2012 | 6 | M | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 20 | José Manuel Ruiz Reyes | Spain (ESP) |
2000-2016 | 5 | M | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
More About Paralympic Table Tennis
Many countries from all over the world have sent athletes to compete in Paralympic table tennis. It's a truly global sport!
See also
In Spanish: Tenis de mesa en los Juegos Paralímpicos para niños
- World Para Table Tennis Championships
- European Para Table Tennis Championships
- Table tennis at the Summer Olympics
