Issue No.123 / October 2026
SWAYTHLING ELIAS RANEFUR New Lease of Life
YOON JIYU
Sheer Perfection
PETR KORBEL Chiba or Atlanta which was the greater success?
OLALEKAN OKUSAN Africa recognises dedication and loyalty
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SWAYTHLING Issue No.123 / October 2026
CONTENTS=
4 6
Elias Ranefur seizing the opportunity
Editor & Design:
Tomlinson, Suzie Venner, Diane Webb, World Table Tennis, Yoon Jiyu
Sub Editor: Richard Scruton
Photographers: Alamy, Malcolm Anderson, Butterfly, Bernard Comeliau, Elizeu Diaz, Thorsten Gohl, Rémy Gros, Owen Hammond, Kate Hockenhull, International Table Tennis Federation, Richard Kalocsai, Michael Loveder, Pei-Ching Ko, Mike Rhodes, Manfred Schillings, Stag, John Upham, Table Tennis England, World Table Tennis
Ian Marshall
Statistics: Günther Angenendt, Matt Solt Contributors: Luke Abrahams, Sharath Kamal Achanta, Reto Bazzi, Claude Bergeret, Francesca Bullock, Choi Seongwoo, Geovanny Coello, Yvonne Fogarty, Steve Grant, Per Hallström, Lars Hauth, Scott Houston, Vivek Kohli, Miran Kondric, Petr Korbel, Valentin Langehegermann, Tony Martin, Olalekan Okusan, Leandro Olvech, Wahid Enitan Oshodi, Pei-Ching Ko, Alan Ransome, Neils Ramberg, Elias Ranefur, Nils-Erik Sandberg, Richard Scruton, Petra Sörling, Paul Stimpson, Istvan Szalai, Kai Thornbech, Alan
Published by: Swaythling Club International Swaythling Club International Executive Committee: Claude Bergeret (President), Reto Bazzi (Deputy President), Jordi Serra (Secretary), Richard Scruton (Treasurer), Zdenko Kriz, Lilamani de Soysa, Gloria Wagener
https://swaythlingclub.org/
EDITORIAL From the Executive THE COMMONWEALTH Has table tennis injected a renewed interest?
18 24 38
NEW LEASE OF LIFE Elias Ranefur
48 56 62 70 76 84 88 96
GREATER ACHIEVEMENT Petr Korbel
130
SHEER PERFECTION Yoon Jiyu DESPAIR, DETERMINATION, DELIGHT Luke Abrahams
WAXING LYRICAL Olalekan Okusan PACIFIC OVERTURES Scott Houston reports ITTF FOUNDATION From Phoenix to Gonda GANGNEUNG AND BEYOND Medallists reflect SWAYTHLING CLUB NEWS Alan Tomlinson honoured WE REMEMBER In memoriam IN FOCUS International tournaments in July, August and September FROM THE ARCHIVES The 1929 World Championships October 2026 SWAYTHLING 3
Reto Bazzi
From the Executive Our thoughts are with Claude Bergeret, President of the Swaythling Club International, who is presently recovering from surgery. We all wish her well. Reto Bazzi, Deputy President, presents his views
RIGHT Charlotte Carey secured women’s doubles bronze, alongside Anna Hursey, in the table tennis events at the Birmingham 2022 Commonweealth Games
Congratulations to our member, Dina Meshref, on her performance at the prestigious WTT Champions Macao in September, a quarter-final finish in the women’s singles at a tournament filled with illustrious names was a quite remarkable performance. Throughout her career, from being a promising junior player to nowadays a high level senior, who can compete with the very best, always Dina has set the very highest standards in every possible aspect
Currently we have approximately 450 members of which more than 90 names on the list have passed their 80th birthday; this year, a period of nine months, only 25 new members have been attracted. of sport. She represents the principles for which the Swaythling Club stands. Notably, she has been named as the role model for the 2026 Dakar Youth Olympic Games to be staged later this year. 4 SWAYTHLING October 2026
Dina is 32 years old, one of the younger Swaythling Club members and quite possibly at the peak of her career. Likewise, Charlotte Carey from Wales, 30 years of age, joined the Swaythling Club in 2025, she is a Great Britain coach and mentor, in addition to being a member of the ITTF Athletes Commission. Dina and Charlotte set the example; now the task is to enrol more players in the Swaythling Club from their generation. Currently we have approximately
EDITORIAL
450 members of which more than 90 names on the list have passed their 80th birthday; this year, in a period of nine months, only 25 new members have been attracted. The age balance and number of new names give cause for concern. We need a major drive to attract more members to a club that is totally unique in the world of sport. Membership opens doors. Invitations are received to such major tournaments as World Championships, World Masters and European Championships. On a different level support is regularly provided for good causes, working closely with the ITTF Foundation, the projects agreed endorse the long-established Swaythling Club principles
Amended over the years but the basis of the Club remains the same: • to bring together former international players and officials • to foster international friendship • to help each other whenever possible • to encourage younger players. • to emphasise the importance of fair play • to co-operate with the ITTF and to maintain good relations with continental federations • to retain the history of table tennis
ABOVE Dina Meshref reached the women’s singles quarter-final at the WTT Champions Macao
Now, a goal, a challenge: the date Monday 20th April 2027 marks 60 years since the Swaythling Club was officially formed! Let’s make the effort to welcome 60 new members by that date! October 2026 SWAYTHLING 5
6 SWAYTHLING October2026
THE COMMONWEALTH
The
Commonwealth Has table tennis injected a renewed interest?
October 2026 SWAYTHLING 7
India Saves the Day BELOW A most colourful opening ceremony welcomed players and officials
C
hampions were crowned, a tournament most recently held seven years ago returned to the calendar; for future competitions within the Commonwealth, an association of 56 member states, the majority once territories of the British Empire, do those facts bode well? Has table tennis set the example? From adversity is there now a sense of optimism? The Thyagraj Indoor Stadium in the Indian city of New Delhi staged the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships from Monday 27th July to Sunday 2nd August, the event being organised
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concurrently with the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, a gathering which did not include table tennis. Over half a century ago, the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships were first staged in 1971 in Singapore, the result of delegates from Commonwealth countries meeting at the 1969 World Championships in Munich. Since that date and including the present tournament, a total of 22 editions has been staged, prior to this year the most recent being in 2019 when India once again bid welcome, the Jawahar Lal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Cuttack being the venue.
THE COMMONWEALTH Totally separate, table tennis first appeared in the Commonwealth Games in 2002 in Manchester; to date six editions, the most recent being in late July and early August 2022 in Birmingham, England. Pertinently, some three months prior to the gathering, in April the Australian state of Victoria was announced as the host for four years hence; in July 2023, the Victorian state government cancelled, stating escalating cost projections the reason. Quite simply, the whole concept of the Commonwealth Games, popularly referred to as the Friendly Games, was in peril; no bidders to host the multi-sport event. In September 2024, Scotland agreed to stage a streamlined version featuring 10 sports as op-
posed to the 19 four years earlier in Birmingham; table tennis was axed. Intent that Commonwealth table tennis should not falter, India with Vivek Kohli at the helm, stepped forward at the last minute; hastily the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships were staged. Notably, in four years time, India will once again support table tennis. It has been publicly announced that as hosts for the 2030 Commonwealth Games, to be staged in Ahmedabad, including Para play, table tennis is firmly on the schedule.
INDIA
It was the seventh time when India had hosted the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships Previously they had staged the event in Mumbai (1982), New Delhi (2001 & 2013), Jaipur 2007), Surat (2015), Cuttack (2019)
Furthermore, it will be a milestone, the centenary edition, the first being in Hamilton Canada in 1930 when known as British Empire Games.
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An Evaluation One question posed by members of the media time and again: does Commonwealth sport still have a place on the international calendar? To answer the query, from a table tennis viewpoint one name stands out, India’s Sharath Kamal Achanta. At the Commonwealth Games the record reads seven gold, three silver and three bronze; for the Commonwealth Championships four gold, six silver, five bronze. He explains the effect of these competitions on his career and their value on the global stage.
What do you consider your greatest achievements at either the Commonwealth Championships or the Commonwealth Games?
Games was there cheering me on, and coming home to a hero's welcome remains one of the most emotional memories of my career.
Looking back over the years, it is the Commonwealth Games (CWG) that has come to mean even more to me than the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships (CTTC), though it was the CTTC that gave me my very first taste of international success.
Students from my school, my clubmates, my coaches - so many people who had supported me along the way were there, celebrating my success as if it were their own. It was a powerful reminder of how deeply table tennis, and the Commonwealth platform in particular, connects athletes with their communities back home.
Both events, in their own way, shaped the player I became.
RIGHT The men’s singles winner at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
What was the reaction in India when you won at either the Commonwealth Games or the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships? The 2006 CWG win was massive. During the men's singles final, the entire Indian contingent at the
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In what ways did you benefit from playing in the Commonwealth Games and Championships? In the early years, the CTTC carried a great deal of weight in India, but once table tennis was included in the CWG programme in 2002, attention and support shifted noticeably in that direction. Nearly all of my major awards, sponsorships and recognition followed the 2006 CWG gold. The high point, without question, came after the 2022 Birmingham Games, where I won three golds and a silver and was named the best sportsperson across all sports in the country that year. None of that would have been possible without the platform the u
In 2004, I became the first Indian to win a CTTC gold, and that moment gave me my first real exposure on the world stage. But it was the 2006 CWG gold in Melbourne that truly put me on the global table tennis map. That was the turning point: players around the world started to know my name, club managers across Europe began to take notice, and coaches started following my progress.
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RIGHT Rekha Gupta, the Chief Minister of Delhi, addressed all present at the opening ceremony BELOW Vivek Kohli the driving force
Commonwealth Games gave me, and I remain grateful for the doors it opened.
What were the events that led to India hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Championships? When it became clear that table tennis would not feature in the pared-down 2026 Glasgow programme, it would have been very easy for our sport to simply lose its place on the Commonwealth calendar that year. Instead, thanks to the vision and determination of Mr. Vivek Kohli, India stepped forward to host the 2026 Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships - and did so on a truly grand scale. Rather than let the absence of table tennis from the Games pass quietly, the organisers made a deliberate decision to stage the CTTC in parallel with the CWG window itself, so that every player, official and fan of our sport could still feel part of the wider Commonwealth family that summer. It was a gesture of real foresight, and one
that speaks to the strength of table tennis administration in India today.
Who were the key people that made this possible? Mr. Vivek Kohli was, without doubt, the driving force behind this achievement. It was through his efforts that the local government came on board to fund the entire event, and for what I believe was the first time in the history of the CTTC, players competed for real prize money. That alone tells you how far our sport has come in India. He was strongly backed by the entire Executive Committee of the Commonwealth Table Tennis Federation, whose support made the planning and execution far smoother than it might otherwise have been. I would also like to recognise the contributions of Mr. MP Singh and Mr. Dushyant Chautala, whose involvement helped carry the tournament through to a hugely successful conclusion.
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THE COMMONWEALTH BELOW At the opening ceremony, the Indian team enters the arena
Understandably everything was "last minute", with little time to prepare.
What were the main obstacles that had to be overcome? With table tennis outside the core 2026 Games programme, the decision to host the CTTC came together on a genuinely tight timeline - venues, funding approvals, logistics and player scheduling all had to be finalised in a fraction of the usual lead time.
It was through his efforts that the local government came on board to fund the entire event, and for what I believe was the first time in the history of the CTTC, players competed for real prize money
What made it work was the speed and co-ordination shown by the organising committee and the federation: government funding was secured quickly, venues were locked in, and the playing schedule was built around the CWG window so that the wider Commonwealth sporting community could still engage with our event. It is a credit to everyone involved that, despite the short runway, the Championships came together as smoothly and professionally as they did.
The Commonwealth Games are often referred to as the "Friendly Games" - in your experience, what makes them different? For us as Indian athletes, the Commonwealth Games have historically been the first stage where we could genuinely expect to win medals and be recognised as a force on the international circuit. Over the years, with sustained effort from the federation, the government and other stakeholders, we have grown from occasional medal contenders into a side that
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Between the three of them, and the wider federation behind them, they turned what could have been a difficult year for our sport into one of its proudest.
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For many of us, and for many smaller sporting nations in particular, it remains one of the few occasions where we compete on a genuinely global stage, earn national recognition, and build the profile that opens doors afterwards. ABOVE The mixed doubles medal ceremony in New Delhi. Left to right Tee Ai Xi / Richard Yap Rui Ze (Malaysia), Taneecha Kotecha / Manav Thakkar (India), Manush Shah / Swastika Ghosh (India), Sreeja Akula / Sathiyan Gnanasekaran (India)
is respected across the Commonwealth - and we are now working hard to establish ourselves at the Asian Games too, against the traditional powerhouses of world table tennis. What has never changed, though, is the atmosphere. Even as the competitive standard has risen, the Games retain a warmth you don't always find elsewhere - athletes from very different countries training alongside each other, officials who know most of the players by name, and a genuine sense that everyone is there to grow the sport together rather than simply to win. That spirit is
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what earns the Games their nickname, it's something I hope we never lose as the event evolves.
Are Commonwealth sporting events still of value? It's true that the landscape has shifted — fewer nations sending full squads, some marquee athletes opting out, and less broadcast attention than in years past are all real and fair observations. I wouldn't pretend otherwise. But even as that broader visibility has softened, the value of the Commonwealth Games and Cham-
THE COMMONWEALTH
So my honest view is a balanced one: the Commonwealth movement is undoubtedly evolving, and it faces real questions about its future scale - but the recognition and opportunity it gives athletes, especially from nations with fewer alternatives, still make it very much worth preserving.
There were problems with the results service from the recent Commonwealth Championships — websites were blocked. How did this happen, and how can it be avoided in the future? From what I understand, the issue wasn't a deliberate blocking of access but simply a case of the Table Tennis Federation of India website being overwhelmed - during the tournament, traffic from fans and media around the world trying to follow live results spiked well beyond what the site was built to handle, and for viewers outside the country in particular, this made the page difficult or impossible to load at times. It's a good problem to have in one sense, as it shows how much interest the Championships generated, but it clearly needs fixing. Going forward, I'd suggest the organisers set up a dedicated, highcapacity results page - separate from the main federation website - built specifically to handle livescoring traffic, ideally hosted on a
content delivery network so it can scale automatically during peak sessions. Partnering with an established results platform used at other multi-sport events would also help ensure this doesn't recur at future editions.
What lessons have been learnt from the 2026 Commonwealth Championships? The clearest lesson is just how important it is to keep the CTTC and CWG alive as platforms, particularly for the smaller Commonwealth nations who don't have many other championships to compete in and who often cannot afford the costs of travelling to other international tournaments. For the continued development of table tennis across the Commonwealth, this remains an invaluable platform, and the success of the 2026 edition - hosted in India under very tight timelines - has shown just how much can be achieved when organisers, federations and government come together with real commitment. Is it feasible to re-introduce the Commonwealth Championships (hosting every four years between Commonwealth Games - 2028, 2032, etc.)? What are your views? Is it acceptable if top players do not compete? My personal preference, if I had to choose between the two, it would still be the Commonwealth Games over a standalone Championships. Playing under the Team India banner and competing as part of a larger multi-sport event gives us invaluable experience of the bigger occasion, and that kind of preparation translates directly into how we perform at the Olympic
u
pionships to athletes like myself hasn't diminished nearly as much. For many of us, and for many smaller sporting nations in particular, it remains one of the few occasions where we compete on a genuinely global stage, earn national recognition, and build the profile that opens doors afterwards.
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BELOW The women’s singles medal ceremony in New Delhi. Left to right Sreeja Akula, Yashaswini Ghorpade, Syndrela Das, Sutirtha Mukherjee
Games. That said, I don't think the two need to be in competition with each other - a regularly scheduled CTTC in the years between Games editions would give players, especially from smaller nations, a consistent stage to grow on, so long as it complements rather than competes with the CWG calendar. As for player availability, it's never ideal when a top name sits out, but that's true of almost every tournament on the calendar these days, and I don't think it should be read as a reflection on the value of the event itself.
In order to make the 2030 Commonwealth Games in Ahmedabad a success for table tennis, what factors need attention? Promotion will be everything for 2030, and I think the most powerful tool we have is genuine crosssport engagement - getting star athletes from other disciplines
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visibly involved with table tennis, and vice versa. Imagine the javelin thrower, Neeraj Chopra, gold medallist at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, picking up a paddle for an exhibition rally, or badminton’s PV Sindhu, silver medallist at Rio 2016, trying her hand at a table tennis point; table tennis players in turn having a go at track events or even lawn bowls. That kind of playful, high-profile crossover captures public imagination in a way that traditional promotion simply can't, and it would go a long way toward building excitement for table tennis specifically within the broader Ahmedabad Games. Alongside that, sustained investment in grassroots visibility, strong domestic broadcast partnerships, and continued backing from the government and federation - of the kind we've already seen build momentum through the CTTC and recent CWG editions — will be essential to carrying that excitement through to a genuinely successful Games.
THE COMMONWEALTH
Luke Abrahams
Luke Abrahams led South Africa at the recent 2026 ITTF World Team Championships in London and at the ensuing Southern Africa (Zone 6) Championships in Harare
The South African viewpoint For South Africa, the Commonwealth Games plays a vital role in the development of athletes and the growth of sport. Qualifying for the Olympic Games is incredibly challenging, so the Commonwealth Games provides an important steppingstone by exposing athletes to world-class competition, professional event structures, and the pressures of performing on a major international stage. From a table tennis perspective, inclusion in the Commonwealth Games is hugely important. Table tennis is one of the most widely played and watched sports in the world, the Games provide a valuable platform to showcase the incredible talent, skill, and dedication of our athletes. Also, it gives sports that may not always receive the same level of attention as some of the larger codes an opportunity to shine on the international stage. Another unique strength of table tennis is its multi-discipline format. Athletes can compete in several events, including singles, doubles, mixed doubles, and team competitions. This creates more opportunities for success, allows athletes to gain broader international experience, and increases the sport's overall contribution to the Games. Most importantly, seeing table tennis at the Commonwealth Games inspires the next generation. Young players are motivated when they see athletes representing their country at prestigious events, and that inspiration is essential for the continued growth
of the sport in South Africa and the world over. The Commonwealth Championships may not carry quite the same prestige and profile as the Commonwealth Games, but it still provides an excellent opportunity for athletes to compete against highquality international opposition and strengthen relationships within the Commonwealth sporting community. Having played in the Championships myself, I found it to be a valuable experience both competitively and personally. It gave athletes additional international exposure and another benchmark to measure their progress against some of the best players from across the Commonwealth. If a format can be successfully implemented, I believe the Championships could become an important event on the calendar. More international competition opportunities are always beneficial for athlete development, and it would give Commonwealth nations another occasion to come together, compete, and raise the overall standard of the sport. October 2026 SWAYTHLING 17
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ELIAS RANEFUR
New Lease of
Life Opportunities to prove yourself in sport may be very few and far between, you may have to wait months, even years but when an opening arises, embrace the challenge, be positive, display self-belief, ELIAS RANEFUR sets the example.
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I DON’T REMEMBER EXACTLY WHEN MARCUS SJÖBERG TOLD ME ABOUT THE SELECTION, BUT I REMEMBER MY EXCITEMENT AHEAD OF THE TOURNAMENT, IT WAS WHAT I HAD DREAMT OF ABOVE The moment dreams came true, followed by Mattias Karlsson, Elias Ranefur marches proudly into the Wembley arena amid a blaze of pyrotechnics
wo months before his 30th birthday, Sweden’s Elias Ranefur made his debut at a World Championships, he was present earlier this year in London, his first match on Sunday 3rd May; he faced a daunting task, China presented the opposition.
T
”I don’t remember exactly when Marcus Sjöberg told me about the selection, but I remember my excitement ahead of the tournament, it was what I had dreamt 20 SWAYTHLING October 2026
of”, recalled Ranefur. “Marcus said before the group stage that his plan was to let me play against China, so I prepared for that; we had to win one individual match against China in order to win the group, so we changed our line up and put me as number one.” Winning one match, not that easy especially for Ranefur; his first opponent was Lin Shidong, his potential second adversary, Wang Chuqin. Life could not have been more testing; these were the two
ELIAS RANEFUR
”I was confident that I would perform well, but not that I would win against Lin Shidong, I felt my game could fit against a player like him and that he would find my style tricky because of my serves and aggressive play; I started strongly and led 2-0 in games”, said Ranefur. ”He came back and had the upper hand up until the end of the fifth game, it felt incredible to win that match, it was amazing that together we could win the whole match against China.”
Ranefur trod in illustrious footsteps, a performance for the history books; your first appearance in a World Championships, you conclude the fixture on the winning team against the leading nation on planet earth and by winning your very first ever match in the event you contribute massively to that success. Now that’s a story for your grandchildren! Eventually, Sweden reached the quarter-finals losing to Chinese Taipei but Ranefur proved his worth, Wang Chuqin was his only defeat; not selected against Hungary, against Croatia
ABOVE Elias Ranefur celebrates victory against Lin Shidong BELOW The date Saturday 26th February 2000, Sweden holds high the Swaythling Cup, left to right Jörgen Persson, Jan-Ove Waldner, Peter Karlsson, Fredrik Hakansson, Ulf Carlson
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players who had occupied the top spot on the men’s world ranking since Tuesday 19th March 2024, the date when Fan Zhendong had relinquished his status.
In a full distance five games duel, Ranefur beat Lin Shidong before later losing to Wang Chuqin. Sweden secured a 3-2 win; their first such World Championships success against China since 2000 when in Kuala Lumpur, Peter Karlsson, Jörgen Person and JanOve Waldner had recorded the same margin of victory in the final in opposition to Kong Linghui, Liu Guoliang and Liu Guozheng. October 2026 SWAYTHLING 21
PLAYING THE EUROPE SMASH IN MALMÖ WAS A FANTASTIC EXPERIENCE; MY FAMILY CAME TO WATCH THE QUARTER-FINAL, THERE WERE SO MANY FRIENDLY PEOPLE THERE, I GOT AMAZING SUPPORT FROM THE CROWD, THAT WAS HELPFUL ABOVE Elias Ranefur in full flight in Malmö
he beat Filip Zeljko, in opposition to Chinese Taipei, Fen Yi-Hsin.
FACING Plenty of local fans at the Europe Smash
”Sadly we lost to Chinese Taipei in the quarter-finals, but it felt like a breakthrough for me; I took with me confidence from that performance, the knowledge that I can
22 SWAYTHLING October 2026
perform at my best in moments like that”, explained Ranefur. ”Next time, if in a situation like that and I feel nervous, I will know that I have overcome tough situations like that in the past.” Was the performance in London, a
ELIAS RANEFUR one hit wonder? Not so, at the Europe Smash staged in Malmö in mid-August, on home soil, Ranefur was once again in the spotlight. He beat Romania’s Iulian Chirita, China’s Wen Ruibo and Croatia’s Tomislav Pucar, before by the very narrowest of margins in the seventh game, losing to Japan’s Sora Matsushima. ”Playing the Europe Smash in Malmö was a fantastic experience; my family came to watch the quarter-final, there were so many friendly people there, I got amazing support from the crowd, that was helpful”, explained Ranefur. ”I had changed to Stiga equipment on the first of August, so I hadn’t been playing with the blade or rubbers for long, but they felt very good.” Quite simply Ranefur underlined the fact that good players adapt. ”I had done my pre-season training in a good way and felt ready for the new season”, he added. ”Even though I lost to Matsushima, that match was most memorable; there was a great atmosphere in the hall, the match was so tight, I really gave it my all.” More proof, if needed, that the performances were no flash in the pan; in September, he won the men’s singles at the WTT Contender Panagyurishte in Bulgaria, notably beating colleague Kristian Karlsson at the semi-final stage, Germany’s Dimitrij Ovtcharov in the final.
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Ranefur had proved he could compete against the best but in recent times one wondered if such a situation would ever come to fruition; for 12 years he had been on the brink of the Swedish men’s team,
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THE COOK ISLANDS WAS ONE OF THE MORE EXOTIC PLACES WE VISITED; WE WENT TO PLACES LIKE SOUTH KOREA, THERE WE HAD A HARD TIME WINNING MATCHES, SOMETIMES WE WENT TO PLACES WERE WE WON MORE MATCHES; IT WAS ALWAYS A LOT OF FUN but time and time again he had been overlooked. A promising teenager, it seemed the year 2014 was an immediate springboard to greater riches. Notably, he enjoyed success on the ITTF World Junior Circuit; he travelled here, there and everywhere, a proverbial globetrotter. ”I have amazing memories of ITTF Junior Circuit events with my club Ängby, we visited many interesting places around the world, it was exciting to play against players from different parts of the world”, reminisced Ranefur. ”The Cook Islands was one of the more exotic places we visited; we went to places like South Korea, there we had a hard time winning matches, sometimes we went to places where we won more matches; it was always a lot of fun!” Playing in the Cook Islands in May meant that Ranefur qualified for the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games in August. He finished third in his group, behind Brazil’s Hugo Calderano and Argentina’s Fermin Tenti, he progressed to win the consolation event overcoming India’s Abishek Yadav in the final. 24 SWAYTHLING October 2026
BELOW Elias Ranefur in action at the Nanjing 2024 Youth Olympic Games.
Likewise, he reached the quarterfinals of the boys’ singles at the 2014 World Junior Circuit Finals in Asuncion, Paraguay (actually held in January 2025), losing to Kazakhstan’s Kirill Gerassimenko. Fine performances but arguably the best of 2014 came in July in Riva del Garda, Italy, when finishing the boys’ singles silver medallist at the European Youth Championships. In the final he lost to Frenchman Alexandre Cassin but en route overcame such notable names as Hungary’s Adam Szudi, Slovenia’s Darko Jorgic and compatriot Anton Källberg. ”The European Youth Championships in Riva del Garda 2014 was an incredible experience for me, I was selected as number five in the Swedish team and had never represented Sweden at any championships prior, but that spring I had developed a lot and our coach Marcus Sjöberg chose to play me as number three in the team event”, reminisced Ranefur. ”We lost in the semi-finals but I was undefeated, in the singles I continued playing great, reaching the final was huge for me.” Throughout Elias was accompanied by Nisse Sandberg, the man who since Ängby
ELIAS RANEFUR
”Nisse has been a fantastic mentor to me, he has not just been a mentor, he has also been a wonderful friend; we got to know each other when I was about 12 years old and he has always been there for me”, stressed Ranefur. ”Nisse has shown me what it means to be loyal, supportive, and generous, he is full of knowledge and wisdom and has been a person that I look up to; he showed me you can achieve things here in life if you are willing to put in the work.”
ABOVE Elias Ranefur right faces left Kirill Gerassimenko at the 2014 ITTF Global Junior Circuit Finals in Asuncion BELOW Together in 2014 Nisse Sandberg left and right Elias Ranefur travelled the world
A year to remember, Ranefur now faced the burning question, what of the future? Was playing table tennis full time a realistic option? ”I graduated from upper secondary school in the summer of 2014 and then had to make decisions about what to do moving forward”, recalled Ranefur. ”I dreamt of playing table tennis professionally, but my path forward wasn’t clear nor obvious; the fact that I developed so much that year and played so well opened up u
was founded on Wednesday 29th February 1956, a leap year, has always been at the helm.
Willing to put in the work; that fact was clearly illustrated by Sandberg himself; the fact that he was prepared to make the effort to escort Ranefur to distant destinations was a prime reason the young man reaped rewards.
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”We worked together through his cadet and junior ages and travelled to 22 World Junior Circuit tournaments all over the world”, recalled Sandberg. ”The year 2014 was his breakthrough, the one Swedish player in the Youth Olympics in China, I remember so well when he won the last qualification tournament in the Cook Islands!”
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ELIAS RANEFUR Date of Birth: 29th July 1996 Residence: Stockholm Clubs: Ängby SK (2006-2016), Halmstad BTK (2016-2021), Bergneustadt, Germany (2021-2022), LNTT Roanne (France, Pro B & Pro A) 2022 – present) Represents Ängby SK in Swedish competitions and has done so since he was 10 years old; previously he played for Ekerö IK, a comparatively smaller club Racket Blade: Stiga Cybershape Carbon Rubber: Stiga Helix Hybrid XH on both sides
Primorac; in Tokyo, he was selected for the fixture against the United States. He partnered Anton Källberg to success against Feng Yijun and Zhang Kai but was beaten in his singles match by Zhang Kai. Sweden having earlier lost to Korea Republic did not progress to the quarter-finals.
opportunities for me, the path to go professional became clearer.” The path clear but not wide, following 2014 until the recent 2026 World Team Championships in London, Ranefur gained national team selection on just three occasions. At European Championships, he played in 2015 in Yekaterinburg and in 2025 in Zadar; in 2019 he competed in the World Team Cup in Tokyo. ”At that time in 2015 Sweden could have seven players for a European Championships, after 2015 just five”, sighed Ranefur. ”From 2016 to 2025 I was just outside the national team, I was on standby for many championships and I joined many training camps.” In Yekaterinburg, he was eventually beaten by Croatia’s Zoran 26 SWAYTHLING October 2026
ABOVE Elias Ranefur faces Zhang Kai in the 2019 World Team Cup in Tokyo
”The World Team Cup in Tokyo was fun but it didn't feel the way I wanted it to feel”, said Ranefur. ”I joined the team because someone else was injured or couldn't play or for other reasons; I wanted to feel like I had earned my spot through my own merits.” Meanwhile, in Zadar, Sweden experienced a 3-2 quarter-final defeat against Romania; matters level following the opening two matches, Ranefur lost to Ovidiu Ionescu. ”My goal was always to play international championships for Sweden, I kept working hard focusing on the development of my game; throughout the years, there have been moments of doubt and there have been moments of feeling disappointed about my development; mostly I have enjoyed the journey”, explained Ranefur. ”In
ELIAS RANEFUR
I JOINED THE TEAM BECAUSE SOMEONE ELSE WAS INJURED OR COULDN'T PLAY OR FOR OTHER REASONS; I WANTED TO FEEL LIKE I HAD EARNED MY SPOT THROUGH MY OWN MERITS
In the summer of 2024 Ranefur gained his bachelor’s degree but focusing on full-time table tennis was not possible; there was a health issue. ”Also, in 2024 in the summer I had successful operations on both my hips”, explained Ranefur. ”I had been struggling with pain for several years.” On the brink of selection for major international tournaments but so near yet so far the outcome, it prompted deep thought. ”My training philosophy changed during these years, I became convinced that I had to only do exer-
cises personalised for me, I wanted to design them in a different way than traditional exercises”, said Ranefur. ”I wanted exercises to give more room for creativity, be more fun and be more focused on developing effective shots, rather than just drilling against a backhand block; I developed steadily with my new method of training and had fun doing so.”
ABOVE Elias Ranefur concluded play the men’s singles runner up at the 2025 ITTF Feeder Manchester
One definite effect was it gave Ranefur a confidence boost, a greater sense of belief. ”In January 2025 I felt like I had reached a higher level and wanted to invest more in playing events on the WTT Tour, I kept progressing and was selected for European Championships in Zadar”, recalled Ranefur. ”It was the first time where I felt like my level was high enough to compete with the other members in the Swedish u
January 2019 I started studying business online at university at 50 per cent speed, it was a side quest and felt good progressing in an area outside of table tennis.”
October 2026 SWAYTHLING 27
ABOVE Elias Ranefur opposes Kazuhiro Yoshimura in the men’s singles final at the 2025 WTT Feeder Prishtina
national team; I felt like I had earned my spot there and it felt great to be part of the Swedish team fighting for medals, losing to Ionescu in quarters, it felt like a missed opportunity, I was extremely disappointed, but there are always new chances.” Disappointment in Zadar but at WTT events there were clear signs that his philosophy was working; in men’s singles events at Feeder tournaments, he started to make his presence felt. In 2024 in Manchester and one year later in Prishtina he reached the final, losing respectively to Korea Republic’s Cho Daeseong and Japan’s Kazuhiro Yoshimura, most worthy adversaries. ”The final of the Feeder event in Manchester gave me plenty of confidence”, explained Ranefur. ”It felt great that I could reach so far in a tournament with so many good players; at the time I was
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generally playing better and in a more consistent way.” Later in 2026, he progressed to the semi-final in Cappadocia, losing to Romania’s Darius Movileanu, the same in Havirov where as in Prishtina, Japan ended hopes, he was beaten by Yuto Kizukuri. All promising results and in recent years gained by a calculated approach; Ranefur has given a great deal of thought as to how he can best progress. ”I have always been a player with a lot of quality in my shots but have not been so stable or consistent”, said Ranefur. ”I remember when I was younger, I could feel going into matches that I really wasn’t sure how it would go, my opponent would exploit me in some areas, I felt sometimes in a match I could really suffer, I never feel that way anymore heading into matches.”
ELIAS RANEFUR
THAT’S WHY MY FOCUS ALWAYS HAS TO BE ON DEVELOPMENT; SO MOVING FORWARD, I WILL FOCUS ON DEVELOPMENT, AND LET THE SCOREBOARD TAKE CARE OF ITSELF Now times have changed, the mindset is very different; Zadar and London have been clear lessons, Ranefur believes he is a member of the Swedish team by right. ”My confidence has grown thanks to all the work I have done and that I have more tools under my belt now”, he stressed. ”Playing many matches has also been a big part of my development and my confidence has grown from knowing that I can solve hard problems during the matches.” Self-belief but there is one other factor of major significance; Ranefur is comfortable in the tourna-
ment hall where he faces new challenges, it is no different in the training hall, the challenges may not be the same, but they are ever present and he relishes the trials. ”Of course it is fun with exciting tournaments like international championships, but I have always enjoyed the daily process of developing different aspects of my game, I believe that good results are just a derivative of that”, concluded Ranefur.
BELOW Elias Ranefur en route to winning the men’s singles title at this year’s WTT Contender Panagyurishte. In the final he recovered from a three games to one deficit and saved two match points in the deciding seventh game before emerging successful
The advice is sound, stop thinking about winning and losing, think about improving your skills and grasp opportunities, Elias Ranefur is the shining example.
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YOON JIYU
SHEER PERFECTION
YOON
JIYU
October 2026 SWAYTHLING 31
Being tenacious and staying locked on the ball helped strong performances; I am most satisfied that I stayed focused and never gave up until the very end of each match ABOVE The medallists in women’s singles class 3 at the ITTF World Para Challenger Wladyslawowo in March Left to right Andela MuzinicVincetic (Croatia), Yoon Jiyu (Korea Republic), Marliane Amaral Santos (Brazil), Thais Fraga Severo (Brazil)
W
inning an international event is a most worthy achievement, winning all three possible titles at the same tournament is an even greater accomplishment but then performing the feat at five competitions, five in succession, is dreamland, Korea Republic’s Yoon Jiyu is enjoying sweet dreams. A class 3 Para athlete, Yoon Jiyu made her first international appearance of 2026 in March. She was present in Poland at the ITTF World Para Challenger Wladyslawowo, she won women’s singles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles gold. One week later it was the same in the Italian resort of Lignano. A return to Europe in May, in Slovenia the good form
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continued; she completed the clean sweep in Lasko, first at the Challenger, then at the immediately ensuing Elite. Consistency a key factor, in July she made it five in a row, a full house at the Nakhon Ratchasima Elite in Thailand. “I did not expect it at all. I simply focused on elevating my level of play, and the great results naturally followed”, smiled Yoon Jiyu. “Being tenacious and staying locked on the ball helped strong performances; I am most satisfied that I stayed focused and never gave up until the very end of each match.” Most significantly, Yoon Jiyu attributes her success to a strong mental approach, vital for any player competing at high international level.
YOON JIYU
Looking back, I think winning at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Para Games was my greatest success
Furthermore, she has a motto which is most sound advice for any player: "instead of trying to win points by hitting hard, return one more ball than the opponent." Consistency is a key factor; clearly, she is increasingly comfortable on the big stage; she relishes the challenge. Prior to the current run of good form, Yoon Jiyu had demonstrated she could rise to the occasion. In 2022 at the Andalucia ITTF World Para Championships in Granada she had won women’s singles class 3, one year later at the 2022 Asian Para Games in Hangzhou (owing to COVID-19, the tournament was actually held in October 2023) it was same again, before in 2025 securing the women’s singles class 2-3 title at the Asian Para Championships in Beijing. “Looking back, I think winning at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Para Games was my greatest success”, she reflected. Winning such prestigious titles is a far cry from her introduction to the sport; she started when 13 years old in sixth grade at elementary school. “I wanted to try table tennis
BELOW Kim Hyeon Uk the mixed doubles partner for Yoon Jiyu on all five occasions
and visited a local table tennis club”, recalled Yoon Jiyu. “There, I heard that in Suwon many wheelchair players practised, which is where I truly began experiencing and playing the sport.” Quite simply Yoon Jiyu was hooked, she had made the first steps in a journey that was to change her life. Hours of practice, dedication, in 2014, she enjoyed her first success. Alongside Choi Jyun-Ja and Kim Ok, she was a member the women’s team that secured class 2-3 gold at the Copa Costa Rica in Central America. “As well as being my first international, it was the very first tournament of my table tennis career, so it holds a special meaning for me”, reminisced Yoon Jiyu. “While I don’t recall every detail, I was so young I went in with a light heart to gain experience and simply enjoyed it; that tournament paved the way for who I am today.” A major watershed in her career, add together all the medals she has won since that date and the 100 mark is approached; additionally, since reaching top spot on the women’s class 3 world rankings in June 2022, her name has appeared at the top of the list on more than 60 issues. She is expected to win against her peers, as a result of her
u
“Even in difficult situations, I focus on winning one point at a time and refuse to give away the momentum easily” she stressed.
October 2026 SWAYTHLING 33
FACING Yoon Jiyu en route to gold in women’s singles class 3 at the Andalucia 2022 World Championships in Granada
successes, she is very much a player who sets the example for her colleagues, a situation which does not cause her concern. “I do not really feel any pressure being number one”, said Yoon Jiyu. “I truly feel a strong team spirit, we all come together to cheer during crucial matches.” Currently she is one of the world’s leading Para athletes, technically strong from the backhand but the overriding feature is her desire to play table tennis and compete. “The charm of table tennis lies in dedicating 100 per cent of your focus to a single small ball; quick decision-making, technique, and reading the opponent's strategy
are essential, this makes me fall deeper into the game every time I play”, explained Yoon Jiyu. “Above all, I feel the greatest sense of accomplishment when I successfully execute a skill in a match after I had worked hard to improve during practice.” Dedicated, determined, she is well aware of the support she has received in her journey to the top of her craft. Above all, in her opinion, there is one person without whom the accolades gained would never have been possible. “I must express my deepest gratitude to my mother, looking back, her hardships began the moment I took up table tennis as a hobby;
u
BELOW Moon Sunghye with whom Yoon Jiyu enjoyed women’s doubles success in Wladyslawowo, Lignano and Nakhon Ratchasima
Above all, I feel the greatest sense of accomplishment when I successfully execute a skill in a match after I had worked hard to improve during practice
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YOON JIYU
YOON JIYU
MAJOR CAREER TITLES
Date of Birth: 28th December 2000
2022 ITTF World Para Championships, Granada Women's Singles Class 3
City of Birth: Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea Current Home: Cheoin-gu, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea Disability: In 2003, suffered a spinal cord injury owing to a high fever. Family: Yoon Daehyuk (father), Kim Hyessuk (mother), Yoon Seoyoon (twin sister) Racket Blade: Butterfly Harimoto Innerforce Super ZLC Forehand Rubber: Dawei 388D-2 OX (Black) Backhand Rubber: Butterfly Dignics 09C 1.9 (Red) Club: Seongnam City Hall
2023 Asian Para Games (2022) Hangzhou Women's Singles Class 3 2025 ITTF Para Asian Championships Beijing Women's Singles Class 2-3 Women's Doubles Class 5 (Seo Su Yeon)
TITLES: MARCH - JULY 2026 ITTF World Para Challenger Wladyslawowo Women's Singles Class 3 Women's Doubles Class 10 (Moon Sunghye) Mixed Doubles Class 4 (Kim Heon Uk) ITTF World Para Challenger Lignano Women's Singles Class 3 Women's Doubles Class 10 (Moon Sunghye) Mixed Doubles Class 4 (Kim Heon Uk)
Practice: five days per week from 8.00 am to 5.00 pm Coaches: the head coaches of the Korea Paralympic Committee's Rookie Athlete Camp, Choi Yongjung and Lee Donggeun World Ranking Women Class 3 (6th June 2022 to 31st August 2026) 53 weeks from 6th June 2022 to 5th June 2023 86 weeks from 7th August 2023 to 31st March 2025 4 weeks from 22nd September to 13th October 2025 17 weeks from 11th May 2026 to 31st August2026 Other interests: Dogs and making things
ITTF World Para Challenger Lasko Women’s Singles Class 3 Women’s Doubles Class 5 (Seo Su Yeon) Mixed Doubles Class 4 (Kim Heon Uk) ITTF World Para Elite Lasko Women’s Singles Class 3 Women’s Doubles Class 5 (Seo Su Yeon) Mixed Doubles Class 4 (Kim Heon Uk) ITTF World Para Elite Nakhon Ratchasima Women's Singles Class 3 Women's Doubles Class 10 (Moon Sunghye) Mixed Doubles Class 4 (Kim Heon Uk)
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YOON JIYU when I was still a novice, coach Choi Yongjung suggested that I prepare for the Paralympics”, reminisced Yoon Jiyu. “Even though I had never played in a domestic event, we took a leap of faith and travelled to almost every international tournament in the year leading up to the Paralympics.” The goal was Rio de Janeiro in 2016, Yoon Jiyu was only 15 years old; moreover, the goal was achieved. In women’s singles class 3 she finished in fourth place, just one step short of a medal, in the play-off match she was beaten by Sweden’s much more experienced, Anna-Carin Ahlquist. Now, progress since that date suggests that prospects are most promising for 2028 in Los Angeles. Each Paralympic Games one step higher. She won bronze in Tokyo, silver in Paris. Furthermore, she has now plenty of Paralympic Games experience. Additionally, in women’s team class 1-3, in Rio de Janeiro alongside Lee Migyu and Seo Su Yeon, it was bronze, in Tokyo again with Lee Migyu, silver. Meanwhile, in Paris, once more with Seo Su Yeon, women’s doubles class 5 silver. Quite simply the success, a reward for dedication and determination. “Travelling internationally with just the two of us, without a club or a dedicated coach, brought endless challenges; when we returned from competitions, there was no one to give professional feedback, information was scarce, expenses were high, and I had to train alongside local recreational players”, stressed Yoon Jiyu. “Despite all those hurdles, I am here today because of my mother's unwavering support.”
My goal is to grow into a world-class player through consistent training and progress and ultimately win a gold medal at the LA28 Paralympics FACING Yoon Jiyu left with right mother Yoon Seoyoon ABOVE Seo Su Yeon left and right Yoon Jiyu, women’s doubles gold medallists at both the Lasko Challenger and Lasko Elite
Now eyes look to the future, one wonders what riches beckon. “My goal is to grow into a worldclass player through consistent training and progress and ultimately win a gold medal at the LA28 Paralympics”, concluded Yoon Jiyu. “I will keep challenging myself with the pride of representing South Korea.” Los Angeles awaits, make no mistake Yoon Jiyu will be ready, well prepared and determined; she will leave no stone unturned. She is a perfectionist. October 2026 SWAYTHLING 37
Despair, Determination, Delight Retirement from sport but then after a few years the urge to return proves too great, the camaraderie is missed, the desire to compete is in the blood; it is not unusual. In the majority, although standards of prior days may not be matched, everything progresses smoothly; that was not the situation for LUKE ABRAHAMS, on return to action he received the most shattering news.
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LUKE ABRAHAMS
October 2026 SWAYTHLING 39
It was an incredibly difficult time for us as a family, it is the uncertainty of it all, but my wife pulled through and beat cancer; we've been absolutely blessed to watch our kids grow and excel at school and sports.
FACING The family together following harrowing times; back wife Louise and elder son Asher front daughter Zuri and younger son Idris
N
ational titles to his name, only 26 years old, in 2014 Luke Abrahams, South Africa’s leading player, decided to retire; for more than a decade, since early teenage days, he had been a stalwart of the national team. Playing full-time was not a realistic option, his career outside table tennis needed more attention; he had been pivotal to his nation’s success at continental level, he had sacrificed a great deal, it was time to focus on his family. Furthermore, relations with the national body were experiencing difficult times, so that rather forced the decision to call a halt to playing days. However, after five years away from the sport, playing some amateur football and squash, in 2019 Abrahams, who had married in 2014, decided to return to table tennis, an occasion to be enjoyed, it was to prove the exact opposite. “A weekend event, I was playing in the Arnold Classic when I learnt that my wife had been diagnosed
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with stage four cancer; I won that event but then subsequently stopped playing so we could focus on her health and wellness”, sighed Abrahams. “It was an incredibly difficult time for us as a family, it is the uncertainty of it all, but my wife pulled through and beat cancer; we've been absolutely blessed to watch our kids grow and excel at school and sports.” Significantly, one member of his family is proving to be a table tennis player of pedigree. “Our eldest son, Asher made his under 15 debut for South Africa at the African Youth Championships in Ghana this year, whilst still playing provincial level water polo and school hockey; also, he’s a top achiever at school”, stressed Abrahams. “My wife worked incredibly hard to beat cancer so she could see our kids excel at life, the basic things we took for granted have really made us think, we are so grateful for that.” Currently, Abrahams works as a Business Development Manager for Old Mutual Insure, one of the oldest and largest insurance corporations in South Africa, family life settled the lure to be involved once u
BELOW Eldest son Asher made his debut for South Africa at the 2026 African Youth Championships in Ghana
LUKE ABRAHAMS
October 2026 SWAYTHLING 41
At JusTT we sponsor and do lots of charity work to drive the inclusion of athletes and run events and training for all levels ABOVE An outreach visit to Botswana, note the girl wearing the JusTT shirt who assisted Luke Abrahams. She is Rochina Sonday who represented South Africa at the 2026 World Team Championships in London. She is standing shoulder to shoulder next to Kudzanani Motswagole, the President of the Botswana Table Tennis Association
again in table tennis proved irresistible. “I always missed competing and giving back to a sport that gave so much to me; in 2019 Simon Lipschitz, an avid table tennis player and coach, alongside myself, started a training centre called jusTT, just table tennis”, explained Abrahams. “Initially, the aim was to coach and train all levels of players once a week on the weekend at our local school.” Quick progress ensued but then there was a problem, one that affected sport across the globe. “We saw some young talents come through and then COVID lock down happened, to keep the kids and families engaged we decided to rent an old office block and convert it to a table tennis centre since we were not allowed on
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school premises anymore”, recalled Abrahams. “During this time, we would work remotely to train and coach, one day I entered my first national tournament, I lost in the quarters; naturally, that sparked the hunger in me to do better, so from 2022 to date I have won most of the local and national tournaments that earned me back the number one ranking.” Now Abrahams has occupied that spot consecutively for the last four years but very much at the forefront of his thoughts is the younger generation. “At JusTT we sponsor and do lots of charity work to drive the inclusion of athletes and run events and training for all levels”, stressed Abrahams. “In recent years a few more organisations
Working together is always the way to make progress. In South Africa clubs are organised within provinces on a regional basis; once a year there is the National InterProvincial Championships and the South African Open Championships; schools run a similar programme. Cape Town, host for the 2016 World Junior Championships and KwaZulu-Natal, the venue for the 2023 World Championships alongside Johannesburg are the traditional strongest areas for table tennis. “I am involved in coaching the next generation of players in my
city, I was on the provincial executive for one term”, explained Abrahams. “However, I found it difficult to balance playing, working, coaching and family so I decided to relinquish that responsibility until I have more capacity.”
ABOVE Advice from Luke Abrahams for Vaishant Padayachee at the 2025 Botswana Open.
Abrahams is very much the person to whom young South Africans look, as a coach his knowledge is invaluable; importantly, being able to compete on the continental and world stage, he is the role model for young players. Earlier this year he was present alongside Cuten Lodewyk and Chethan Nathoo at the 2026 ITTF World Team Championships in London. It was three matches, three defeats, no player won a match. Later in July it was very different at the Southern Africa u
have been able to do something similar in other parts of the country; together we collaborate to drive change; we are like minded and constantly talking to each other.”
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We’re a sports mad country, the biggest professional sports here are cricket, rugby, golf, netball and soccer; in school sports, the same but then also hockey, water polo and athletics are huge
ABOVE Luke Abrahams centre with left Saeed Tifflin and right Vaishant Padayachee both from JusTT and national champions
Regional Championships in Harare, with Liam Beukes added the line up, it was five matches played, five wins, the title secured. Just one defeat for Abrahams, in a 3-2 final win against Angola he lost to Elizandre Andre, before reversing the decision at the quarter-final stage of the men’s singles. In the final he beat colleague Chetan Nathoo. “I am really happy about that performance. I was terribly ill and I’m still recovering from bronchitis”, reminisced Abrahams. “The fact that I was able to win under those circumstances made it special, even more special doing it backto-back and retaining my title from 2025.” Yet another success for Abrahams who was in a positive frame of mind when reflecting on the tournament. “I think there’s always room for improvement at any event, I don’t
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always believe when people say things “are perfect”; the general organisation was great, the venue, food and accommodation was good”, he explained. “They gave each winner a commemorative trophy and all the top eight finishers a certificate and medal; I think they should review the prize funds to increase it and perhaps include positions five to eight.” It was a similar story for the women’s team. In Harare, Danisha Patel, for many years the nation’s top female player, won the women’s singles after leading South Africa to team gold. In London, three matches played, three defeats but there was a bright light. Facing Belgium, Rochica Sonday beat both Lilou Massart and Julie van Hauwaert, a 3-2 defeat the overall team outcome. “Rochica Sonday is one of the young under 19 girls we sponsor and support”, enthused Abra-
LUKE ABRAHAMS
Food for thought but one fact is clear. The results very much sum up the current state of table tennis in South Africa. In Zone 6 which comprises Angola, Botswana, Eswatini (Swaziland), Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe, they are the powerhouse; outside those borders achieving success is difficult. “We’re a sports mad country, the biggest professional sports here are cricket, rugby, golf, netball and soccer; in school sports, the same but then also hockey, water polo and athletics are huge”, explained Abrahams. “School sport and professional sports are well planned and thought out; they are ex-
ecuted from a marketing and high-level events perspective; table tennis on the other hand is still in its era of running it like a political tool, grassroots at level from 25 to 30 years ago, by in large it was the same core executive team running the show until the recent elections in 2025.”
ABOVE Rochica Sonday in form in London BELOW Success in Limpoo at the 2023 National Championships
Looking back over the years South Africa has produced some of the greatest sporting personalities of all time. In the 1960s, tennis star Cliff Drysdale employed a technique that few believed had a future, the two handed backhand, now it is the norm; in the same era Graeme Pollock wielded a cricket bat with more u
hams. “She’s a real contender in both junior and seniors on the continent, she’s my mixed doubles partner, recently, she won a silver medal in July at the 2026 African Youth Championships.”
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LUKE ABRAHAMS Date of Birth: 4th July 1988 (38 years old) City of Birth: Cape Town, South Africa Residence: Johannesburg, South Africa Family: wife Louise, two boys Asher (15 years old) Idris (eight years old), girl Zuri (10 years old); parents Shaun and Annie Olynn, brother Jabez Education: Bachelor’s degree in Sports Science, majored in Marketing and Management at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. Post Graduate Certificate in Foundational Business Management at GIBS (Gordon Institute of Business Science) Business School. Equipment supplier: Sanwei Name of Club: Masters Table Tennis Club, Johannesburg Practice: two to three times per week, 60 to 90 minutes per session Interests: Sports in general whether watching or playing; cycling, completed in two 100km cycle races in South Africa. Outdoors: fly fishing and hiking with my family.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS African Youth Championships, Johannesburg 2002 Cadet Boys’ Singles: silver All Africa Games, Algeria 2007 Men’s Team: bronze (Shane Overmeyer, Luke Abrahams, Theo Cogill, Shaun Jones) African Championships, DR Congo 2008 Men’s Doubles: silver (Theo Lingeveldt) African Championships, Cameroon 2010 Men’s Doubles: bronze (Shane Overmeyer) Commonwealth Games, Delhi 2010 Men’s Team: quarter-final (Shane Overmeyer, Theo Cogill) South African Open Men’s Singles (Cape Town): winner 2008, 2013 and 2023 Men’s Singles (Durban): winner 2025 Men’s Singles (Limpopo): winner 2026 African Regional Championships (Zone 6): Men’s Singles (Botswana): winner 2023 Men’s Singles (Angola): runner up 2024 Men’s Singles (Namibia): winner 2025 Men’s Singles (Zimbabwe): winner 2026 Awards: Early 2000s nominated for student sportsman of the year but lost to Olympic gold medal swimmer, Cameron Van Den Berg
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LUKE ABRAHAMS exquisite grace than anyone before or since. Furthermore, has there ever been a more professional sportsman than the golfer Gary Player? Now, 90 years old he is fitter than most burger eating mobile phone addicted teenagers! So, what needs to happen to improve the status of table tennis in South Africa? “I think we need to review the entire system and change it, adopt the changes that other sports have made who were able to turn things into a somewhat more professional offering. I think there’s a large base of volunteers in our sport, whilst this is great it doesn’t give us committed strong leaders who are mandated and remunerated to drive the change”, said Abrahams. “We are in the era of figuring it out post the previous regime who navigated us through the apartheid era into integration.” Thankfully the years of discrimination are over; whatever the sport just as in any other country in the world the potential is present; organisation is the key. “There’s also an absence of dedicated professional facilities around the country”, emphasised Abrahams. “Together with my partners and supporters in jusTT, we are busy working on establishing a national footprint of table tennis training and event centres, our hope is that by making the sport more accessible at a professional and commercial level it will drive the status up in our country.” Thoughts for the future but what does the future hold for Abrahams? “I’ve been battling with this question for a year or so now, I feel as
My dream is to try and win one more continental medal before I hang up my paddle at this level long as my body can uphold the physical and mental fight, as long as my country will allow me to represent them and as long as I can contribute positively to the success of South Africa, I should be able to keep going”, he responded. “My dream is to try and win one more continental medal before I hang up my paddle at this level.” The goal is surely within his reach, his career to date reflects that fact, but more importantly, he has a supporter who when faced with dire adversity showed immense strength of character. He has a role model, follow the example and there will be success; as they say: behind every good man there is a good woman!
ABOVE The successful South African men’s team at the 2026 Southern Africa Regional Championships in Harare. Left to right Luke Abrahams, Chethan Nathoo, Omar Zain Edin (coach), Liam Beukes, Cuten Lodewyk FACING Luke Abrahams holding the men’s singles trophy following success at the 2026 Southern Africa Regional Championships
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Greater Achievement Looking back at his career, against the odds, Petr Korbel secured a World Championships bronze medal; later at the Olympic Games he finished just one step short of a medal. Which was the greater achievement? 48 SWAYTHLING October 2026
PETR KORBEL
October 2026 SWAYTHLING 49
ABOVE The presentation on Thursday 26th March, Petr Korbel centre alongside left Zbynek Spacek and right Milan Orlowski
E
arlier this year on Thursday 26th March, Zbynek Spacek, Chair of the Czech Republic section of the Swaythling Club International, alongside Milan Orlowski, presented Petr Korbel with the "SCI Award for the Year 2025". The honour recognises personalities who have given exceptional service to the nation’s efforts in the sport of table tennis. A most worthy recipient. In 1988 Korbel made his presence felt, he won the junior boys’ singles title at the European Youth Championships in Novi Sad. However, it was the next decade when he proved his class, he experienced the greatest moments of his career but arguably at the same time the greatest disappointment.
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Now 30 years ago, at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games, staged in the Georgia World Congress Center from Monday 23rd July to Wednesday 1st August 1996, fourth place in the men’s singles event and no medal was the outcome. At the time agony, especially as at the preceding Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games, two bronze medals in each event had been awarded. In Atlanta; it was a return to just one, a policy that has applied ever since that date. Nevertheless, it was an outstanding achievement, the pinnacle of Korbel’s career or was that moment five years earlier? At the 1991 World Championships in Chiba, alongside Milan Grman, Tomas Janci, Petr Javurek and Ro-
PETR KORBEL
BELOW Petr Korbel playing Jan-Ove Waldner in the second match of the semi-final at the 1991 World Championships.
Czechoslovakia caused a sensation by posting a 3-2 quarter-final win against China, before losing 3-0 to Sweden the champions elect; the outcome a play-off against Belgium for bronze; a 3-1 win was posted.
Looking on left to right Soren Ahlen, Ake Berg, Anders Thunström and Stellan Bengtsson
Now, was that win against China the greatest achievement of his career? There is strong evidence to support the theory! Very nearly the possibility of the contest did not happen! In the 1991 men’s team event, the top 16 seeds were drawn into two groups
Note: ball boys and girls were used as later at the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games. The practice was discarded as it was believed the court looked too crowded and players appreciated the slight pause to pick up the ball!
each of eight teams, the first six progressed to the main draw, the remaining two were eliminated. All other teams were drawn in a second tier of eight groups, a maximum of seven per group; first placed teams entered a play-off round, the four winners advancing to the main draw. Keeping supporters on the very edges of their seats, Czechoslovakia finished in fifth place behind China, Poland, Germany and the Soviet Union but ahead of France. The Netherlands and Hungary were eliminated. There was nothing to suggest a potential medal for Czechoslovakia; only three wins from seven matches, a 3-1 success against Hungary the most convincing, close full distance 3-2 victories in opposition to the Netherlands and France. u
land Vimi, he was a member of the bronze medal winning Czechoslovakian men’s team. Somewhat ironically, it was a contest in which only one bronze medal was awarded.
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Facing Jean-Michel Saive at the Atlanta 2026 Olympic Games LEFT The backhand trademark service RIGHT The moment of victory
Quite simply, they came within a whisker of elimination; conversely China topped the group with seven wins, the result against Czechoslovakia a portent for the future, a 3-2 success.
World Championships in 1991, he beat Ma Wenge. An immediate return to the table, he teamed with Tomas Janci to record a doubles success when facing Chen Zhibin and Zhang Lei.
A place in the opening round secured, a 3-1 win against England, a quarter-final contest against China awaited, Czechoslovakia made one change to the earlier line-up in the group phase, Tomas Janci replaced Milan Grman. It proved crucial.
China levelled with Ma Wenge posting a full distance win against Roland Vimi before in a similarly close duel, Tomas Janci overcame Zhang Lei to seal the victory. Facing China, both Korbel and Janci had remained unbeaten; moreover, Korbel had not dropped a single game!
Play started on table four at 9.30 am on Monday 29th April, a Chinese routine win appeared on the cards. Roland Vimi was comfortably beaten by Chen Zhibin. Enter Korbel, in a format similar to that later introduced in the team events at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and only ever used at a 52 SWAYTHLING October 2026
Five years later, the political map of Europe had changed, representing the Czech Republic at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games, it was the reverse scenario. Defeat in the bronze contest, but did this result supersede the 1991 World Championships success?
PETR KORBEL
CHIBA CHIMES Petr Korbel looks back at the quarter-final contest against China Matches best of three games, each game to 21 points, change service every five points until 20-all, then alternate no.3. Nevertheless, beating Ma Wenge twice was an outstanding effort. Petr was no.46.
Roland Vimi in Chiba
It is the million-dollar question; China has such a stature in table tennis that a win against the sport’s superpower is headline news. However, the Olympic Games is the pinnacle of our sport, the Atlanta result is one that none of Korbel’s compatriots have ever bettered. The only comparison is Marie Hrachova in Seoul in 1988; she experienced the same fate in the women’s singles when losing to China’s Jiao Zhimin.
Safely through to the main draw,
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Meanwhile, just as in Chiba, in Atlanta Korbel upset the odds, a total of 16 groups, only first place progressing to the main draw, Korbel was not listed amongst the top 16 seeds, the star name in his group was Frenchman, Jean-Philippe Gatien, the number seven seed.
Roland Vimi v Chen Zhibin -8, -8 It was a bad start, Roland had a big problem to receive Chen’s service; after the match everyone sitting on the Chinese bench was laughing. Petr Korbel v Ma Wenge 16, 15 We had played China already in the base group, we lost 3-2, but I beat Ma Wenge. So, in the quarters I beat him for the second time, I think at the time he was possibly number one in the world. Note: Ma Wenge was no.4 on the world rankings at the time, he never reached the top spot, his highest being
Petr Korbel / Tomas Janci v Chen Zhibin / Zhang Lei 17, 11 I had played together with Tomas for a few years, and we could see after the first game, the Chinese were becoming very nervous. Roland Vimi v Ma Wenge -18, 16, -18 Roland had already beaten Ma Wenge in the group, so we were wondering why they had put him again to play two singles. Ma won the match so that meant we were level at two-all. Tomas Janci v Zhang Lei 14,-15, 18 I remember clearly major moments in that match, the umpire faulted both players on their service, so both started to use just backhand serves! Tomas was like a tiger, I could see in his eyes there was only going to be one winner.
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FACING The men’s doubles in the semi-final match against Sweden. Nearest camera, Tomas Janci left and right Petr Korbel; facing Mikael Appelgren left and right Jörgen Persson
Korbel beat Brazil’s Hugo Hoyama and Belgium’s Jean-Michel Saive before losing to China’s Wang Tao and then Germany’s Jörg Rosskopf in the bronze medal contest. Disappointment but defeat with honour; compatriots well aware of what he had achieved. “The reaction was huge when returning home, it was a big result, success, even though I did not win a medal”, recalled Korbel. “I became a much more well-known person.” So, what is the conclusion, Chiba in 1991 or Atlanta in 1996?
“Probably, Atlanta was the biggest result of my career”, said Korbel, then after a short pause: “Together with beating China at World Table Tennis Championships in 1991 in the quarter-final team event”. Difficult to decide but of one fact, he made clear: “Two bronze medals, of course, in Barcelona there were two bronze!” One can only sit and wonder; the dust has now settled but if there had been two bronze medals in Atlanta would that not have tipped the scales in being Korbel’s greatest achievement?
ATLANTA ANALYSIS Petr Korbel reflects on his performance at the 1996 Olympic Games Matches best of five games, each game to 21 points, change service every five points until 20-all, then alternate Preparation I prepared myself first physically and later more or less on the table. I can clearly remember that I practised most of the time in a small hall with one sparring partner, Martin Pytlik. Thanks a lot especially to him! I remember the preparation was in the summer and at that time most players went for holidays. I could not find any partner in the Ostrava region, so I went to this small hall in Prague to play with Martin. Group v Choi Kyong Sob (PRK) -15, 16, 13 A very tough opponent! I did not know anything about him because players from North Korea did not 54 SWAYTHLING October 2026
take part in international tournaments. I was down 1-0 and 15-10. At that moment he was serving and I had a lot of problems to recieve his serve. Mostly I lost 0-5 or 14, when he served. So I said to myself, try to risk more, what else? Finally I was able to turn the second game around, after that I could see his coach was always criticising him, literally yelling at him.
great problems and I knew him. I had played him already in Barcelona 1992. Group: Jean-Philippe Gatien (FRA) 13, 19 Against Gatien I‘d played him a few times in the past and could be dangerous for him. I had nothing to lose, just try to win.
Since this point, after we came back to the table, he was so nervous!
After beating the Korean player, I was full of confidence. I remember, that I was up 1-0 and 19-13 and he came back to 19-18! In this moment we had a long rally, which went my way, this was maybe the key for winning this battle.
Group: Augusto Morales (CHI) 11, 9 A comfortable match, no
Not sure but I think in Atlanta it was the first time I beat him.
PETR KORBEL
Round One: v Hugo Hoyama (BRA) -17, -19, 17, 14, 13 I had played Hugo three times before and won all three matches but in the groups he had beaten both Jörgen Persson and Kim Song Hui, so he was in top form, maybe in the best shape of his life! I was down 2-0 and 6-2, and he was smashing everything I played; typical “Asian defence“. I played a lucky ball on the edge of the table and suddenly everything turned around!
very well, especially tactically. Jean-Mi looked nervous and out of his depth. Finally I was lucky to win in straight games. Shortly after we finished our match there was a power outage in the hall. Note: The power outage happened when Vladimir Samsonov was in a strong position against Wang Tao; one wonders if someone had not pulled out the plug to charge their mobile phone could Korbel’s next opponent have been very different?
One lucky ball changed things, until this moment he was a better player and I could not find a good recipe for his aggressive style.
Semi-Final: v Wang Tao (CHN) -21, -7, -16 Absolutely perfect start, I was leading 5-0 and kept this till 20-15, so five game points!
Quarter-Final: v Jean-Michel Saive (BEL) 10, 13, 19 We played each other many times and the score was very even; this game I played
He had the service, he played three long serves and followed with risky strokes, all went on the table! I lost 23-21, this was the key of my loss.
Bronze Medal: v Jörg Rosskopf (GER) -17, 19, -18, -19 Big match! We are close friends, we had played together for Borussia Düsseldorf. We understood each other very well, we knew each other away from table tennis. Key point from my point of view was the third game. I was up 18-17, Rossi was serving. I recieved his serve, he played back and I made topspin to his forehand, point at 19-17! But, he put up his arm and said, that it was “net“! First of all, the umpire gave the point to me. After started a big discussion and we repeated the point. I was frustrated and felt wronged! After the fourth stroke suddenly let? Why not immediately after the serve? October 2026 SWAYTHLING 55
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OLALEKAN OKUSAN
Waxing
Lyrical
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fervour that never wavers, whether in times of triumph or tribulation, Nigeria’s OLALEKAN OKUSAN maintains a bright smile and an air of positivity that endears him to colleagues; a popular figure he is best known for his reporting on the sport of table tennis, his interest extending far and wide Both journalist and administrator, at the ITTF Africa Youth Championships staged in the Ghanian capital city of Accra earlier this year during late July, Wahid Enitan Oshodi, President of ITTF-Africa, presented a special award to Okusan. The citation recognised his contribution to the promotion and development of table tennis throughout the African continent and beyond.
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“For well over ten years, Okusan has remained at the forefront of table tennis journalism, producing hundreds of insightful reports, feature stories, interviews and analyses that have chronicled the achievements of African players, administrators, coaches and competitions”, said Oshodi. “His extensive coverage has not only celebrated the successes of the sport but has also helped preserve its rich history while promoting emerging talents.” LEFT Wahid Enitan Oshodi left makes the presentation right to Olalekan Okusan
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ABOVE Matthew Kuti winner of the boys’ singles event at the Africa Youth Cup held earlier this year in Accra
Known by friends and colleagues as Lekan, always he is very willing to conduct an interview. It is for him a priority and a major strength of his work, he realises that comments, especially from players, add to the value of any article. So, let’s give him a taste of his own medicine, turn the tables, make Okusan the subject, the interviewee. To what extent did you play table tennis? I played table tennis casually for leisure, as I was more focused on football during school. I mostly played on a concrete floor at home as a teenager, I don’t have any great memorable playing experiences and never entered any competitions. When did you start to have an interest in journalism? My father encouraged me to listen to the news daily, this sparked my
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interest. I wanted to be a voice for the voiceless, believing that studying mass communication would help me investigate societal issues. During my internship at The Guardian Newspaper, I was posted to the foreign desk. Later, during my national service in Bauchi, I began covering local football leagues and interviewing athletes, this deepened my passion for sports journalism. How did you become interested in reporting table tennis? My deeper involvement came later through journalism. My interest was ignited after covering the annual Asoju Oba Cup in Lagos as a freelance reporter with The Guardian Newspaper in 2005. Assigned to the sports desk, I noticed that table tennis received little coverage. Since it was a sport I loved, I decided to focus on it, which helped raise its popularity in Nigeria. At times, table tennis
OLALEKAN OKUSAN
OLALEKAN OKUSAN Date of Birth: 21st July 1976 City of Birth: Lagos, Nigeria Current Home: Ogun State, Nigeria Educational Qualifications: B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Mass Communication (Crescent University and University of Lagos) Employment • 2005–2014 The Guardian Newspaper Limited • 2014–2023 The Nation Newspaper • 2015–2025 International Table Tennis Federation • August–December 2025 Olympics.com
stories even became front-page features in national newspapers. Is there any particular article that proved a watershed in your career? I do have fond memories of reporting sport. One of my articles on a local tournament was singled out by a prominent Nigerian scholar as the best sports article he had read. The commendation earned me recognition from the managing director of The Guardian Newspaper; that moment inspired me to give even more attention to table tennis.
ABOVE Olajide Omotayo now amongst Nigeria’s leading male players
• January 2026 – present: Micmar Communications Awards: • 2011 Bashorun MKO Abiola Prize for Sports Reporter of the Year Nigeria Media Merit Award, (NMMA) • 2012 Sportswriter of the Year Sports Business and Media Award • 2016 Sports Journalist of the Year (Print) - Nigerian Sports Award • 2017 Sports Journalist of the Year (Print) - Nigerian Sports Award
Do you report on sports other than table tennis? Yes, I have reported on football, taekwando, tennis, fencing, and several other sports.
• 2019 second runner up, Sports Journalist of the Year - Diamond Award • 2026 Media Excellence Award ITTF Africa
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I also cherish seeing athletes I wrote about, such as Olajide Omotayo and Matthew Kuti rise from cadet tournaments, like the Asoju Oba Cup, to international prominence.
• 2018 nominee, Football Sports Journalist of the Year - Nigeria Pitch Award
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QUADRI ARUNA INSPIRES ME MOST, HIS HUMILITY, GENEROSITY AND PHILANTHROPIC SPIRIT ARE UNMATCHED; HIS CONDUCT BOTH ON AND OFF THE TABLE MAKES HIM A TRUE SPORTSMAN AND A RARE ROLE MODEL IN AFRICAN TABLE TENNIS RIGHT Commencing in 2012, Quadri Aruna has played in the four most recent Olympic Games
What is your current situation? I currently manage a Public Relations and Communications firm, Micmar Communications. I also serve as Media Consultant to the Nigeria Fencing Federation, ITTF Africa, Lagos State Sports Trust Fund (LSSTF), and the Nigeria School Sport Federation (NSSF), while advising several sports administrators in Nigeria. What are your best memories as a table tennis journalist? Attending my first World Championships in Guangzhou, China, after receiving an ITTF Media Scholarship in 2008. It was a transformative experience that allowed me to meet some of the finest players in the sport and deepened my commitment to table tennis journalism. What advice would you give to aspiring journalists? Pick your lane, the track is wide enough for everyone. Don’t follow the bandwagon; instead, choose a sport, study it deeply, and become an authority. Respect people’s views, stay humble, and never stop learning. Which African players inspire you? Quadri Aruna inspires me most, his humility, generosity and philanthropic spirit are unmatched; his conduct both on and off the table makes him a true sportsman and a rare role model in African table tennis.
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What are your views on the current state of table tennis in Africa? The sport is on an upward trend, thanks to a strong focus on youth development. More young players are now competing at top levels, the dominance of Nigeria and Egypt is being challenged by countries like Uganda, Algeria, and Tunisia. However, athletes need more profiling and publicity to attract sponsors and grow the sport. Investment in media, such as quality live streams and detailed coverage of lesser-known countries will help raise visibility. What problems does table tennis face in Africa? The biggest challenge is funding. Without adequate financial support, it is difficult to organise events or invest in media coverage. What needs to happen to raise the visibility of table tennis in Africa? More tournaments and stronger media investment. Events provide content for the media, and innovation is key, such as Africa versus Europe or Asia competitions with entertainment elements. Genuine stakeholders committed to the sport’s growth must be involved, with administrators focusing squarely on athlete development. Food for thought; to Lekan: keep writing, keep reporting, keep up the good work and above keep smiling!
OLALEKAN OKUSAN
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PACIFIC OVERTURES 62 SWAYTHLING October 2026
Scott Houston, the Chief Executive Officer for ITTF-Oceania and also a member of the Swaythling Club International, reports on the visit of Christian David to French Polynesia, Shane Laugesen to New Caledonia and Hongbo Liang to Nauru. October 2026 SWAYTHLING 63
Tahiti Hosts Umpires and Referees Courses ABOVE Christian David centre front row with course members proudly displaying their certificates
French Polynesia consists of more than 120 islands and atolls (around 75 are inhabited), spread across more than 5.3 million square kilometres in the Pacific Ocean. French Polynesia is the most eastern member association in Oceania and has a population of approximately 280,000, about 70 per cent live in Tahiti. From Tuesday 21st to Thursday 30th July, Christian David from France, returned to Tahiti for the second year in a row, this time conducting a National Umpires Course and a National Referees Course. The visit was organised through a
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partnership between the Oceania Development Program, the Federation Tahitienne de Tennis de Table and the Pacific Games Council. The National Umpires Course was held first, 11 members attended; the National Referee course followed with eight participants. Both courses had multiple purposes, including: • continuing to build the overall officiating capacity in French Polynesia, this was achieved thanks to the participation of Tahiti, Marquesas Islands, Austral Islands, Bora Bora, Uturoa and Rurutu.
FRENCH POLYNESIA • ensuring that a sufficient number of officials will be accredited and well prepared for the 2027 Pacific Games, which will be held in Tahiti next year. ITTF-Oceania and Federation Tahitienne de Tennis de Table have cooperated in recent years, continuing to build table tennis in French Polynesia. Other examples include: • Eva Jeler visited in 2025 for a national training camp. • Christian David conducted a further National Umpires Course and a Basic Referees Course in 2025. • equipment assistance in 2025 plus four Federation Tahitienne de Tennis de Table players being selected for the 2026 Oceania Youth Talent Team training camp in China.
ITTF-Oceania thanks Christian David for his tireless work in presenting the courses to a very high standard. Through his ongoing involvement, Christian is a valued member of the Oceania table tennis community. Additionally, ITTF-Oceania thanks the Federation Tahitienne de Tennis de Table and their Board, including President Gerald Huioutu and Executive Director Alize Belrose for their help and support in organising another successful mission to French Polynesia. Most importantly, we thank the Pacific Games Council for their contribution to the visit and for having the foresight to invest in officiating development. A most successful venture, overall, it was the fifth in-country visit and eight development initiative so far in 2026.
BELOW Potential match officials
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Intense Six Days in New Caledonia RIGHT Shane Laugesen, the expert on duty in New Caledonia, represented New Zealand at three Commonwealth Games (2002 Manchester, 2006 Melbourne, and 2014 Glasgow) Additionally he played in the French National League FACING Preparing for action Promising young players National development squad National team
New Caledonia is a French territory in the Melanesian region of Oceania. Its nearest neighbours are Vanuatu to the north, Fiji to the east, New Zealand to the south and Australia to the west. A population of approximately 260,000, New Caledonia enjoys outstanding weather and pristine beaches, making it a popular destination. From Saturday 8th to Thursday 13th August, organised as a partnership between ITTF-Oceania and Ligue Caledonienne de Tennis de Table, the capital city of Noumea was home to a visit through the Oceania Development Program. Shane Laugesen, former New Zealand champion and fluent French speaker, was the expert on duty. Across an intense six days, two training camps were held. A national development squad camp across two three-hour sessions per day was staged in the evenings, a national squad camp arranged in daily two-hour sessions. Both ablebodied and para-athletes participated. Additionally, fruitful meetings discussing the future direction of the Ligue Caledonienne de Tennis de Table were also conducted. New Caledonia enjoys a proud history within Oceania, one of the founding member associations of ITTF-Oceania in 1977, they have consistently been a leader in the region. New Caledonia always participates
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in all Oceania events. They continue to be a force amongst Pacific member associations, having hosted numerous continental and international events; earlier this year they participated at the 2026 ITTF World Team Championships in London. Next goals include performing strongly at the upcoming 2026 ITTF-Oceania Senior and Youth Championships and at the 2027 Pacific Games, plus securing their short-term and long-term future domestically. ITTF-Oceania thanks Shane Laugesen for leading a successful mission in New Caledonia. Also, we thank Ligue Caledonienne de Tennis de Table for our strong working relationship and their excellent management of this visit. The initiative in New Caledonia underlines the value of the ITTFOceania Development Program; it was the sixth in-country visit conducted in 2026.
NEW CALEDONIA
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Nauru Well Prepared for Next Challenge ABOVE Members of the Nauru national team take a break during training.
The nation of Nauru, now officially known as the Republic of Naoero, lies in the Micronesian region of Oceania, approximately a five-hour flight northeast of Australia. Nauru is the third smallest country in the world (only behind Vatican City and Monaco), a land area of 21 square kilometres and a population of approximately 11,000. The Oceania Development Officer, Hongbo Liang, visited Nauru from Tuesday 4th to Friday 14th August under the auspices of the Oceania Development Program for an incountry visit. Across 11 productive days, the primary focus was on a national training camp to prepare the Nauru team for the upcoming 2026 ITTF-Oceania Senior and Youth Championships; players
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practised two sessions per day, and coaches were upskilled to enable them to continue the work after the visit. Additionally, preparation meetings were held for the 2028 Micronesian Games, a multi-sport event which will be held in Nauru. Table tennis in Nauru continues to defy their population and geographic challenges. The Nauru women’s team qualified for the 2026 ITTF World Team Championships but unfortunately had to withdraw due to financial constraints. Players from Nauru regularly dominate competition at the Micronesian Games and have previously won medals including gold at the Oceania Championships. ITTF-Oceania enjoys a strong work-
NAURU ing relationship with the Nauru Table Tennis Association, offering support wherever possible. Included in 2025 was an equivalent in-country visit, as well as selecting players for the 2025 Oceania Talent Team. In 2026 Nauru players attended Pacific Talent Team selection,
coaches and administrators were updated plus equipment was provided. Thanks to ongoing help and support, table tennis continues to have a bright future in Nauru. The visit to Nauru was the seventh incountry visit conducted so far in 2026.
BELOW A training session in full swing LOWER Official meet
The courses conducted in French Polynesia, New Caledonia and Nauru, as with all other ventures initiated under the Oceania Development Program, are supported by the International Table Tennis Federation. ITTF-Oceania looks forward to providing assistance where needed to all 24 of member associations in 2026 and beyond. October 2026 SWAYTHLING 69
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ITTF FOUNDATION
WORLD PARKINSON CONGRESS Hosted by the World Parkinson Coalition in Phoenix, United States, from Sunday 24th to Wednesday 27th May, Ramon Ortega Montes and Léa Huré represented the ITTF Foundation at the 7th World Parkinson Congress. A centre of attraction was the dedicated table tennis room, equipment being supplied by USA Table Tennis. Prior to the start of proceedings, a tournament was staged; overall, 32 players competed. Israel’s Anat Robinson emerged in first place ahead of the United States duo of Margie Alley and Jim Young. Throughout the Congress, the room hosted activities designed to demonstrate how table tennis can support those living with Parkinson’s. Competitions, workshops, poster presentations were held introducing TT4Health methodology. In
particular, one of the presentations was based on the exercises conducted last year in Bornholm, Denmark. Four participants voluntarily wore Stat-On Holter devices before and after playing to measure changes in motor capacity. Developed by Sense4Care, the devices continuously record movement data, allowing the impact of table tennis training on Parkinson’s symptoms to be evaluated.
FACING Thumbs up from Nenad Bach left and right Ramon Ortega Nontes ABOVE A positive reaction from delegates
Additionally, Congress provided an opportunity to meet both formally and informally. In particular a reunion with Nenad Bach, the founder of PingPongParkinson’s, was realised, the same with Sweden’s Annicka Appleberg, who as at the 2025 Congress, addressed all present. Furthermore, on the schedule members were updated on the Erasmus+ SWAN project, an initiative funded by the European Union focused on improving the quality of life for those with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. October 2026 SWAYTHLING 71
ABOVE Positive response in Gangneung Left to right Reto Bazzi (Deputy President Swaythling Club), Stefan Sigfridsson, Petra Sörling (ITTF President), Christine Knapp, Zdenko Kriz (Swaythling Club) Diego Andrea Sanchez Alzate (ITTF Foundation), Ramon Ortega Montes (ITTF Foundation)
PARKINSON’S TEAM Supported by the Swaythling Club International and Li Ning, built on the legacy of the 2025 World Table Tennis for Health Festival, Christine Knapp and Stefan Sigfridsson were the selected representatives for the ITTF Foundation Parkinson’s team at ITTF World Masters in Gangneung. In total, the two players competed in no less than 22 matches. Each expressed their gratitude underlining the value of table tennis for those experiencing Parkinson’s. Stefan Sigfridsson: "I'm very happy to be here and grateful to all the people who have supported me. What I do is important because it shows other people with
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Parkinson's and people without Parkinson's that they can continue to play, enjoy the sport, and stay active. Table tennis brings joy, and I hope my journey encourages others to keep going." Christine Knapp: "I'm very thankful to be here. Thank you to everyone who supported me and donated to make this possible. When I play table tennis, I don't feel my Parkinson's symptoms. I feel free. My message to others living with Parkinson's is simple: don't give up and stay active. Table tennis offers physical benefits, but it also brings people together, builds confidence, and creates friendships. We are a wonderful community, and through table tennis we can continue to enjoy life and support one another."
BULGARIA Sara Moamen Abdelsamie, the Coordinator for the ITTF Foundation Social Impact Team, visited Bulgaria in late June to witness "Table Tennis against Alzheimer's: The Art of Inclusion," a TT4Change project led by Foundation Compassion Alzheimer Bulgaria (FCAB). Nearing the end of a two-year TT4 Change cycle, it was the second time the Foundation team had visited the project. Over three days in Sofia, Kazanlak, and Varna, Sara met the coaches, caregivers, and players who have been proving that a table tennis ball can make a big difference. Later, Sara headed to the National Sports Academy "Vasil Levski," where she met
ABOVE Course members BELOW Martin Romanov left and right Sara Moamen Abdelsanie
Martin Romanov, a coach with more than ten years of experience combining sports science, rehabilitation, and cognitive training. Pertinently, he has designed a programme that uses table tennis as a tool for both physical and mental stimulation. At the FCAB office, Sara met Genoveva Tisheva, Board Member and Tania Tisheva, project leader in addition to local caregivers. An agreed target of 235 participants has already been reached; all planned workshops and conferences have been delivered. Approaching the end of its the cycle, the project team is now finalising a “Guidebook for Table Tennis for People with Cognitive Problems”, ensuring the knowledge gained in Bulgaria will inspire communities far beyond the country’s boundaries. October 2026 SWAYTHLING 73
ABOVE Leadership the theme in Gondia
INDIA In August, Sara Moamen Abdelsamie, ITTF Foundation Social Impact Co-ordinator, travelled to India to visit the Table Tennis Leadership Programme, a TT4Change project led by the Sportathon Foundation in Gondia, Maharashtra. An initiative in its initial stages, meetings were held with founders, coaches, principals, parents, and prospective young participants. The schedule began by meeting Sportathon Co-Founder Prashant Mishra and Programme Associate Rajeev Kumar Singh; immediately following there was a visit to the
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programme's first location, Vivek Mandir School. Later, the second stop was Mangalam School, a residential school for deaf students, where almost all pupils stay yearround apart from three public holiday periods. Positive responses, it was the same at the third location, the Progressive School, a location where discussions were held focused on delivering an appropriate itinerary; a meeting involving the Sportathon Foundation team followed. Proceedings concluded with a visit to Plavarchishala, an education centre serving a community that lacks many basic necessities.
Gangneung and Beyond
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GANGNEUNG AND BEYOND
Many generations younger than the players, children bid welcome to the ITTF World Masters Championships 2026 staged from Friday 5th to Friday 12th June; their performance provided a lasting memory. Now the dust has settled, time to reflect, six members of the Swaythling Club International, all medallists, look back on a time never to be forgotten.
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YVONNE FOGARTY (NEW ZEALAND) A sixth appearance in the tournament, her first in 1994 in Melbourne, and the long wait over. Now 32 years since her debut, in Gangneung, New Zealand’s Yvonne Fogarty won her first ever medal, women’s doubles 75 years bronze alongside colleague Tanya Sulimova. Is that some sort of record? Make no mistake, she is no stranger to the top step of the podium; as a member of the New Zealand team en route to the 1967 World Championships in Stockholm, she won the junior girls’ singles title at the North East of England Open in Scarborough; for the record, at the latter stages she accounted for very promising young English players, at the semi-final stage Judith Walker, in the final Linda Forkes. What motivates you to play in the World Masters Championships? I love the adventure of travelling to different countries; the social aspect of connecting with old friends and the limitless possibility of meeting new players; the opportunity to compete with players from all around the world and learn about their culture, the opportunity to watch high level table tennis 78 SWAYTHLING October 2026
Tanya Sulomova left and right Yvonne Fogarty, women’s doubles 75 years bronze medallists
at a vast range of ages. Also, international competition provides the motivation for me to keep playing between championships and to keep fit. What did you enjoy the most about the 2026 World Masters? Gangneung was an extremely well organised championship, with all matches in one stadium, the number of players felt very manageable, the opening
and closing ceremonies were free to all, lively and fun and our accommodation beside the beach was awesome. Also, I had the privilege and pleasure of being one of the Swaythling Club members hosted by the Korean organisers which significantly enhanced my experience. All in all, 2026 was a World Masters that excelled in every way.
GANGNEUNG AND BEYOND What lessons can be learnt from the 2026 World Masters? Keep players numbers at a maximum of 4,000; aim to have matches held in one playing venue, make the opening ceremony and the farewell party freely available for all.
What recommendations do you have for the future? Given climate change, please consider the weather in the country where the event will be held, when choosing the dates for future Masters Championships.
What is your view about the 2027 World Masters in Las Vegas? I will not play; it suits me to travel every two years to an international event of this calibre. Also, I played in Las Vegas in 2018, and I am unaware of the details.
KAI THORNBECH (ESTONIA)
friends and made many new friends, that encouraged me to travel to the next championships again and again.
some countries I would never in my life have visited otherwise.
Kai Thornbech has now played in World Veteran Championships on nine occasions, her first in 1996 in Lillehammer when becoming eligible to compete in the 40 years age group; she reached the women’s singles quarter-final losing to Japan’s Setsuko Ioki. In total she has won 10 medals at the Championships: three gold, one silver and six bronze. What motivates you to play in the World Masters Championships? I liked the atmosphere in Lillehammer, I met a lot of old Bronze in women’s doubles 70 years for Kai Thornbech left and right Vera Eriksone
I enjoy travelling with my Estonian table tennis friends, I enjoy the atmosphere of the big tournaments. I like that the Championships are held in
In 1998 I received my first medals. Playing alongside clubmate Katrin Marks, in the 40 years category, we won the women’s team title and later women’s doubles bronze. Also, I secured women’s singles bronze. In particular, I value very highly my silver medal in women’s singles 60-64 years from Las Vegas in 2018 as there were about 270 players in my age group. Of course, I was very happy in Oman to become world champion in women’s singles 65-69 years and in mixed u
In need of a partner for women’s doubles 70 years, paired by the organisers with Latvia’s Vera Eriksone, the chemistry worked, bronze was the outcome.
However, I regret a little bit that I made a pause from table tennis for ten years and missed some very interesting places like Japan and Rio de Janeiro. I have never been to South America; hopefully one day the Worlds will be held there again.
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doubles 65 years with Pal Guttormsen. What did you enjoy the most about the 2026 World Masters? I liked the Gangneung championships very much. Everything went smoothly. The venue was very good, and the matches were pretty much on time. The volunteers at the venue were very friendly and they made one feel you are welcome there, the hotel at the beach was superb. It was also easy to get a taxi any time I wanted and the taxi
LARS HAUTH (DENMARK) A successful venture for Lars Hauth; he allied with Canada’s Barbara Chiu to win mixed doubles 60 years gold and with Sweden’s Lars Ericsson to secure men’s doubles 65 years silver. Previously in 2016 he had won men’s singles 50 years, in 2024, men’s singles 60 years. What motivates you to play in the World Masters Championships? To have a goal for the season so I can be motivated to practise and keep fit, important at a more elderly age. 80 SWAYTHLING October 2026
was cheap. As it was my first time in Korea, I stayed almost a week longer to enjoy Korea as a tourist. I fell in love with this country and the Korean people. I have encouraged all my friends to travel there. What lessons can be learnt from the 2026 World Masters? I went to Korea with a medal hope in women’s singles 70-74 years and mixed doubles 70 years. However, the seeding was a problem. I cannot understand why I was not seeded
in either event and had to compete with the top seeded Chinese player, Gao Aili, in the second round. She won the event and also women’s doubles 70 years partnering Sha Min. My advice to the organisers is to check the background of the players, surely it should be so easy in our computer era? What is your view about the 2027 World Masters in Las Vegas? Quite simple, I hope to meet my table tennis friends there next year.
What did you enjoy the most about the 2026 World Masters? Nice hotel, easy transport. Only one big hall with all the players together, Impressive opening ceremony; good and big outside areas with good food. What is your view about the 2027 World Masters in Las Vegas? I look forward to Las Vegas 2027 and have an appointment with Barbara Chiu, my Canadian mixed partner in Gangneung, and with Carsten Egeholt in men’s 60 years. We are looking forward to seeing the tournament format. Gold in mixed doubles 60 years for Lars Hauth left and right Barbara Chiu
GANGNEUNG AND BEYOND What motivates you to play in the World Masters Championships? I enjoy meeting old acquaintances and colleagues, making new friends, and having the opportunity to compete against them. What did you enjoy the most about the 2026 World Masters? I particularly appreciated the politeness of the people. The training area was large enough and located right next to the competition venue. Also, I enjoyed the food service in the hall and the variety of meals offered. What lessons can be learnt from the 2026 World Masters? The transfer between the hotel and the venue worked quite well. The buses were comfortable, although the trip took a long time.
VALENTIN LANGEHEGERMANN (LUXEMBOURG) One of the more senior competitors, born in 1937, in Gangneung, Valentin Langehegermann partnered Germany’s Heidi Wunner to over 85 years mixed doubles bronze. It was no less than his 17th appearance; his first 1984 in Helsinki. At World Veteran Cham-
pionships he has won six gold, five silver and six bronze medals; at the World Masters Games, the tournament regarded as the biggest multisport event of all for senior players, the medal tally reads: three gold, two silver and one bronze.
On the last day, the positions of the tables were changed, but there was no updated plan available. The tables were not numbered either, which meant that players risked losing by absence simply because they could not find the correct table. u
Bronze in mixed doubles 85 years for Valentin Langehegermann left and right Heidi Wunner
Unfortunately, there were also some things that did not work very well. We had to wait one day to receive our accreditation cards. They often contained errors or were missing certain details, such as meals in the VIP lounge or transfers between the venue and the hotel. As the players had registered a long time in advance, these cards should have been prepared correctly beforehand.
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On the free day, many players went on excursions. After returning, they wanted to practise for a while, but access to the hall was not allowed after 5.00 pm and the players who were already inside were asked to leave. Although the information that the hall would remain closed after 5.00 pm on that day was included in the brochure, it appeared only in a small sentence in the middle of page eight. Many players were therefore not aware of
it. A brochure like this is not normally read word for word. Such important information should have been provided on a separate sheet during accreditation, just as the information about providing our telephone numbers in order to receive SMS messages was distributed. What recommendations do you have for the future of the World Masters? Most of my recommendations are already mentioned
Neils Ramberg, men’s singles 80 years bronze
but important information should be clearly given to the players during accreditation, especially information concerning changes to the programme or schedules, as well as changes to the location of the playing tables, including an updated plan when necessary. What is your view about the 2027 World Masters in Las Vegas? I will not play in Las Vegas. In 2028, I will play in the individual World Masters in Istanbul.
Bronze in men’s singles 80-84 years. Neils Ramberg has played in the tournament 15 times; his debut being in 1986 in Rimini. Overall, he has a most impressive record: three gold, one silver and 14 bronze. What motivates you to play in the World Masters Championships? My motivation is fun, health and many friends What did you enjoy the most about the 2026 World Masters? I enjoyed seeing my many friends
NEILS RAMBERG (DENMARK) 82 SWAYTHLING October 2026
What lessons can be learnt from the 2026 World Masters? The new mixed doubles seems to give some problems with scheduling. Finals were played after most had left the venue. It was difficult to see where each final was being staged.
GANGNEUNG AND BEYOND
ISTVAN SZALAI (HUNGARY) Present at a World Masters for the fifth time, in the 80 years category for Istvan Szalai it was men’s doubles silver partnering Slovakia’s Ludovit Valarik, mixed doubles bronze alongside compatriot, Gizella Zacher. A straight games defeat at the hands of Hong Kong’s Cheung Yiu Chiu and China’s Huang Guanglin was the men’s doubles outcome; in the mixed the result much closer, again China proving the nemesis. Defeat was experienced in a full five games encounter when opposing Liu Changfa and Tan Yuerong. Overall, he has a career record of three bronze and one silver. What motivates you to play in the World Masters Championships? I like participating in these competitions because the atmosphere is very good and I have made many friends. In addition to the sport, getting to know the cities and their surroundings is also a good thing. What did you enjoy the most about the 2026 World Masters? The 2026 World Masters
Istvan Szalai left and right Gizella Zacher, mixed doubles 80 years bronze
showed a far different world. Very nice, attentive people. What lessons can be learnt from the 2026 World Masters? Maybe a limit of the number of people around 3,500 would be ideal.
Perhaps there could be a qualifier? What is your view about the 2027 World Masters in Las Vegas? Certainly, I would like to participate in the Masters World Championships in Las Vegas. October 2026 SWAYTHLING 83
Swaythling Club News
New Zealand Honours Alan Tomlinson ABOVE Alan Tomlinson, as always, in good humour
In July, New Zealand recognised the fact that Alan Tomlinson had been made an honorary member of the Swaythling Club International. Now almost 60 years ago, on Thursday 20th April 1967, a total of 22 players gathered in the home of Thomas Brolin in Stockholm on the occasion of the 29th World Championships, the goal to approve an organisation to pro-
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mote friendship, understanding, and co-operation. The Swaythling Club was duly formed; Alan is the only living member from that meeting. Flowers were sent to Alan who, typical to his dry sense of humour, acknowledged with grace. “I’m most grateful to receive this award for not dying!”
SWAYTHLING CLUB NEWS
Silver for University of Ljubljana Staged in southern Italy, led by Swaythling Club International member, Professor Miran Kondric, silver proved the outcome for the University of Ljubljana in the table tennis events, at the European Universities Games – Salerno 2026. Eboli was the venue from Thursday 16th to Thursday 23rd July, Lea Paulin and Katarina Strazar emerging women’s doubles runners up; alongside, Kim Kastelic and Gaja Mavri, the same outcome was the result in the women’s team event. Representing the University of Zagreb, Dora Cosic and Marta Vukelic emerged the successful women’s doubles pairing; the University of Paris won the women’s team title. It was the eighth Games under the auspices of the European Univer-
sity Sports Federation, in which more than 4,000 students took part in 13 sports disciplines; the table tennis tournament featured 20 men’s and 16 women’s team. The European Universities Games are held every two years, in the intervening years the European Universities Championships are organised, the next Championships will be held in Covilha, Portugal.
ABOVE Miran Kondric centre with left Lea Paulin and right Katarina Strazar BELOW Swedes met in Malmö in August at the Europe Smash left to right Tomas Eriksson, Gert Strid, Per Hällström, Anders Nygren Langström, Johanna Green, Monica J. Erlandsson, Hans Westling
Swedish Members Meet at Europe Smash
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Geovanny Coello, a Man of Many Hats Member of the Swaythling Club International, Ecuador’s Geovanny Coello is proving a man of many hats: coach, player, organiser. Staged in Lima, Peru from Thursday 23rd to Wednesday 29th July, the head coach, he led the Ecuador University Team to success in the men’s team event at the FISU (International University Sports Federation) Panamerican Games. Later, from Friday 21st to Sunday 23rd August, he won the men’s singles title at the National Grand Prix tournament staged in Cuenca, located high in the Andes mountain range. Geovanny explained: “I am very proud to represent the 86 SWAYTHLING October 2026
ABOVE The Ecuador University Team BELOW Geovanny Coello, Grand Prix winner
Swaythling Club International and the Table Tennis Club of the Universidad San Francisco de Quito; this victory motivates me to continue working, improving, and enjoying this great passion we have for table tennis “ Soon after in Quito on Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th August, he was responsible for the Butterfly Challenger tournament. Endorsed by the Ecuadorian Table Tennis Federation, the circuit awards points for national ranking and aims to provide greater competitive opportunities and development for the next generation. Players from Santo Domingo, Tena, Quito, Ambato, Riobamba, and Carchi participated, competing in Under 13 and Under 15 categories.
SWAYTHLING CLUB NEWS
Jose Ransome Fund An initiative following the passing of Swaythling Club International member, the Jose Ransome Fund was launched officially on Wednesday 9th September. Awards amounting to grants of Ł500 to support opportunities for women and girls are available. Alongside the Fund, a new Pride of Table Tennis award, reflecting the outstanding contribution to women and girls’ table tennis, will be inaugurated in 2027. It will be open to volunteers and clubs or community projects. Likewise, a Swaythling club member, husband Alan Ransome OBE, will be part of the panel awarding grants. Also, he will be involved in selecting the Pride of Table Tennis winner. The Fund aims to create a longterm legacy that reflects Jose’s impact on the sport.
ABOVE Jose Ransome an ardent supporters of women and girls playing table tennis
The Fund The Fund is able to award as follows: • supporting women and girls to start or continue playing
Aims • increase participation opportunities for women and girls • support individual development across playing, coaching and volunteering • strengthen local club and community provision Applications are open to any member, club, league, or organisation affiliated to Table Tennis England. All applicants must demonstrate a clear commitment to supporting women and girls in table tennis.
• coaching qualifications or development opportunities • volunteer training and development • equipment or facility costs linked to women and girls’ activity • projects that grow or sustain female participation at club / community level Grants will normally be up to Ł500, although requests above this amount may be considered in exceptional circumstances • Donate: Jose Ransome Fund October 2026 SWAYTHLING 87
We Remember at the Kenya National Championships and at the East African Championships; in 1973 in Sarajevo, she made her World Championships debut. Later, in 1980 she turned her attentions to officialdom; for over 40 years occupying high ranking positions within the Kenya Table Tennis Association, the African Table Tennis Federation, the Commonwealth Table Tennis Federation and the International Table Tennis Federation. Notably at the 50th celebrations of the Kenya National Olympic Committee in 2005, she was recognised for her contribution to sport by two most illustrious personalities.
Jane Pinto ABOVE Jane Pinto in 1997, holding the ITTF Merit Award presented at the World Championships in Manchester
Notably, present to offer their congratulations was Jacques Rogge, the President of the International Olympic Committee, alongside Kip Keino, President of the Kenya National Olympic Committee, one of the most distinguished athletes of all time.
A member of the Swaythling Club International, ITTF Merit Award winner in 1997, elected ITTF Personal Honorary Member in 2021, Kenya’s Jane Pinto passed on Wednesday 15th July, one week after her 91st birthday.
Partnering husband Felix, a highly respected farmer and businessman, she was the founder of Micato Safaris, a global leader. The company has been acclaimed by the New York Times, Forbes, and Condé Nast Traveler for its meticulously planned safaris, personal service and superb accommodation.
Born in Kisumu on the shores of Lake Victoria; in the early 1970s she won the women’s singles title
A fervent promoter of the female cause, now departed, never forgotten her legacy lives on.
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WE REMEMBER
Kenneth Strong by Tony Martin, Ireland Swaythling Club Representative A long-term member of the Swaythling Club International, table tennis across Ireland spoke with one voice of sadness and loss at the untimely death of Kenneth C. Strong BA (81 years) on Friday 17th July 2026. He was the Honorary Life President of the Irish Table Tennis Association; his passing followed the death of Kenneth’s predecessor Joe Veselsky (106 years) in January this year. In the words of a press headline in Kenneth’s local paper in Co. Tyrone, “Tributes pour in for a true giant and gentleman of Irish Table Tennis”; this adequately describing a highly respected leader of many aspects and roles in his favourite sport. At a Service of Thanksgiving for Kenneth in Omagh Methodist Church attended by over 250 people, his life of service and dedication was summed up in three sectors of family, church and sport by Reverend Colin Houston. Kenneth had developed a blossoming career in both local and central government as a highly respected administrator, rising up the ranks in times of tension across Northern Ireland; it was these resilient characteristics that led him to a career in table tennis. His defensive and event-winning playing skills traversed into a fully qualified coach at local and regional level, culminating in being non-playing captain for the Irish national team for several years at
ABOVE Kenneth Strong, Honorary Life President of the Irish Table Tennis Association
all major events such as Worlds, European and Home Nations competitions. Meanwhile, he became a role model for many aspiring sport leaders as he held key roles at regional level in Ulster before moving to national positions as International Director, Chair of the Board and eventually National President (2015-19); this led to him being held in the highest esteem at home and international. Kenneth is survived by his wife Isobel, elder son Daryl, who is the leading veteran player in Ireland and a schoolteacher, second son Neil, a former player and practising dentist and their families, as well as his remaining brother Alan who is currently National Table Tennis President. October 2026 SWAYTHLING 89
ABOVE Isabelle Beumier enjoyed every moment as an official whether referee or umpire
Isabelle Beumier
to umpire at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, Christmas had come early.
A most respected official, an International Referee and Blue Badge Umpire, Belgium’s Isabelle Beumier, born in 1961, suffering from a cancer diagnosis, passed away in July.
Rio 2016 was arguably the pinnacle, but other appointments came very close. She was Deputy Referee at the 2017 ITTF World Championships in Düsseldorf, later she was a member of the Referee team at the 2023 European Games in Krakow.
She was Deputy Chair of the European Table Tennis Union’s (ETTU) Umpires and Referees Committee from 2014 to 2016, the Chair from 2016 to 2020, before once again being the Deputy Chair from 2020 to 2024. Isabelle savoured officiating, the reaction when chosen for a big event was the same as that of a player, sheer delight; on selection 90 SWAYTHLING October 2026
Additionally, she represented the ETTU at numerous international competitions, championships, educational seminars and development programmes, always demonstrating the highest standards of professionalism, fairness and integrity. She is sadly missed.
WE REMEMBER
Jacques Denys A stalwart of Belgian table tennis, Jacques Denys died on Sunday 19th July, he was 76 years old. He served as President of the Flemish Table Tennis League (VTTL), President of the West Flanders Provincial Committee, and Vice President of the Royal Belgian Table Tennis Federation (KBTTB). However, always he will be known for the Ostend Open, a tournament that ran for over 30 years. Staged on an annual basis in late August and early September, the event catered for players of every possible standard, from those in the lowest grade, who struggled just to lay bat on ball, to famous names who had succeeded at the very highest international level.
Memorably, players in the relevant class would be called to a holding pen where the late Joseph Vandenheuvel, who lived for the Ostend Open, would announce the matches, he became renowned for one word above all others “scratché”!
ABOVE Jacques Denys, heart and soul in the sport of table tennis
Furthermore, the tournament possessed a most unique element, in men’s singles class A, the two semi-final losers contested the final, the winners progressed to play in the Masters on Saturday evening, an eight-player knockout tournament, they joined such celebrated names as Chen Zhibin, Paul Halden and Vladimir Samsonov alongside the ever-present Jean-Michel and Philippe Saive. Owing to lack of local government support, the Ostend Open ceased some years ago, a part of our lives has gone but thanks to Jacques Denys, wonderful memories remain strong in our mind. October 2026 SWAYTHLING 91
Cheng Jiayan Born on Thursday 1st February 1934, China’s Cheng Jiayan, one of sport’s most celebrated officials, passed away on Wednesday 29th July. He joined the Air Force in 1950, serving in the military for 22 years. In particular, he researched the use of radio instruments; the result he was awarded citations on three occasions, twice being received by Premier Zhou Enlai. In 1972, he moved to civilian work at the State Physical Culture and Sports Commission, participating in the preparation of the Asia, Asia-Africa, and Asia-Africa-Latin American table tennis tournaments. He held a series of high positions within Chinese Table Tennis Association as well as being elected a member of the Chinese Olympic Committee. Notably in 1973 he qualified as an International Umpire, in 1992 an International Referee. He pioneered the card method for conducting draws; the system being adopted at the Seoul 1992 Olympic Games. In 1981, he published the book "Research on Table Tennis Competition Methods," the English edition released in 1988. Technology moving forward, in 1993, Cheng Jiayan developed a program for devising draws by computer. Overall, he served as a member of the ITTF Rules Committee and Secretary of the ITTF Technical Committee for eight terms totalling 16 years; also, he was Secretary of the Asian Table Tennis Union Technical Committee for 12 years. Meanwhile, from 1981 to 1995 he served as a chief technical official 92 SWAYTHLING October 2026
ABOVE Cheng Jiayan at the 1983 World Championships in Tokyo; his book "Research on Table Tennis Competition Methods," was regarded by Ichiro Ogimura, at the time ITTF President, as essential reading
or referee, on more than 30 occasions at events such as the Olympic Games, World Championships, and World Cups from 1981 to 1995. Commencing in 1986, Cheng Jiayan was appointed as a visiting professor at five sports colleges, including Tianjin and Wuhan. Upon retirement in 1995, he assisted in the operation of the Chinese Table Tennis Club Super League and gained national recognition; CCTV (China Central Television) aired a special feature: "Oriental Son – Cheng Jiayan”. Dedicated the contribution made to the sport of table tennis is immeasurable.
WE REMEMBER
Derek Burridge Reproduced courtesy of Diane Webb and Table Tennis England Derek Burridge, former England international, died on Thursday 17th September; born on Thursday 25th February 1933 in north London, not too far from Wembley stadium, he was 93 years old. A career spanning some two decades, he made his international debut in 1950, a junior match against Sweden in which England recorded a 5-4 win; four years later in 1954, he made his first senior appearance, a 5-3 success against Germany. Further appearances came against Wales (1956), Scotland (1955, 1958), United States (1955, 1959), Yugoslavia (1958), China (1959), France (1960), Germany (1960) and Russia (1960). Additionally, he was selected for the World Championships (1954), the European Championships (1960) and for the first Quadrangular (1960) involving England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Meanwhile, between 1952 and 1962, he was a familiar face at the English Open, his best a runners up finish: men’s doubles partnering Len Adams (1957), mixed doubles alongside Kathy Best (1960). Domestically, 1960 was a significant year. He played in the first ever English National Championships and with a degree of success. He reached the men’s singles semifinal, men’s doubles final with Len Adams and mixed doubles quarter-final partnering Jean Harrower. Also, in February he won the Top 11 and October was runner up in the Top 10.
A stalwart of the Middlesex County team, he was made President from 2000 to 2016.Playing days coming to a close, in 1960 Derek started his own business providing top quality trophies and awards. The Swaythling Club Fair Play bats were provided by the company.
ABOVE Derek Burridge, a genial smile.
Outside the table tennis arena, Derek raised greyhounds and was an ardent supporter Brentford Football Club, a former vice-president of the club, his son, Mark, is their long-time official matchday commentator, both home and away matches. Highly respected that fact was endorsed following news of his passing; on Friday 18th September, at half-time in Brentford’s impressive 3-0 win against Chelsea, there was a round of applause for his memory, a fitting tribute.
Visit: Table Tennis England for more detailed account
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Peter Engel Former German international and in more recent years a coach of high repute, Peter Engel passed away on Friday 18th September, he was 72 years old. Born on Wednesday 13th January 1954, he represented Germany on 40 occasions between 1975 and 1983, competing at two World Championships and three European Championships. At national level, partnering Jochen Leiss, he won the men’s doubles title in 1978, the men’s singles in 1984. Notably, two years later alongside Zsolt-Georg Böhm, Josef Böhm and a certain Jan-Ove Waldner, he was a member of the ATSV Saarbrücken team that secured the prestigious European Club Cup of Champions title. Playing days over, Engel focused his attentions on coaching, a role he followed for some 30 years. Extensive knowledge, always he displayed a calm attitude, his caring and thoughtful nature gaining the confidence of all he advised. He fulfilled the role of national coach for the Netherlands from 1994 to 2000 before transferring his attention to Spain, where he played an important role in the development of a generation of young players, including Galia Dvorak, Sara Ramirez and Marc Duran. The 2005 World Junior Championships in Linz remains strong in the memory, Galia Dvorak and Sara Ramirez won girls’ doubles silver, girls’ team bronze and each reached the girls’ singles quarter-finals. Engel was the proudest man on planet earth. Later he coached the Spanish 94 SWAYTHLING October 2026
ABOVE Peter Engel, a man with a thoughtful an caring personality
women’s national team from 2009 to 2012. Furthermore, his exploits were not just focused on Europe, he occupied the role of national coach for India, being on duty at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games; later he became the Luxembourg national coach before most recently being the coach for TTG Bingen/Münster-Sarmsheim in the German Women’s Bundesliga. A widower, married to Judit Magos who passed away in 2018, he leaves a daughter. A long and distinguished career, Engel made a notable contribution to the sport of table tennis; our condolences.
WE REMEMBER ranks, from County to National and ultimately International Umpire. He officiated at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, as well as at the Commonwealth Championships in 2004 in Kuala Lumpur and five years later in Glasgow. In a different role, at the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games, he fulfilled the role of Transport Manager for Team Wales; four years later at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, he was Team Wales General Manager. Furthermore, at the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, Ron was a technical official, his role being focused on racket control.
Ron Davies A most highly respected member of Table Tennis Wales, Ron Davies, passed away on Thursday 24th September. Ron was not a player of repute; he was a seafarer; he spent almost 40 years aboard ship, first with Shell tankers, then with British Sealink ferries. The only reason he ever wielded a racket was because his eldest daughter Meinir wanted to play. She was soon followed by sisters Delyth, Siwan and Iona. Quickly, Ron made a venue possible and as one by one the girls improved, he provided the one-hour taxi service from his home in Wrexham, across the English border to Market Dayton, where a strong group of players was based. Wisely, Ron left coaching to others, he pursued the officialdom route. He progressed through the
ABOVE Ron Davies, true to his heritage
Alongside international duty, Ron became integral to the administration of Table Tennis Wales. He joined the association’s committee in the mid 1980s, at different times occupying the positions of Finance Director and Director of Competitions and Performance, before being elected Vice President in recognition of his efforts. Most notably, together with his wife, Marian, they were members of the team that resurrected the Welsh Open; they helped rebuild the tournament to the point where, in 2000, players representing 11 countries participated. Promoting a tournament that possessed the title “Welsh” reflected the character of Ron and wife, Marian. Both patriotic, “Cymru am byth" (Wales forever) this was typified by how they spelt their hometown: it was Wrecsam, the Welsh way, not Wrexham! Meinir, Delyth, Siwan and Iona remember your father with pride, what you achieved, for him the greatest honour, to wear the colours of Wales. October 2026 SWAYTHLING 95
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IN FOCUS A review of international tournaments concluding in July, August and September 2026 Full results, visit: ITTF 2026 Events Calendar
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Korean Duo Administers Repeat Dose
ABOVE Lim Jonghoon left and right Shin Yubin, the mixed doubles winners at the United States Smash FACING LEFT Yuna Ojio won the women’s singles title in Ulaanbaatar and Tashkent FACING RIGHT Hugo Calderano emerged successful on home soil in Brazil
Some seven months earlier in December, at the WTT Finals Hong Kong, Korea Republic’s Lim Jonghoon and Shin Yubin beat China’s Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha, the reigning Olympic and World champions. In July at the United States Smash, once again in the final, when facing the Korean Republic duo, it was the same outcome. Success for one male and female duo; a month later in August there was another such combination hitting the headlines but in a rather different guise. Japan’s Tomokazu and Miwa Harimoto secured respective men’s and women’s singles titles at the WTT Champions Yokohama to become
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the first brother and sister pairing in modern times to achieve the feat on the international stage. Later in September, Miwa added women’s singles gold at the WTT Champions Macao. Two such titles during a three month period, it was the same for Yuna Ojio, she won in Tashkent and Ulaanbaatar. Also, flying the flag for the Land of the Rising Sun, Hina Hayata prevailed in Săo José dos Campos, Kaho Akae in Vientiane, Rin Mende in Olomouc. However, it was Miu Hirano and Miyuu Kihara who stole the show. Respectively they succeeded in Almaty and Astana, as partners they claimed women’s doubles titles on both occasions as well as in Panagyurishte.
WORLD TABLE TENNIS
UNITED STATES SMASH, LOS ANGELES Friday 26th June - Sunday 5th July
WTT FEEDER ASUNCION, PARAGUAY Wednesday 8th - Sunday 12th July
WTT STAR CONTENDER SÃO JOSÉ , BRAZIL Tuesday 21st - Sunday 26th July
Men’s Singles W: Sora Matsushima (JPN) RU: Vladimir Sidorenko (AIN) Women’s Singles W: Sun Yingsha (CHN) RU: Kuai Man (CHN)
Men’s Singles W: Alexis Kourachi (FRA) RU: Leo de Nodrest (FRA) Women’s Singles W: Huang Yu-Jie (TPE) RU: Tsai Yun-En (TPE)
Men’s Singles W: Hugo Calderano (BRA) RU: Alexis Lebrun (FRA) Women’s Singles W: Hina Hayata (JPN) RU: Hitomi Sato (JPN)
Men’s Doubles W: Wen Ruibo/Yuan Licen (CHN) RU: Huang Youzheng / Lin Shidong (CHN) Women’s Doubles W: Kuai Man / Wang Manyu (CHN) RU: Miwa Harimoto / Hina Hayata (JPN) Mixed Doubles W: Lim Jonghoon / Shin Yubin (KOR) RU: Wang Chuqin / Sun Yingsha (CHN)
Men’s Doubles W: Leo de Nodrest / Vincent Picard (FRA) RU: Nicolas Burgos / Gustavo Gomez (CHI) Women’s Doubles W: Tsai Yun-En / Huang Yu-Jie (TPE) RU: Daniela Ortega / Paulina Vega (CHI) Mixed Doubles W: Gustavo Gomez / Daniela Ortega (CHI) RU: Steven Moreno / Brianna Burgos (PUR)
Men’s Doubles W: Baldwin Chan / Wong Chun Ting (HKG) RU: Vincent Picard / Joe Seyfried (FRA) Women’s Doubles W: Hina Hayata / Kaho Akae (JPN) RU: Doo Hoi Kem / Ng Wing Lam (HKG) Mixed Doubles W: Shunsuke Togami / Satsuki Odo (JPN) RU: Hugo Calderano / Bruna Takahashi (BRA)
WTT FEEDER ISTANBUL II, TÜRKIYE Wednesday 1st - Sunday 5th July
WTT FEEDER ULAANBAATAR, MONGOLIA Sunday 19th - Thursday 23rd July
WTT FEEDER TASHKENT, UZBEKISTAN Friday 24th - Tuesday 28th July
Men’s Singles W: Nikita Artemenko (AIN) RU: Jules Rolland (FRA) Women’s Singles W: Lee Seungeun (KOR) RU: Arina Slautina (AIN)
Men’s Singles W: Hung Che-Yen (TPE) RU: Pang Koen (SGP) Women’s Singles W: Yuna Ojio (JPN) RU: Li Jie (NED)
Men’s Singles W: Evgeny Tikhonov (AIN) RU: Esteban Dorr (FRA) Women’s Singles W: Yuna Ojio (JPN) RU: Yeh Yi-Tian (TPE)
Men’s Doubles W: Evgeny Tikhonov / Dimitri Vinogradov (AIN) RU: Kazuki Yoshiyama / Ryoichi Yoshiyama (JPN) Women’s Doubles W: Swastika Ghosh / Taneesha Kotecha (IND) RU: Men Shuohan / Ana Tofant (NED/SLO) Mixed Doubles W: Ankur Bhattacharjee / Swastika Ghosh (IND) RU: Men Shuohan / Ana Tofant (NED/SLO)
Men’s Doubles W: Ellsworth Le / Yang Ze Yi (SGP) RU: Amirreza Abbasi / Meng Fanbo (MLT/GER) Women’s Doubles W: Kim Seongjin / Park Gahyeon (KOR) RU: Li Jie / Men Shuohan (NED) Mixed Doubles W: Yang Hao-Jen / Chen Chi-Yun (TPE) RU: Tsai Tien-Yu / Chien Tung-Chuan (TPE)
Men’s Doubles W: Maksim Grebnev / Lev Katsman (AIN) RU: Kirill Gerassimenko / Iskender Kharki (KAZ) Women’s Doubles W: Chen Szu-Yu / Wu Ying-Syuan (TPE) RU: Valeriia Shcherbatykh / Vlada Voronina (AIN) Mixed Doubles W: Abdullah Yigenler / Ece Harac (TUR) RU: Lev Katsman / Mariia Tailakova (AIN)
October 2026 SWAYTHLING 99
Ryoichi Yoshiyama
Nina Mittelham
FEEDER VIENTIANE, LAOS
Women’s Doubles
Women’s Doubles
Tuesday 4th - Saturday 8th August
W: Miwa Harimoto / Hina Hayata (JPN)
W: Rin Mende / Misuzu Takeya (JPN)
RU: Doo Hoi Kem / Ng Wing Nam (HKG)
RU: Orawan Paranang / Suthasini Sawettabut
Men’s Singles
Mixed Doubles
(THA)
W: Ryoichi Yoshiyama (JPN) RU: Jo Yokotani (JPN)
W: Lin Shidong / Kuai Man (CHN)
Mixed Doubles
Women’s Singles
RU: Wong Chun Ting / Doo Hoi Kem (HKG)
W: Lubomir Pistej / Natalia Bajor (SVK/POL)
W: Kaho Akae (JPN) RU: Lee Daeun (KOR)
RU: Izaac Quek / Loy Ming Ying (SGP)
Men’s Doubles
WTT FEEDER BERLIN, GERMANY
W: Clarence Chew / Josh Chua (FRA)
Wednesday 19th - Sunday 23rd August
RU: Florian Bourrassaud / Esteban Door
WTT CONTENDER ALMATY, KAZAKHSTAN Monday 24th - Friday 28th August
Women’s Doubles
Men’s Singles
W: Kaho Akae / Asuka Sasao (JPN)
W: Kwon Hyuk (KOR) RU: Ryuusei Kawakami (JPN)
Men’s Singles
RU: Kim Seongjin / Lee Daeun (KOR)
Women’s Singles
W: Shunsuke Togami (JPN) RU: Simon Gauzy (FRA)
Mixed Doubles
W: Nina Mittelham (GER) RU: Kotomi Omoda (JPN)
Women’s Singles
W: Choi Jiwook / Lee Daeun (KOR) RU: Li Ki Ho / Yuen Sum Lok (HKG)
WTT CHAMPIONS YOKOHAMA, JAPAN Tuesday 4th - Sunday 9th August Men’s Singles W: Tomokazu Harimoto (JPN) RU: Oh Junsung (KOR) Women’s Singles W: Miwa Harimoto (JPN) RU: Chen Xingtong (CHN)
W: Miu Hirano (JPN) RU: Hina Hayata (JPN) Men’s Doubles W: Sota Noda / Kohei Sambe (JPN)
Men’s Doubles
RU: Hsu Hsien-Chia / Yu Yi-Cing (TPE)
W: Maksim Grebnev / Lev Katsman (RUS)
Women’s Doubles
RU: Kristian Karlsson / Mattias Karlsson (SWE)
W: Rin Mende / Misuzu Takeya (JPN)
Women’s Doubles
RU: Orawan Paranang / Suthasini Sawettabut (THA)
W: Miu Hirano / Miyuu Kihara (JPN)
Mixed Doubles
RU: Syndrela Das / Sutirtha Mukherjee (IND)
W: Marek Badowski / Zuzanna Wieglos (POL)
Mixed Doubles
RU: Mateusz Zalewski / Aleksandra Michalak (POL)
W: Evgeny Tikhonov / Maria Panfilova (RUS) RU: Kazuki Yoshiyama / Yuno Ojio (JPN)
EUROPE SMASH - SWEDEN, MALMÖ
WTT FEEDER OLOMOUC, CZECHIA
Saturday 8th - Sunday 16th August
Monday 24th - Friday 28th August
Men’s Singles
Men’s Singles
W: Felix Lebrun (FRA) RU: Tomokazu Harimoto (JPN)
W: Ankur Bhattacharjee (IND) RU: Deni Kozul (SLO)
Women’s Singles
Women’s Singles
Men’s Singles
W: Wang Manyu (CHN) RU: Wang Yidi (CHN)
W: Rin Mende (JPN) RU: Misuzu Takeya (JPN)
W: Kang Dongsoo (KOR) RU: Ankur Bhattacharjee
Men’s Doubles
Men’s Doubles
(IND)
W: Alexis Lebrun / Felix Lebrun (FRA)
W: Ankur Bhattacharjee / Akash Pal (IND)
Women’s Singles
RU: Baldwin Chan / Wong Chun Ting (HKG)
RU: David Szantosi / Mateusz Zalewski (HUN/POL)
W: Sreeja Akula (IND) RU: Li Yu-Jhun (TPE)
WTT FEEDER PUERTO PRINCESA, PHILIPPINES
100 SWAYTHLING October 2026
Tuesday 8th - Saturday 12th September
WORLD TABLE TENNIS
Truls Moregard Men’s Doubles W: John Russel Misal / Jann Mari Nayre (PHI) RU: Lim Yunoh / Oh Seunghwan (KOR)
Li Yihui WTT FEEDER BANGKOK, THAILAND BULGARIA Monday 14th - Friday 18th September
Women’s Doubles W: Chien Tung-Chuan / Li Yu-Jhun (TPE) RU: Huang Ching-Chia / Tsai Yun-En (TPE) Mixed Doubles W: Choi Jiwook / Lee Daeun (KOR) RU: Yap Rui Zhe / Tee Ai Xin (MAS) WTT CHAMPIONS MACAO Tuesday 8th - Sunday 13th September Men’s Singles W: Truls Moregard (SWE) RU: Hugo Calderano (BRA) Women’s Singles W: Miwa Harimoto (JPN) RU: Chen Yi (CHN)
WTT CONTENDER PANAGYURISHTE, BULGARIA Tuesday 8th - Sunday 13th September Men’s Singles W: Elias Ranefur (SWE) RU: Dimitrij Ovtcharov (GER) Women’s Singles W: Hitomi Sato (JPN) RU: Sakura Yokoi (JPN) Men’s Doubles W: Florian Bourrassaud / Esteban Door (FRA) RU: Kazuki Hamada / Yuhi Sakai (JPN) Women’s Doubles W: Miu Hirano / Miyuu Kihara (JPN) RU: Nicole Arlia / Gaia Monfardini (ITA) Mixed Doubles W: Alvaro Robles / Maria Xiao (ESP) RU: Marek Badowski / Tatiana Kukulkova (POL/SVK)
Men’s Singles W: Jo Yokotani (JPN) RU: João Monteiro (POR) Women’s Singles W: Li Yihui (CHN) RU: Chiko Fujita (JPN) Men’s Doubles W: Amirreza Abbasi / Cedric Meissner (MLT/GER) RU: Ali Alkhadrawi / Abdulaziz Bu Shulaybi (KSA) Women’s Doubles W: Lee Seungeun / Lee Daeun (KOR) RU: Karen Lyne / Tee Ai Xin (MAS) Mixed Doubles W: Edward Ly / Mo Zhang (CAN) RU: Thitaphat Preechayan / Kulapassr Vijitviriyagul (THA)
WTT FEEDER LINZ, AUSTRIA Wednesday 23rd - Sunday 27th September Men’s Singles W: Yuta Tanaka (JPN) RU: Darius Movileanu (ROU) Women’s Singles W: Natalia Bajor (POL) RU: Misuzu Takeya (JPN) Men’s Doubles W: Ivor Ban / Csaba Andras (CRO/HUN) RU: Conor Green / Mateusz Zalewski (ENG/POL) Women’s Doubles W: Anna Brzyska / Zuzanna Wieglos (POL) RU: Lilou Massart / Jessica Reyes Lai (BEL/USA) Mixed Doubles W: Jakub Zelinka / Nikoleta Puchovanova (SVK) RU: Conor Green / Tin-Tin Ho (ENG)
WTT STAR CONTENDER ASTANA, KAZAKHSTAN Tuesday 15th - Sunday 20th September Men’s Singles W: Dang Qiu (GER) RU: Alexis Lebrun (FRA) Women’s Singles W: Miyuu Kihara (JPN) RU: Hitomi Sato (JPN) Men’s Doubles W: Eduard Ionescu / Darius Movileanu (ROU) RU: Nikita Artemenko / Denis Ivonin (RUS) Women’s Doubles W: Miu Hirano / Miyuu Kihara (JPN) RU: Adriana Diaz / Honoka Hashimoto (PUR/JPN) Mixed Doubles W: Chen Junsong / Wang Yidi (CHN) RU: Hiromu Kobayashi / Miyuu Kihara (JPN)
Dang Qiu
October 2026 SWAYTHLING 101
Good things come in threes ABOVE Cocona Muramatsu won in Almaty, Malmö and Puerto Princesa
Three months, titles in three age groups, such was the achievement of three players, Japan’s Cocona Muramatsu, Korea Republic’s Lee Sangsu and Chinese Taipei’s Chen ChihYen.
Somewhat different, Chen ChihYen completed the feat in the same month. In July she won the under 15 girls’ singles in Hong Kong, the following week under 19 and under 17 titles in Ulaanbaatar.
At Youth Contender events, in July Muramatsu won the under 17 girls’ singles titles in Almaty and Hong Kong; in September, it was the under 19 top prize in Puerto Princesa; in between in August under 15 gold at the Malmö Youth Smash.
Good form, the same from Kef Noorani from the United States, four titles. In both San Francisco and Monteria he won the under 19 and under 17 boys’ singles.
Also successful in Malmö, Lee Seungsoo won the counterpart under 15 boys’ event, having in July enjoyed under 17 boys’ singles success in Hong Kong. Later in September he captured the under 19 title in Gangneung. 102 SWAYTHLING October 2026
Emulating colleague Muramatsu, Shunto Iwaida and Yuta Ito claimed three titles in the under 19 and under 17 boys’ singles age groups. Similary, Chinese Taipei’s Wu Yuan-Kai and Uzbekistan’s Amir Shiriev did the same. Both boys enjoyed under 13 success, Wu added under 15 gold, Shiriev the same at under 11 level.
WORLD TABLE TENNIS YOUTH
Yuta Ito WTT YOUTH CONTENDER HONG KONG, CHINA Monday 6th - Sunday 12th July Under 19 Boys’ Singles W: Li Ki Ho (HKG) RU: Lee Seungsoo (KOR) Under 19 Girls’ Singles W: Misuzu Takeya (JPN) RU: Cocona Muramatsu (JPN) Under 19 Mixed Doubles W: Thitaphat Preechayan / Kulapassr Vijiyviriyagul (THA) RU: Lee Seungsoo / Lee Yeseo (KOR) Under 17 Boys’ Singles W: Lee Seungsoo (KOR) RU: Kohaku Nakano (JPN) Under 17 Girls’ Singles W: Cocona Muramatsu (JPN) RU: Aoba Takahashi (JPN) Under 15 Boys’ Singles W: Lam Sheung Man (HKG) RU: Fang Bing Wei (TPE) Under 15 Girls’ Singles W: Chen Chih-Yen (TPE) RU: Chen Xinrou (HKG) Under 15 Mixed Doubles W: Lam Sheung Man / Chen Xinrou (HKG) RU: Hung Bing-Yu / Chen Chih-Yen (TPE) Under 13 Boys’ Singles W: Tseng Yu-An (TPE) RU: Wu Yuan-Kai (TPE) Under 13 Girls’ Singles W: Asahi Kawaguchi (JPN) RU: Nonoka Suzuki (JPN) Under 11 Boys’ Singles W: Chen Kai-Xin (TPE) RU: Hu Kai-Xiang (TPE) Under 11 Girls’ Singles W: Asahi Kawaguchi (JPN) RU: Poon Tsz Ying (HKG)
Chen Chih-Yen WTT YOUTH CONTENDER ULAANBAATAR, MONGOLIA Tuesday 14th - Friday 17th July Under 19 Boys’ Singles W: Yuta Ito (JPN) RU: Yang Hao-Jen (TPE) Under 19 Girls’ Singles W: Chen Chih-Yen (TPE) RU: Law Sum Yee (HKG) Under 19 Mixed Doubles W: Lee Seungsoo / Lee Yeseo (KOR) RU: Chang Jui-Yang / Chen Chi-Yun (TPE) Under 17 Boys’ Singles W: Yuta Ito (JPN) RU: Shunto Iwaida (JPN) Under 17 Girls’ Singles W: Chen Chih-Yen (TPE) RU: Lin Wan-Rong (TPE) Under 15 Boys’ Singles W: Fan Yi Li (TPE) RU: Vivaan Dave (IND) Under 15 Girls’ Singles W: Chang Tzu-Yu (TPE) RU: Kanan Komatsu (JPN) Under 15 Mixed Doubles W: Fan Yi Li / Peng Yen Rong (TPE) RU: Abdulrahman Al Taher / Nihal Al Qahtani (KSA) Under 13 Boys’ Singles W: Lin Ting-Xue (TPE) RU: Chen Kai-Xin (TPE) Under 13 Girls’ Singles W: Nanami Mori (JPN) RU: Kanan Komatsu (JPN) Under 11 Boys’ Singles W: Chen Kai-Xin (TPE) RU: Ryan Almnjoomi (KSA) Under 11 Girls’ Singles W: Eu Gin Yi (SGP) RU: Krystal Huang (SGP)
WTT YOUTH CONTENDER TASHKENT II Sunday 19th - Wednesday 22nd July Under 19 Boys’ Singles W: Alan Kurmangaliyev (KAZ) RU: Soma Ono (JPN) Under 19 Girls’ Singles W: Kokomi Ishida (JPN) RU: Miku Matsushima (JPN) Under 19 Mixed Doubles W: Kim Seongwon / Lee Dahye (KOR) RU: Ritvik Gupta / Ananya Muralidharan (IND) Under 17 Boys’ Singles W: Sora Okada (JPN) RU: Lee Juchan (KOR) Under 17 Girls’ Singles W: Kim Minseo (KOR) RU: Ananya Muralidharan (IND) Under 15 Boys’ Singles W: Choi Kanggeon (KOR) RU: Aditya Das (IND) Under 15 Girls’ Singles W: Ankolika Chakraborty (IND) Kim Hyelin (KOR) Under 15 Mixed Doubles W: Choi Kanggeon / Lee Yubin (KOR) RU: Kim Ryeowon / Hwang Youngseo (KOR) Under 13 Boys’ Singles W: Lochinbek Abdukhalilov (UZB) RU: Lakshya Kumar (IND) Under 13 Girls’ Singles W: Zhaniya Bekmukhambetova (KAZ) RU: Sreosree Chakraborty (IND) Under 11 Boys’ Singles W: Amir Shiriev (UZB) RU: Ali Al-Hashemi (BRN) Under 11 Girls’ Singles W: Racha Loghraibi (QAT) RU: Nazerke Bolatbek (KAZ)
October 2026 SWAYTHLING 103
Kef Noorani WTT YOUTH CONTENDER SAN FRANCISCO III, UNITED STATES Thursday 23rd - Sunday 26th July Under 19 Boys’ Singles W: Kef Noorani (USA) RU: Alex Luo (USA) Under 19 Girls’ Singles W: Sally Moyland (USA) RU: Irene Yeoh (USA) Under 19 Mixed Doubles W: Alex Luo / Sally Moyland (USA) RU: Kef Noorani / Irene Yeoh (USA) Under 17 Boys’ Singles W: Kef Noorani (USA) RU: Chirag Pradhan (USA) Under 17 Girls’ Singles W: Lisa Wang (GER) RU: Hansini Mathan (IND)
Miku Matsushima WTT YOUTH CONTENDER ALMATY, KAZAKHSTAN Friday 24th - Monday 27th July Under 19 Boys’ Singles W: Soma Ono (JPN) RU: Priyanuj Bhattacharya (IND) Under 19 Girls’ Singles W: Kokomi Ishida (JPN) RU: Miku Muramatsu (JPN) Under 19 Mixed Doubles W: Soma Ono / Miku Matsushima (JPN) RU: Ukyo Kobayashi / Kokomi Ishida (JPN) Under 17 Boys’ Singles W: Soma Ono (JPN) RU: Ukyo Kobayashi (JPN) Under 17 Girls’ Singles W: Cocona Muramatsu (JPN) RU: Kim Minseo (KOR)
Under 15 Boys’ Singles W: Tanish Mamidyala (USA) RU: Chirag Pradhan (USA) Under 15 Girls’ Singles W: Zhang Junru (UGA) RU: Isabella Gao (USA) Under 15 Mixed Doubles W: Kyler Chen / Abigail Yu (USA) RU: Xianliang He / Zhang Junru (USA/UGA)
Under 15 Boys’ Singles W: Lee Juchan (KOR) RU: Lee Junho (KOR) Under 15 Girls’ Singles W: Sie Jhih-Chen (TPE) RU: Shin Hyorin (KOR) Under 15 Mixed Doubles W: Kam Hang Lok / Zhang Jia Yu (HKG) RU: Prateek Tulsani / Naisha Rewaskar (IND)
Under 13 Boys’ Singles W: Atharva Arvind (USA) RU: Ali Afrakhteh (USA) Under 13 Girls’ Singles W: Isabella Joseph (USA) RU: Isabella Gao (USA)
Under 13 Boys’ Singles W: Amir Shiriev (UZB) RU: Dulat Yeralkhan (KAZ) Under 13 Girls’ Singles W: Yong Wan Suan (MAS) RU: Ishani Gogoi (IND)
Under 11 Boys’ Singles W: Furas Ahmed (USA) RU: Nivaan Srinivasan (USA) Under 11 Girls’ Singles W: Adelyn Pan (USA) RU: Isha Padmarao (USA)
Under 11 Boys’ Singles W: Amir Shiriev (UZB) RU: Bakdaulet Nurzhan (KAZ) Under 11 Girls’ Singles W: Racha Loghraibi (QAT) RU: Nazerke Bolatbek (KAZ)
104 SWAYTHLING October 2026
WTT YOUTH CONTENDER VIENTIANE LAOS Thursday 30th July - Sunday 2nd August Under 19 Boys’ Singles W: Benyamin Faraji (IRI) RU: Abhinandh Pradhivadhi (IND) Under 19 Girls’ Singles W: Miku Matsushima (JPN) RU: Cocona Muramatsu (JPN) Under 19 Mixed Doubles W: Wong Wan Hei / Maki Ming Shum (HKG) RU: Huang Pei-You / Lin Huan-Ting (TPE) Under 17 Boys’ Singles W: Ma Yeongmin (KOR) RU: Cheng Min-Hsiu (TPE) Under 17 Girls’ Singles W: Miku Matsushima (JPN) RU: Heo Yerim (KOR) Under 15 Boys’ Singles W: Wu Yuan-Kai (TPE) RU: Lin Ting-Yue (TPE) Under 15 Girls’ Singles W: Sie Jhih-Chen (TPE) RU: Dania Mohd (MAS) Under 15 Mixed Doubles W: Faiz Muhammad/Dania Mohd (MAS) RU: Lu Shih-Yuan/Sie Jhih-Chen (TPE) Under 13 Boys’ Singles W: Lin Ting-Xue (TPE) RU: Lee Seungyoon (KOR) Under 13 Girls’ Singles W: Du Sihyeon (KOR) RU: Kim Yunseo (KOR) Under 11 Boys’ Singles W: Hsu Chen-Yu (TPE) RU: Habib Azhar (MAS) Under 11 Girls’ Singles W: Yang Min-Hsin (TPE) RU: Yang Chiao-Yu (TPE)
WORLD TABLE TENNIS YOUTH
Yu Yiyang WTT YOUTH CONTENDER SPOKANE, USA Thursday 6th - Sunday 9th August Under 19 Boys’ Singles W: Alan Kurmangaliyev (KAZ) RU: Chulong Nie (AUS) Under 19 Girls’ Singles W: Irene Yeoh (USA) RU: Satya Aspathi (USA) Under 19 Mixed Doubles W: Andrew Cao / Satya Aspathi (USA) RU: Chulong Nie / Mandy Yu (AUS.USA) Under 17 Boys’ Singles W: Kef Noorani (USA) RU: Tanish Pendse (USA) Under 17 Girls’ Singles W: Chen Chih-Yen (TPE) RU: Satya Aspathi (USA) Under 15 Boys’ Singles W: Tanish Mamidyala (USA) RU: Ethan Wang (USA) Under 15 Girls’ Singles W: Tiana Piyadasa (USA) RU: Abigail Yu (USA) Under 15 Mixed Doubles W: Ethan Wang / Tiana Piyadasa (USA) RU: Jaden Jia / Angel He (USA)
EUROPE YOUTH SMASH - SWEDEN, MALMÖ Friday 14th - Sunday 16th August Under 19 Boys’ Singles W: Ryuusei Kawakami (JPN) RU: Zhou Guanhong (CHN) Under 19 Girls’ Singles W: Jiang Yiyi (CHN) RU: Miku Matsushima (JPN)
Zhaniya Bekukhambetova Under 15 Boys’ Singles W: Lee Seungsoo (KOR) RU: Cui Zijun (CHN) Under 15 Girls’ Singles W: Cocona Muramatsu (JPN) RU: Kokomi Ishida (JPN)
WTT YOUTH CONTENDER VARAZDIN, CROATIA Tuesday 25th - Monday 31st August Under 19 Boys’ Singles W: Yang Mingkun (CHN RU: Meng Zihao (CHN) Under 19 Girls’ Singles W: Feng Yixuan (CHN) RU: Maria Berzosa (ESP) Under 17 Boys’ Singles W: Yu Yiyang (CHN) RU: Chuang Chung-Yen (TPE) Under 17 Girls’ Singles W: Zhang Yulu (CHN) RU: Feng Shuo (CHN) Under 15 Boys’ Singles W: Zhang Heliang (CHN) RU: Lai Hongrui (CHN) Under 15 Girls’ Singles W: Liu Zitong (CHN) RU: Liu Zitong (CHN) Under 13 Boys’ Singles W: Milan Vucetic (MNE) RU: Gu Junchen (SGP) Under 13 Girls’ Singles W: Zhaniya Bekukhambetova (KAZ) RU: Lizett Fazekas (CRO) Under 11 Boys’ Singles W: Gu Junchen (SGP) RU: Taavi Samaraweera (SRI)
Under 11 Girls’ Singles W: Ding Xiaoyu (SGP) RU: Lin Jiajun (SGP)
WTT YOUTH CONTENDER OTOCEC, SLOVENIA Tuesday 25th - Monday 31st August Under 19 Boys’ Singles W: Patryk Zyworonek (POL) RU: Yang Mingkun (CHN) Under 19 Girls’ Singles W: Xu Huiyao (CHN) RU: Feng Yixuan (CHN) Under 17 Boys’ Singles W: Zhang Heliang (CHN) RU: Chuang Chung-Yen (TPE) Under 17 Girls’ Singles W: Feng Shuo (CHN) RU: Julia Leal (POR) Under 15 Boys’ Singles W: Lai Hongrui (CHN) RU: Yu Yiyang (CHN) Under 15 Girls’ Singles W: Yang Yuhan (CHN) RU: Zhu Yurui (CHN) Under 13 Boys’ Singles W: Salah Allam (EGY) RU: Edoardo Bartoli (ITA) Under 13 Girls’ Singles W: Zhaniya Bekukhambetova (KAZ) RU: Krystal Huang (SGP) Under 11 Boys’ Singles W: Taavi Samaraweera (SRI) RU: Maksim Peto (SRB) Under 11 Girls’ Singles W: Krystal Huang (SGP) RU: Kaavya Sareen (IND)
October 2026 SWAYTHLING 105
Lisa Wang WTT YOUTH CONTENDER TUNIS II, TUNISIA Thursday 3rd - Sunday 6th September Under 19 Boys’ Singles W: Abhinandh Pradhivadhi (IND) RU: Damian Floro (SVK) Under 19 Girls’ Singles W: Maria Berzosa (ESP) RU: Naisha Rewaskar (IND) Under 19 Mixed Doubles W: William Bergenblock / Maria Berzosa (SWE/ESP) RU: Abhinandh Pradhivadhi / Naisha Rewaskar (IND) Under 17 Boys’ Singles W: Sandro Cavaille (FRA) RU: Benjamin Girlinger (AUT) Under 17 Girls’ Singles W: Lisa Wang (GER) RU: RU: Naisha Rewaskar (IND) Under 15 Boys’ Singles W: Emil Ellermann (SWE) RU: Abdulrahman Al-Taher (KSA) Under 15 Girls’ Singles W: Lotta Rothfuss (GER) RU: Ela Saidi (TUN) Under 15 Mixed Doubles W: Philip Theisen / Lotta Rothfuss (LUX/GER) RU: Moemen Sghaier / Ela Saidi (TUN) Under 13 Boys’ Singles W: Samuel Win (AUS) RU: Anton Kilander (SWE) Under 13 Girls’ Singles W: Mayar Mahouachi (KSA) RU: Ritej Chérif (TUN) Under 11 Boys’ Singles W: Ahmed Jebali (TUN) RU: Arthur Stribeck (SWE) Under 11 Girls’ Singles W: Hayat Abdullah (KUW) RU: Eya Queslati (TUN)
106 SWAYTHLING October 2026
Alejandro Cordero WTT YOUTH CONTENDER CUENCA, ECUADOR Thursday 3rd - Sunday 6th September
WTT YOUTH CONTENDER PUERTO PRINCESA, PHILIPPINES Thursday 3rd - Sunday 6th September
Under 19 Boys’ Singles W: Joshua Robayo (ECU) RU: Eshaan Nayak (IND) Under 19 Girls’ Singles W: Mandy Yu (USA) RU: Abigail Yu (USA) Under 19 Mixed Doubles W: Eshaan Nayak / Stuti Kashyap (IND/ANT) RU: Ivan Pastore / Mandy Yu (PAR/USA)
Under 19 Boys’ Singles W: Shunto Iwaida (JPN) RU: Hsu An-Pao (TPE) Under 19 Girls’ Singles W: Cocona Muramatsu (JPN) RU: Mak Ming Shum (HKG) Under 19 Mixed Doubles W: Kumar Harshit / Divyanshi Bhowmick (IND) RU: Muhammad Junindra / Citra Rasmi (INA)
Under 17 Boys’ Singles W: Cesar Revelo (ECU) RU: Josue Portalatino (PER) Under 17 Girls’ Singles W: Mandy Yu (USA) RU: Stuti Kashyap (ANT)
Under 17 Boys’ Singles W: Shunto Iwaida (JPN) RU: Ukyo Kobayashi (JPN) Under 17 Girls’ Singles W: Divyanshi Bhowmick (IND) RU: Chen Chih-Yen (TPE)
Under 15 Boys’ Singles W: Alejandro Cordero (ECU) RU: Josue Portalatino (PER) Under 15 Girls’ Singles W: Annie Sobarzo (ECU) RU: Maria Luna (PER) Under 15 Mixed Doubles W: Alejandro Cordero / Domenica Tituana (ECU) RU: Josue Portalatino / Maria Luna (PER)
Under 15 Boys’ Singles W: Vatsal Duklan (IND) RU: Vivan Dave (IND) Under 15 Girls’ Singles W: Ankolika Chakraborty (IND) RU: Chang Tzu-Ying (TPE) Under 15 Mixed Doubles W: Aditya Das / Ankolika Chakraborty (IND) RU: Wen Han-Sen / Chang Tzu-Ying (TPE)
Under 13 Boys’ Singles W: Alexis Romero (ECU) RU: Juan Gonzalez (ECU) Under 13 Girls’ Singles
Under 13 Boys’ Singles W: Wen Han-Sen (TPE) RU: Thame Ratanawachirin (THA) Under 13 Girls’ Singles
W: Thayra Buitron (ECU) RU: Eleana Ochoa (ECU)
W: Divija Paul (IND) RU: Li Ting-Yu (TPE)
Under 11 Boys’ Singles W: Santiago Sanchez (ECU) RU: Julian Gavilanes (ECU) Under 11 Girls’ Singles W: Aurora Franco (ECU) RU: Raquel Paredes (ECU)
Under 11 Boys’ Singles W: Chen Ching-An (TPE) RU: Thame Ratanawachirin (THA) Under 11 Girls’ Singles W: Li Ting-Yu (TPE) RU: Zane Cabalu (PHI)
WORLD TABLE TENNIS YOUTH
Aoba Takahashi WTT YOUTH CONTENDER BANGKOK II Wednesday 9th - Saturday 12th September
Lee Seungsoo WTT YOUTH CONTENDER GANGNEUNG, KOREA REPUBLIC Monday 14th - Thursday 17th September
WTT YOUTH STAR GANGNEUNG, KOREA REPUBLIC Monday 14th - Thursday 17th September
Under 19 Boys’ Singles W: Yuta Ito (JPN) RU: Kohaku Nakano (JPN)
Under 19 Boys’ Singles
Under 19 Girls’ Singles
W: Yang Hao-Jen (TPE) RU: Yuta Ito (JPN)
W: Aoba Takahashi (JPN) RU: Cocona Muramatsu
Under 19 Girls’ Singles
(JPN)
W: Ding Yijie (CHN) RU: Kokomi Ishida (JPN)
Under 19 Mixed Doubles
Under 19 Mixed Doubles
W: Kohaku Nakano / Aoba Takahashi (JPN)
W: Li Shangjun / Ding Yijie (CHN) RU: Lai Hongrui / Wang Xinya (CHN)
Under 17 Boys’ Singles W: Shunto Iwaida (JPN) RU: Soma Ono (JPN)
Under 17 Boys’ Singles
Under 17 Girls’ Singles
W: Huang Pei-You (TPE) RU: Cheng Min-Hsiu (TPE) Under 17 Girls’ Singles W: Chen Chi-Yun (TPE) RU: Liu Ziling (CHN)
W: Aoba Takahashi (JPN) RU: Chen Chih-Yen (TPE) Under 15 Boys’ Singles W: Phoommiphat Noita (THA) RU: Fang Bing Wei (TPE) Under 15 Girls’ Singles W: Dania Mohd (MAS) RU: Liu Pei-Hua (TPE) Under 15 Mixed Doubles W: Fang Bing-Wei / Chou Yu-Fein (TPE) RU: Kim Jeongheon / Son Yoonsuh (KOR) Under 13 Boys’ Singles W: Wu Yuan-Kai (TPE) RU: Tseng Yu-An (TPE) Under 13 Girls’ Singles W: Yen Pei-En RU: Asahi Kawaguchi (JPN) Under 11 Boys’ Singles W: Cheng We-Chun (TPE) RU: Tanapat Soita (THA) Under 11 Girls’ Singles W: Benyapha Surasit (THA) RU: Yang Chia-Yu (TPE)
Under 15 Boys’ Singles W: Choi Kanggeon (KOR) RU: Fan Yi Li (TPE) Under 15 Girls’ Singles W: Amina Ilimbetova (RUS) RU: Hung Yi-Chu (TPE) Under 15 Mixed Doubles W: Ladimir Mayorov / Amina Ilimbetova (ESP/RUS) RU: Kim Jeongheon / Son Yoonsuh (KOR) Under 13 Boys’ Singles W: Wu Yuan-Kai (TPE) RU: Chen Yu-Chen (TPE) Under 13 Girls’ Singles W: Weng Yu-Chiao (TPE) RU: Chang Ruei-Yi (TPE) Under 11 Boys’ Singles W: Kang Sihyeok (KOR) RU: Choi Seungyeon (KOR) Under 11 Girls’ Singles W: Liu Chih-Tung (TPE) RU: Hina Teshima (JPN)
Under 19 Boys’ Singles W: Lee Seungsoo (KOR) RU: Yang Hao-Jen (TPE) Under 19 Girls’ Singles W: Liu Ziling (CHN) RU: Yuna Ojio (JPN) Under 19 Boys’ Doubles W: Cheng Min-Hsiu / Yu Yi-Cing (TPE) RU: Chen Yizhou / Zhou Kaien (CHN) Under 19 Girls’ Doubles W: Chen Chi-Yun / Lu Yu-En (TPE) RU: Du Hanjing / Zhou Yufei (CHN) Under 19 Mixed Doubles W: Yang Hao-Jen / Chen Chi-Yun (TPE) RU: Chen Yizhou / Zhiu Yufei (CHN) Under 15 Boys’ Singles W: Xu Minghao (CHN) RU: Ladimir Mayorov (ESP) Under 15 Girls’ Singles W: Liu Ziling (CHN) RU: Miku Matsushima (JPN) Under 15 Boys’ Doubles W: Lai Hongrui / Li Shangjun (CHN) RU: Liang Wenjie / Min Ming (CHN) Under 15 Girls’ Doubles W: Miku Msatsushima / Kokomi Ishida (JPN) RU: Chang Tzu-Ying / Sie Jhih-Chen (TPE) Under 15 Mixed Doubles W: Li Shangjun / Yang Yuhan (CHN) RU: Lee Junho / Son Yoonsuh (KOR)
October 2026 SWAYTHLING 107
WTT YOUTH CONTENDER SPA, BELGIUM
Under 15 Girls’ Singles
Monday 21st - Thursday 24th September
W: Luciana Restrepo (COL) RU: Maria Mancera (COL) Under 15 Mixed Doubles
Under 19 Boys’ Singles
W: Ricky Tan Li / Maria Mancera (COL)
W: Evan Leriche (FRA) RU: Jacopo Cipriano (ITA)
RU: Miguel Labrador / Dana Carvajal (COL)
Under 19 Girls’ Singles W: Chloe Fraser (TTO) RU: Rheazhu Chen (GER)
Under 13 Boys’ Singles
Under 19 Mixed Doubles
W: Juan Echavarria (COL) RU: David Mendoza
W: Jacopo Cipriano / Elisa Nguyen (ITA/GER)
(COL)
RU: Noah Hersel / Lorena Morsch (GER)
Under 13 Girls’ Singles W: Marianna Sanchez (COL) RU: Samanta
Under 17 Boys’ Singles
Sanchez (COL)
W: Noah Tessier (FRA) RU: Titouan Morel-Gonzales
Josephina Neumann
(FRA)
Under 11 Boys’ Singles
Under 17 Girls’ Singles
W: Jeronimo Jimenez (COL) RU: Emmanuel Mejia (COL)
W: Albane Rochut FRA) RU: Lou-Anne Bocquet (FRA)
Under 11 Girls’ Singles W: Luciana Contreras (COL) RU: Antonella
Under 15 Boys’ Singles
Rodriguez (COL)
W: Quentin Sandona (FRA) RU: Tim Escudier (FRA)
Under 11 Boys’ Singles W: Amir Shiriev (UZB) RU: Taavi Samaraweera (SRI) Under 11 Girls’ Singles W: Olesia Ilina (RUS) RU: Sananda Srijith (IND)
Under 15 Girls’ Singles W: Lizett Fazekas (CRO) RU: Emma Li (GER)
WTT YOUTH CONTENDER TBILISI, GEORGIA
Under 15 Mixed Doubles
Sunday 27th - Wednesday 30th September
W: Flavio de Sousa / Bianca Borges (BRA) RU: Quentin Sandona / Lulie Duchet (FRA)
Under 19 Boys’ Singles W: Ozodbek Kakharov (UZB) RU: Louis Fegerl
Under 13 Boys’ Singles
(AUT)
W: Junde Zang / Caspar Mayer (GER)
Under 19 Girls’ Singles
Under 13 Girls’ Singles
W: Josephina Neumann (GER) RU: Vania Yavari
W: Louise Lounas (FRA) RU: Elina Hu (SUI)
(IRI) Under 19 Mixed Doubles
Under 11 Boys’ Singles
W: Ritvik Gupta / Shreya Limaye (IND)
W: Luka He (GER) RU: Aiden Cepeda (BEL)
RU: Yali Mor / Yana Zhadzko (BLR)
WTT YOUTH CONTENDER ASUNCION II, PARAGUAY Sunday 27th - Wednesday 30th September Under 19 Boys’ Singles W: Emanuel Otalvaro (COL) RU: Hamilton Yamane (BRA) Under 19 Girls’ Singles W: Abigail Yu (USA) RU: Irene Yeoh (USA) Under 19 Mixed Doubles W: Kef Noorani / Irene Yeoh (USA) RU: Ivan Pastore / Paloma Rivarola (PAR)
Under 11 Girls’ Singles W: Mini Cupic (GER) RU: Lucy Nourissier (BEL)
Under 17 Boys’ Singles W: Temurbek Nurmonov (UZB) RU: Ritvik Gupta (IND)
WTT YOUTH CONTENDER MONTERIA,
Under 17 Girls’ Singles
COLOMBIA
W: Ankolika Chakraborty (IND) RU: Rokaia Elbaz
Tuesday 22nd - Friday 25th September
(QAT)
Under 19 Boys’ Singles
Under 15 Boys’ Singles
W: Kef Noorani (USA) RU: Felipe Okano (BRA)
W: Aditya Das (IND) RU: Sanjey Arwindh (IND)
Under 19 Girls’ Singles
Under 15 Girls’ Singles
W: Irene Yeoh (USA) RU: Valentina Davila (PUR)
W: Ankolika Chakraborty (IND) RU: Rokaia Elbaz
Under 19 Mixed Doubles
(QAT)
W: Esteban Ayala / Valentina Davila (PUR)
Under 15 Mixed Doubles
RU: Kef Noorani / Irene Yeoh (USA)
W: Aditya Das / Ankolika Chakraborty (IND) RU: Sanjey Arwindh / Samhita Srijith (IND)
Under 17 Boys’ Singles W: Kef Noorani (USA) RU: Rafael Quintero (COL)
Under 13 Boys’ Singles
Under 17 Girls’ Singles
W: Khusen Iskandarov (UZB) RU: Nikan Shirvani
W: Irene Yeoh (USA) RU: Ana Gomez (COL)
(IRI) Under 13 Girls’ Singles
Under 15 Boys’ Singles
W: Zhaniya Bekmukhambetov (KAZ) RU: Chanuki
W: Ricky Tan Li (COL) RU: Miguel Labrador (COL)
Kariyawasam (SRI)
108 SWAYTHLING October 2026
Under 17 Boys’ Singles W: Sebastian Timbal (URU) RU: Kef Noorani (USA) Under 17 Girls’ Singles W: Irene Yeoh (USA) RU: Abigail Yu (USA) Under 15 Boys’ Singles W: Vitor Thiofilo (BRA) RU: Felipe Santos (BRA) Under 15 Girls’ Singles W: Alexus Lee (CAN) RU: Tiffany Zhan (CAN) Under 15 Mixed Doubles W: Fernando Acuna / Florencia Paiva (PAR) RU: Luca Marcial / Abigail Yu (ARG/USA) Under 13 Boys’ Singles W: Daniel Liang (CAN) RU: Lucas Alto (ARG) Under 13 Girls’ Singles W: Paula Benitez (PAR) RU: Tiffany Zhan (CAN) Under 11 Boys’ Singles W: Eduardo Koenigsdorf (BRA) RU: Miguel Muller (BRA) Under 11 Girls’ Singles W: Aitana Bibbo (ARG) RU: Anita Romero (ARG)
Long Wait Ends ABOVE The successful Japanese men’s team, left to right Hiroto Shinozuka, Shunsuke Togami, Sora Matsushima, Tomokazu Harimoto FACING Nina Guo Zheng enjoyed a successful European Youth Championships, she won three titles
Grandparents may well have recalled the event but not parents, they are too young; in 1966 in Bangkok, Japan won the men’s team title at the Asian Games; on Thursday 24th September, at last the crown was regained. Tomokazu Harimoto, Sora Matsushima and Shunsuke Togami brought the 60 year wait to an end. However, matters must be put into perspective, all other titles went to China. Lin Shidong won the men’s singles, men’s doubles and mixed doubles. Similarly, Wang Manyu, who did not play mixed doubles, secured women’s team, singles and doubles gold. One short of a full house for China; at the Commonwealth Championships in New Delhi, it was the same for India, the one er-
110 SWAYTHLING October 2026
rant title being the men’s doubles secured by Malaysia’s Javen Choong and Wong Qi Shen. Conversely, at the Oceania Championships, every title finished in Australian hands, Yangzi Liu claiming a full set of gold. Impressive from Yangzi Liu, at the South American Games Chile’s Daniela Ortega came close to the same feat; women’s team, singles and mixed gold, only women’s doubles silver not the top step. Likewise at the European Youth Championships, Nina Guo Zheng from France was in form, in the under 19 girls age group she secured team, doubles and singles top prizes. Meanwhile, in Africa, at the Youth Championships, Tunisia’s Wassim Essid caught the eye, he won both under 19 boys’ singles and boys’ doubles titles.
INTERNATIONAL ITTF-ATTU ASIAN YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIPS BANGKOK, THAILAND Sunday 28th June - Saturday 4th July Under 19 Boys’ Team W: JAPAN (Yuta Ito, Shunto Iwaida, Kohaku Nakano, Riki Nakashiro) RU: CHINA (Li Hechen, Tang Yiren, Zhai Jiale, Zhou Guanhong) Under 19 Girls’ Team W: JAPAN (Yui Ojio, Aoba Takahashi, Mao Takamori, Misuzu Takeya) RU: CHINA (Jiang Yiyi, Yan Yutong, Yang Huize, Yao Ruixuan) Under 19 Boys’ Singles W: Zhou Guanhong (CHN) RU: Li Hechen (CHN) Under 19 Girls’ Singles W: Jiang Yiyi (CHN) RU: Su Tsz-Tung (HKG) Under 19 Boys’ Doubles W: Li Hechen / Tang Yiren (CHN) RU: Hsu Hsien-Chia / Cheng Min-Hsiu (TPE) Under 19 Girls’ Doubles W: Aoba Takahashi / Misuzu Takeya (JPN) RU: Divyanshi Bhowmick / Syndrela Das (IND) Under 19 Mixed Doubles W: Li Hechen / Yao Ruixuan (CHN) RU: Thitaphat Preechayan / Kulpassr Vuitviriyagul (THA) Under 15 Boys’ Team W: CHINA (Chen Yizhou, Cui Zijun, Liu Zihang, Min Ming) RU: KOREA REPUBLIC (Choi Kanggeon), Kim Ryeowon, Lee Seungsoo, Ma Yeongmin) Under 15 Girls’ Team
Women’s Team W: SOUTH AFRICA (Musfiquh Kalam, Danisha Patel, Jade Sasman, Rochica Sonday) RU: BOTSWANA (Tsholofelo Gaokgalemelwe, Kagiso Lelatisitswe, Boitlsamo Nkele, Tshepiso Rebatenne) Men’s Singles W: Luke Abrahams (RSA) RU: Chetan Nathoo (RSA) Women’s Singles W: Danisha Patel RU: Musfiquh Kalam (RSA)
ETTU EUROPEAN YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIPS GONDOMAR 2026 (POR) Friday 10th - Friday 17th July Under 19 Boys’ Team W: FRANCE (Nathan Lam, Antoine Noirault, Nathan Pilard) RU: ROMANIA (Robert Istrate, Robert Podar, Andrei Tibirini) Under 19 Girls’ Team W: FRANCE (Nina Guo Zheng, Leana Hochart, Alexia Nodin) RU: ROMANIA (Robert Istrate, Robert Podar, Andrei Tibirini) Under 19 Boys’ Singles W: Danilo Faso (ITA) RU: Nathan Pilard (FRA) Under 19 Girls’ Singles W: Nina Guo Zheng (FRA) RU: Zlata Terekhova (AIN)
Under 19 Boys’ Doubles W: Nathan Lam / Antoine Noirault (FRA) RU: Julian Rzihauschek / Yoan Velichkov (AUT/BUL) Under 19 Girls’ Doubles W: Nina Guo Zheng / Leana Hochart (FRA) RU: Natalia Bogdanowicz / Katarzyna Rajkowska (POL) Under 19 Mixed Doubles W: Antoine Noirault / Leana Hochart (FRA) RU: Robert Istrate / Bianca Mei Rosu (ROU) Under 15 Boys’ Team W: POLAND (Hubert Kwiecinski, Jakub Turecki) RU: GERMANY (Phong Tien Nghia, Lukas Wang) Under 15 Girls’ Team W: FRANCE (Eva Lam, Albane Rochut) RU: GERMANY (Amelie Jia, Anne Walter) Under 15 Boys’ Singles W: Gorkem Ocal (TUR) RU: Emil Ellermann (SWE) Under 15 Girls’ Singles W: Amina Ilimbetova (AIN) RU: Vavara Tolmacheva (AIN) Under 15 Boys’ Doubles W: Louis Fegerl / Ladimir Mayorov (AUT/ESP) RU: Phong Tien Nghia / Lucas Wang (GER) Under 15 Girls’ Doubles W: Amina Ilimbetova / Vavara Tolmacheva (AIN) RU: Chen Chenhao / Lotta Rothfuss (GER) Under 15 Mixed Doubles W: Vladimir Mayorov / Aleksandra Nawrocka (POL) RU: Gorkem Ocal / Ela Yonter (TUR)
W: JAPAN (Kokomi Ishida, Miku Matsushima, Cocona Muramatsu, Yui Sakuma) RU: CHINA (Du Hanjing, Liu Ziling, Liu Zitong, Zhou Yuifei) Under 15 Boys’ Singles W: Lee Seungsoo (KOR) RU: Soma Ono (JPN) Under 15 Girls’ Singles W: Liu Ziling (CHN) RU: Miku Matsushima (JPN)
ITTF-AFRICA SOUTHERN AFRICA REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS, HARARE, ZIMBABWE Friday 10th - Sunday 12th July Men’s Team W: SOUTH AFRICA (Luke Abrahams, Liam Beukes, Cuten Lodewyk, Chetan Nathoo) RU: ANGOLA (Elizandro Andre, Deicio Cassule, Domingos Manuel)
October 2026 SWAYTHLING 111
The men’s team podium at the FISU Panamerican Games in Lima ITTF-AMERICAS CENTRAL AMERICA & CARIBBEAN UNDER 11 AND UNDER 13 CHAMPIONSHIPS, GUADALAJARA, MEXICO
Under 11 Girls’ Team W: PUERTO RICO 1 (Brianna Gomez, Nahia Medina) GUATEMALA 1 (Gonzalo Guerra, Gabriel Utrilla)
Under 13 Boys’ Team W: MEXICO 1 (Gael Camarillo, Gustavo Ortiz) RU: GUATEMALA 2 (Omar Ixcaragua, Kim Leo Hajun) Under 13 Girls’ Team W: GUATEMALA 1 (Camila Perez, Genesis Ruiz) RU: CUBA 1 (Osmary Alvarez, Daineris Bravo)
Under 11 Boys’ Singles W: Yaucel Alvarez (CUB) RU: Alejandro Lopez (DOM)
Under 13 Boys’ Singles W: Gael Camarillo (MEX) RU: Kim Leo Hajun (GUA) Under 13 Girls’ Singles W: Camila Perez (GUA) RU: Osmary Alvarez (CUB) Under 13 Boys’ Doubles W: Gael Camarillo / Gustavo Ortiz (MEX) RU: Eller Hernandez / Ryan Rivera (PUR) Under 13 Girls’ Doubles W: Camila Perez / Genesis Ruiz (GUA) RU: Valeria Ortiz / Roselin Vasquez (GUA) Under 13 Mixed Doubles W: Omar Ixcaragua / Valeria Ortiz (GUA) RU: Gabriel Corrales / Abigail Quiros (CRC) Under 11 Boys’ Team W: CUBA (Yunel Alcala, Yaucel Alvarez) RU: MEXICO 1 (Gonzalo Guerra, Gabriel Utrilla)
112 SWAYTHLING October 2026
Under 11 Girls’ Singles W: Yasmin Aranki (GUA) RU: Kalia Rivas (CUB) Under 11 Boys’ Doubles W: Jose Borrayo / Emilio Castillo (GUA) RU: Yunel Alcala / Yaucel Alvarez (CUB) Under 11 Girls’ Doubles W: Yasmin Aranki / Amanda Urrutia (GUA) RU: Regina Sanchez / Eleonar Vazquez (MEX) Under 11 Mixed Doubles W: Yaucel Alvarez / Kalia Rivas (CUB) RU: Gabriel Corrales / Abigail Quiros (CRC) ITTF-AFRICA WEST REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS, CONAKRY, GUINEA Wednesday 15th - Saturday 18th July Men’s Team W: CÔTE D’IVOIRE (Jean-Pierre Bayala, Amontchi Hobbah, Ibrahim Sangare) RU: TOGO (Elias Agbodjan, Sedik Tchagole, Abddoulmadjid Tchassama) Women’s Team W: SENEGAL (Marieme Diallo, Kelly Dieng, Fatou Gueye, Diewo Mbodji, Bigue Seye) RU: GUINEA (Sia Camara, Fatoumata Cisse)
Men’s Singles W: Jean-Pierre Bayala (CIV) RU: Abddoulmadjid
Tchassama (TOG) Women’s Singles W: Kelly Dieng (SEN) RU: Sia Camara (GUI)
EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY GAMES, SALERNO, ITALY Saturday 18th - Wednesday 22nd July Men’s Team W: ZAMOJSKI ACADEMY, POLAND (Artur Grela, Szymon Kolasa, Jakub Stecyszyn) RU: UNIVERSITY OF PECS, HUNGARY (Erik Huzsvar, David Molnar, David Szantosi) Women’s Team W: SEMMELWEIS UNIVERSITY HUNGARY (Ester Borbala Borsi, Vi Viola PhanThi Xuan, Franciska Pad) RU: ARMENIA STATE UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS (Mane Ghazaryan, Mariam Hambardzumyar, Asya Poghosyan) Men’s Singles W: Szymon Kolasa (POL) RU: Jakub Stecyszyn (POL) Women’s Singles W: Dora Cosic (CRO) RU: Agathe Avezou (FRA) Men’s Doubles W: David Molnar / David Szantosi (HUN) RU: Artur Grela / Szymon Kolasa (POL)
INTERNATIONAL Women’s Doubles W: Dora Cosic / Marta Vukelic (CRO) RU: Lea Paulin / Katarina Strazar (SLO)
ITTF AFRICA YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIPS, ACCRA, GHANA Monday 20th - Monday 27th July Under 19 Boys’ Team W: NIGERIA (Sultan Agunbiade, Quadri Atunwon, Mathew Fabunmi, Matthew Kuti) RU: EGYPT (Abdelmalk El-Sayed, Yassin Gaber, Seifeldin Kassem, Zeyad Tawfik) Under 19 Girls’ Team W: EGYPT (Malak Abdelshakour, Yara El-Badawy, Habiba El-Basoumy, Farida Thabet) RU: ALGERIA (Jade Morice, Tania Morice, Hana Sadi, Amanu Tazerouti) Under 19 Boys’ Singles W: Wassim Essid (TUN) RU: Yassin Gaber (EGY) Under 19 Girls’ Singles W: Tania Morice (ALG) RU: Rochica Sonday (RSA) Under 19 Boys’ Doubles W: Youssef Adli / Wassim Essid (TUN) RU: Mathew Fabunmi / Matthew Kuti (NGR) Under 19 Girls’ Doubles W: Yara El-Badawy / Habiba El-Basoumy (EGY) RU: Darin Abdelsalam / Farida Thabet (EGY) Under 19 Mixed Doubles W: Abdelmalk El-Sayed / Farida Thabet (EGY) RU: Bilel Zouitene / Jade Morice (ALG) Under 15 Boys’ Team W: EGYPT (Ahmed El-Sabbagh, Hussein Eyad, Mohamed Kosba, Asser Sameh) RU: NIGERIA (Umar Ayoola, Marvelous Joseph, Victor Joseph, Joshua Samson) Under 15 Girls’ Team W: EGYPT (Darin Abdelsalam, Nada El-Badawy, Daleela Mahgoub, Malak Zaki) RU: TUNISIA (Elee Abassi, Salma Chargui, Ritej Chérif, Ela Saidi) Under 15 Boys’ Singles W: Asser Sameh (EGY) RU: Umar Ayoola (NGR) Under 15 Girls’ Singles W: Patience Anyango (UGA) RU: Ela Saidi (TUN) Under 15 Boys’ Doubles W: Marvelous Joseph / Victor Joseph (NGR) RU: Hussein Eyad / Asser Sameh (EGY) Under 15 Girls’ Doubles W: Joumana Abdelshakour / Daleela Mahgoub (EGY) RU: Nada El-Badawy / Malak Zaki (EGY)
Under 15 Mixed Doubles W: Israel Akoue / Joanita Borteye (GHA) RU: Amine Amori / Ela Saidi (TUN)
COMMONWEALTH CHAMPIONSHIPS, NEW DELHI, INDIA Monday 27th July - Sunday 2nd August
FISU (INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY SPORTS FEDERATION) PANAMERICAN GAMES, LIMA, PERU Thursday 23rd - Wednesday 29th July
Men’s Team W: INDIA (Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, Manush Shah, Manav Vikash Thakkar) RU: MALAYSIA (Javen Chong, Wong Qi Shen, Hong Yu Tey)
Men’s Team W: ECUADOR (Jeremy Cedeño, Joseph Vásquez, Joshua Robayo) RU: UNITED STATES (Michael Guo, Feng Xue, Stanley Hsu, Mu Du) Women’s Team W: PERU (Karla Mendoza, Alejandra Chávez, Ana Paula Yenobi, Alejandra Prieto RU: COLOMBIA (Mayra Díaz, María Cano, Angie Páez, Alejandra Alzate Men’s Singles W: Camilo González (COL) RU: Nicolás González (COL) Women’s Singles W: Tamyres Fukase (BRA) RU Sabrina Miyabara (BRA) Men’s Doubles W: Stanley Hsu / Mu Du (USA) RU: Gabriel Amorim / Marco Garlini (BRA) Women’s Doubles W: Karla Mendoza / Alejandra Prieto (PER) RU: Tamyres Fukase / Sabrina Miyabara (BRA) Mixed Doubles W: Camilo González, Alejandra Alzate (COL) RU: Joshua Robayo, Keimy Anchundia (ECU)
ITTF AFRICA YOUTH CUP, ACCRA, GHANA Tuesday 28th - Wednesday 29th July Under 19 Boys’ Singles W: Matthew Kuti (NGR) RU: Sultan Agunbiade (NGR) Under 19 Girls’ Singles W: Habiba El-Basoumy (EGY) RU: Jade Morice (ALG) Under 15 Boys’ Singles W: Asser Sameh (EGY) RU: Joseph Sebatindira (UGA) Under 15 Girls’ Singles W: Ela Saidi (TUN) RU: Patience Anyango (UGA)
Women’s Team W: INDIA (Sreeja Akula, Yashaswini Ghorpade, Swastika Ghosh) RU: MALAYSIA (Ai Xin Tee, Alice Li Sian, Karen Lyne) Men’s Singles W: Ankur Bhattacharjee (IND) RU: Payas Jain (IND) Women’s Singles W: Yashaswini Ghorpade (IND) RU: Sreeja Akula (IND) Men’s Doubles W: Javen Choong / Wong Qi Shen (MAS) RU: Manush Utpalbhai Shah / Manav Vikash Thakkar (IND) Women’s Doubles W: Sreeja Akula / Syndrela Das (IND) RU: Yashaswini Ghorpade / Divyanshi Bhowmick (IND) Mixed Doubles W: Manav Vikash Thakkar / Taneesha Kotecha (IND) Silver: Richard Yap Rui Zhe / Tee Ai Xin (MAS)
CENTRAL AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN GAMES SANTO DOMINGO, DOMINICAN REPUBLICS Saturday 1st - Friday 7th August Men’s Team W: MEXICO (Dario Arce, Jorge Buenrostro, Rogelio Castro, Marcos Madrid) RU: CUBA (Jorge Campos, René Mendez, Andy Pereira, Adrian Perez) Women’s Team W: PUERTO RICO (Brianna Burgos, Adriana Diaz, Kristal Melendez, Alondra Rodriguez) RU: CUBA (Rosalba Aguiar, Estela Crespo, Daniela Fonseca, Karla Perez) Men’s Singles W: Rogelio Castro (MEX) RU: Adrian Perez (CUB)
October 2026 SWAYTHLING 113
Mehdi Bouloussa Women’s Singles W: Adriana Diaz (PUR) RU: Clio Barcenas (MEX)
Junior Girls’ Singles W: Sally Moyland (USA) RU: Lilian Ma (USA)
Men’s Doubles W: Rogelio Castro / Marcos Madrid (MEX) RU: Steven Moreno / Angel Naranjo (PUR) Women’s Doubles W: Brianna Burgos / Adriana Diaz (PUR) RU: Ana Isada / Juliana Lozado (COL) Mixed Doubles W: Steven Moreno / Brianna Burgos (PUR) RU: Angel Naranjo / Adriana Diaz (PUR)
Junior Boys’ Doubles W: Daniel Tran / Darryl Tsao (USA) RU: Kenji Takeda / Gonzalo Vera (PER) Junior Girls’ Doubles W: Lilian Ma / Sally Moyland (USA) RU: Satya Aspathi / Hildy Chen (USA) Junior Mixed Doubles W: Daniel Tran / Sally Moyland (USA) RU: Kenji Takeda / Natzumi Aquije (PER)
ITTF AMERICAS YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIPS, GUATEMALA CITY, GUATEMALA Sunday 23rd August - Sunday 30th August
Cadet Boys’ Team W: BRAZIL (Flavio de Souza, Leandro Ferreira, Antonio Paletto, Vitor Thiofilo) RU: UNITED STATES (Kyler Chen, Carlough Francis, Chirag Pradhan, Lucas Wang)
Junior Boys’ Team W: BRAZIL (Davi Fujii, Felipe Okano, Carlo Silva, Hamilton Yamane) RU: ECUADOR (Juan Gonzalez, Cesar Revelo, Joshua Robayo, Boris Villavicencio) Junior Girls’ Team W: UNITED STATES (Satya Asphati, Hildy Chen, Lilian Ma, Sally Moyland) RU: BRAZIL (Isabel Amorim, Beatrix Fiore, Lana Ozeki, Karina Shiray) Junior Boys’ Singles W: Steven Moreno (PUR) RU: Ramon Vila (DOM)
114 SWAYTHLING October 2026
Cadet Girls’ Team W: UNITED STATES (Isabella Luo, Tiana Piyadasa, Irene Yeoh, Abigail Yu) RU: BRAZIL (Bianca Borges, Beatrix Choi, Luiza Fontaine, Tainara Heidrich) Cadet Boys’ Singles W: Vitor Thiofilo (BRA) RU: Jiang Shangyu (CAN) Cadet Girls’ Singles W: Irene Yeoh (USA) RU: Abigail Yu (USA) Cadet Boys’ Doubles W: Flavio de Sousa / Vitor Thiofilo (BRA) RU: Kyler Chen / Lucas Wu (USA)
Cadet Girls’ Doubles W: Irene Yeoh / Abigail Yu (USA) RU: Camila Perez / Marta Salazar (GUA) Cadet Mixed Doubles W: Lucas Wang / Irene Yeoh (USA) RU: Kyler Chen / Abigail Yu (USA)
MEDITERRANEAN GAMES, MASSAFRA, ITALY Wednesday 26th August - 2nd September Men’s Team W: ITALY (Mateo Mutti, John Oyebode, Carlo Rossi, Andrea Puppo RU: EGYPT (Youssef Ahmed, Omar Assar, Omar Bedair, Abdelra Menshawi, Badr Kotb Women’s Team W: EGYPT (Mariam Alhodaby, Hana Goda, Farah Abdelaziz, Dina Meshref) RU: ITALY Nicole Arlia, Gaia Monfardini, Giorgia Piccolin, Miriam Carnovale Men’s Singles W: Mehdi Bouloussa (ALG) RU: Youssef Ahmed (EGY) Women’s Singles W: Hana Goda (EGY) RU: Yang Xiaoxin (MON) Mixed Doubles W: Abdullah Yigenler / Ece Harac (TUR) RU: Omar Assar Hana Goda (EGY)
INTERNATIONAL ITTF OCEANIA CHAMPIONSHIPS, BALLARAT, AUSTRALIA
Under 19 Boys’ Singles
Wednesday 26th - Sunday 30th August
Under 19 Girls’ Singles
W: Aditya Sareen (AUS) RU: Chulong Nie (AUS) W: Constantina Psihogios (AUS) RU: Nguyen Le (AUS)
Men’s Team W: AUSTRALIA (Hwan Bae, Nicholas Lum, Finn
Under 19 Boys’ Doubles
Luu, Aditya Sareen)
W: Aditya Sareen / Won Bae (AUS)
RU: NEW ZEALAND (Alfred Dela Pena, Eli Ho,
RU: Yousef Hassan / Chulong Nie (AUS)
Dean Shu, August Xiao)
Under 19 Girls’ Doubles
Women’s Team
W: Nguyen Le / Constantina Psihogios (AUS)
W: AUSTRALIA (Minhyung Jee, Yangzi Liu, Con-
RU: Anya Chen / Tracey Hsia (AUS)
stantina Psihogios, Jiamuwa Wu,
Under 19 Mixed Doubles
RU: NEW ZEALAND (Anya Chen, Anzhuo Han,
W: Aditya Sareen / Constantina Psihogios (AUS)
Tracey Hsia, Yelena Yi)
RU: Yousef Hassan / Chloe Cheng (AUS)
Men’s Singles
Under 15 Boys’ Team
W: Finn Luu (AUS) RU: Hwan Bae (AUS)
W: NEW ZEALAND (Lucas Alexandre, Eli Ho,
Women’s Singles
Jayden Lu, August Xiao)
W: Yangzi Liu (AUS) RU: Constantina Psihogios (AUS)
RU: AUSTRALIA (Jaden Cao, Lawrence Fan, Daniel Lin, Oscar Pan)
Men’s Doubles
Under 15 Girls’ Team
W: Nicholas Lum / Finn Luu (AUS)
W: AUSTRALIA (Aradhya Dhingra, Ariel Li, Kavyaa
RU: Hwan Bae / Aditya Sareen (AUS)
Madaan, Qinle Xia)
Women’s Doubles
RU: NEW ZEALAND (Katie Chen, Anzhuo Han,
W: Yangzi Liu / Constantina Psihogios (AUS)
Karen Lool, Yelena Yi)
Under 15 Girls’ Doubles W: Aradhya Dhingra / Ariel Li (AUS) RU: Qinle Xia / Kavyaa Madaan (AUS) Under 15 Mixed Doubles W: Eli Ho / Anzhuo Han (NZL) RU: August Xiao / Yelena Yi (NZL)
ITTF OCEANIA REGIONAL YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIPS, BALLARAT, AUSTRALIA Wednesday 2nd - Thursday 3rd September Under 19 Boys’ Singles W: Bastien Le Leannec (NCL) RU: Matisse Pindon (NCL) Under 19 Girls’ Singles W: Uzzaniah Grace Notte (NRU) RU: Erell Barbu (NCL) Under 15 Boys’ Singles W: Leo Sayegh (PYF) RU: Daniel Brumier (PYF) Under 15 Girls’ Singles W: Clara Sayegh (PYF) RU: Floraine Marchandeau (NCL)
ITTF AMERICAS UNDER 11 & UNDER 13 CHAMPIONSHIPS, HOUSTON Wednesday 9th - Wednesday 16th September
RU: Minhyung Jee / Jiamuwa Wu (AUS) Mixed Doubles
Under 15 Boys’ Singles
W: Nicholas Lum / Yangzi Liu (AUS)
W: August Xiao (NZL) RU: Eli Ho (NZL)
RU: Finn Luu / Jiamuwa Wu (AUS)
Under 15 Girls’ Singles
Under 13 Boys’ Team W: UNITED STATES 1 (Evan Dong, Chiragm Pradhan) RU: CHILE 1 (Nicolas Leyton, Vicente Tejeda)
W: Qinle Xia (AUS) RU: Anzhuo Han (NZL) ITTF OCEANIA REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS, BALLARAT, AUSTRALIA
Under 15 Boys’ Doubles
Thursday 28th - Thursday 29th August
RU: Lucas Alexandre / Jayden Lu (NZL)
W: August Xiao / Eli Ho (NZL)
Under 13 Girls’ Team W: UNITED STATES 1 (Anya Shanbhag, Emma Yang) RU: UNITED STATES 2 (Shreya Venkateraman, Emma Yang)
Men’s Singles W: Jérémy Dey (NCL) Dey (NCL) RU: Kenji Morin (PYF) Women’s Singles W: Clara Sayegh (PYF) RU: Lai Van Lea (NCL)
Yangzi Liu
ITTF OCEANIA YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIPS, BALLARAT, AUSTRALIA Tuesday 1st - Saturday 5th September Under 19 Boys’ Team W: AUSTRALIA (Won Bae, Yousef Hassan, Chulong Nie, Aditya Sareen) RU: NEW ZEALAND (Oscar Du, Tishan Engineer, Payas Jalal, Ethan Yin) Under 19 Girls’ Team W: AUSTRALIA (Chloe Cheng, Nguyen Le, Constantina Psihogios, Daisy Xie) RU: NEW ZEALAND (Anya Chen, Tracey Hsia, Yiqi Su, Abigail Tao)
October 2026 SWAYTHLING 115
The men’s singles podium at the South American Games left to right Santiago Lorenzo, Horacio Cifuentes, Marcelo Aguirre, Alberto Miño Under 13 Boys’ Singles
Under 11 Mixed Doubles
Mixed Doubles
W: Ethan Zhou (USA) RU: Jacob Kordus (USA)
W: Shuban Baviskar / Sophia Ferreira (USA)
W: Gustavo Gomez / Daniela Ortega (CHI)
Under 13 Girls’ Singles
RU: Allen Mao / Mira Shanbhag (USA)
RU: Guilherme Teodoro / Giulia Takahashi (BRA)
XIII SOUTH AMERICAN GAMES, SANTE FE,
ASIAN GAMES AICHI-NAGOYA, JAPAN
W: Shreya Venkateraman (USA) RU: Anya Shanbhag (USA) Under 13 Boys’ Doubles W: Chirag Pradhan / Evan Dong (USA) RU: Saivaishnav Senthilkumar / Joey Yang (USA) Under 13 Girls’ Doubles W: Amanda Liu / Allison Zhang (USA) RU: Luciana Gutierrez / Samanta Sanchez (COL) Under 13 Mixed Doubles W: Chirag Pradhan / Anya Shanbhag (USA) RU: Jacob Kordus / Emma Yang (USA) Under 11 Boys’ Team W: UNITED STATES 1 (William Jin, Allen Mao)
ARGENTINA Saturday 12th - Saturday 20th September Men’s Team W: BRAZIL (Felipe Arado, Leonardo Iizuka, Guilherme Teodoro) RU: PERU (Felipe Duffo, Carlos Fernandez, Rodrigo Hidalgo) Women’s Team W: CHILE (Daniela Ortega, Valentina Rios,
RU: UNITED STATES 2 (Shuban Baviskar, Leo Shao)
Paulina Vega)
Under 11 Girls’ Team
Strassburger, Giulia Takahashi)
RU: BRAZIL (Beatrix Kanashiro, Victoria
W: UNITED STATES 1 (Shreya Srinivasan, Mia Yang)
Sunday 20th - Monday 28th September Men’s Team W: JAPAN (Tomokazu Harimoto, Sora Matsushima, Shunsuki Togami) RU: CHINA (Lin Shidong, Wang Chuqin, Wen Ruibo) Women’s Team W: CHINA (Kuai Man, Sun Yingsha, Wang Manyu) RU: JAPAN (Miwa Harimoto, Hina Hayata, Mima Ito) Men’s Singles W: Lin Shidong (CHN) Wang Chuqin (CHN)
RU: UNITED STATES 2 (Zoe Truong, Olivia Yang)
Men’s Singles
Women’s Singles
Under 11 Boys’ Singles
W: Horacio Cifuentes (ARG) RU: Santiago
W: Wang Manyu (CHN) RU: Sun Yingsha (CHN)
W: Allen Mao (USA) RU: William Jin (USA)
Lorenzo (ARG)
Under 11 Girls’ Singles
Women’s Singles
Men’s Doubles
W: Mia Yang (USA) RU: Manuela Rodrigues (BRA)
W: Daniela Ortega RU: Giulia Takahashi (BRA)
W: Huang Youzheng / Lin Shidong (CHN) RU: Tomokazu Harimoto / Hiroto Shinozuka (JPN)
Under 11 Boys’ Doubles
Men’s Doubles
Women’s Doubles
W: Allen Mao / William Jin (USA)
W: Horacio Cifuentes / Santiago Lorenzo (ARG)
W: Kuai Man / Wang Manyu (CHN)
RU: Shuban Baviskar / Leo Shao (USA)
RU: Nicolas Burgos / Gustavo Gomez (CHI)
RU: Miwa Harimoto / Hina Hayata (JPN)
Under 11 Girls’ Doubles
Women’s Doubles
Mixed Doubles
W: Shreya Srinivasan / Mia Yang (USA)
W: Cristina Gomez / Camila Obando (VEN)
W: Lin Shidong / Kuai Man (CHN)
RU: Sophia Ferreira / Mira Shanbhag (USA)
RU: Daniela Ortega / Paulina Vega (CHI)
RU: Wang Chuqin / Sun Yingsha (CHN)
116 SWAYTHLING October 2026
Liu Xiaowu Announces Arrival ABOVE Liu Xiaowu, a fast learner, she won five titles in three months FACING LEFT Thirayu Chueawong secured a full house at the Nakhon Ratchasima Future and Nakhon Ratchasima Elite FACING RIGHT Bly Twomey was also in form at the Nakhon Ratchasima Future, she won women’s singles class 6 at both Future and Elite tournaments
A debut in April in Yalova, two months later in July in Thailand at the Para Future Nakhon Ratchasima, China’s 18 year old Liu Xiaowu won her first international title. Moreover, not only did she win women’s singles class 6, immediately following in class 14 she partnered Huang Wenjuan to women’s doubles success and Liao Keli to mixed doubles gold. Later, again in class 6, she secured women’s singles titles in both Challenger and Elite tournaments in Spokane, United States. Also, in Nakhon Ratchasima, colleagues, Lian Hao and Mao Jingdian completed full houses at the Future tournament before adding two more titles at the Elite. However, none could match the host nation’s Yuttajak Glinbanchuen; in both Future and Elite he won men’s singles class 3, men’s dou-
118 SWAYTHLING October 2026
bles class 8 partnering Wanchai Chaiwut and mixed doubles class 7 with Wijittra Jaion. Similarly, in Spokane, Danielle Rauen enjoyed success at both Challenger and Elite competitions. On each occasion she won women’s singles class 8-9, as well as women’s doubles class 14-20 with Bruna Alexandre. In the Challenger she added mixed class 1420 alongside Luiz Manara. Also excelling, Finland’s Aino Tapola won women’s singles class 1 at the Future tournaments in Nakhon Ratchasima and Lahti as well as at the Elite in Yvelines. Similarly, Germany’s Thomas Schmidberger and Valentin Baus alongside Great Britain’s Will Bayley prevailed at both Challenger and Elite tournaments in Spokane as well as at the Yvelines Elite. Schmidberger succeeded in class 3, Baus in class 4-5, Bayley in class 7.
PARA
PARA SOUTH AMERICAN GAMES,
Men’s Doubles Class 14
Men’s Singles Class 6
VALLEDUPAR, COLOMBIA
W: José Luis Cerpa / Ignacio Torres (CHI)
W: Rungroj Thainiyom (THA) RU: Huang Jiaxin (CHN)
Sunday 5th - Tuesday 7th July
RU: Miguel Castro / José Vargas (COL)
Men’s Singles Class 7
Men’s Doubles Class 18
W: Chalermpong Punpoo (THA) RU: Liao Keli (CHN)
Men’s Singles Class 1-2
W: Claudio Bahamondes / Manuel Echaveguren (CHI)
Men’s Singles Class 8
W: Luis Flores (CHI) RU: Guilherme Marcio
RU: Fausto Barrientos / Eithan Skliarsky (ARG)
W: Zhao Shuai (CHN) RU: Clément Berthier (FRA)
da Costa (BRA)
Men’s Singles Class 9
Men’s Singles Class 3
Women’s Doubles Class 5-10
W: Kusnanto Kusnanto (INA) RU: Chen Hsien-Jue
W: Fabio Silva (BRA) RU: Roberto Quijada (VEN)
W: Catia Oliveira / Joyce Oliveira (BRA)
(TPE)
Men’s Singles Class 4-5
RU: Manuela Guapi / Nelly Sanchez (COL)
Men’s Singles Class 10
W: Carlos Moraes (BRA) RU:Elias Romero (ARG)
W: Lian Hao (CHN) RU: Komet Akbar (INA) Women’s Doubles Class 14-20
Men’s Singles Class 6-7
W: Aiyln Espinoza / Joseline Yevenes (CHI)
Men’s Singles Class 11
W: Luciano Khazandjian (ARG) RU: Ignacio Torres (CHI)
RU: Allana Maschio / Jennyfer Parinos (BRA)
W: Muhammad Dwiputra (INA) RU: Eduardo Cuesta (ESP)
Men’s Singles Class 8 W: Andres Beroiza (CHI) RU: Luiz Manara (BRA)
Mixed Doubles Class 4-7
Men’s Singles Class 9-10
W: Fabio Silva / Thais Severo (BRA)
Women’s Singles Class 1
W: Manuel Echaveguren (CHI) RU: Claudio
RU: Elias Romero / Coty Garrone (ARG)
W: Aino Tapola (FIN) RU: Kim Eun Hee (KOR)
Massad (BRA)
Mixed Doubles Class 10
Women’s Singles Class 2
W: Carlos Moraes / Joyce Oliveira (BRA)
W: Liu Jing (CHN) RU: Nadezhda Pushpasheva
RU: Maximiliano Rodriguez / Tamara Leonelli (CHI)
(AIN)
Men’s Singles Class 11 W: Thiago Gomes (BRA) RU: Armin Rosas (CHI)
Women’s Singles Class 3 Mixed Doubles Class 14-20
W: Patamawadee Intanon (THA) RU: Dararat
Women’s Singles Class 1-3
W: Manuel Echaveguren / Joseline Yevenes (CHI)
Asayut (THA)
W: Thais Severo (BRA) RU: Joyce Oliveira (BRA)
RU: Lucas Carvalho / Jennyfer Parinos (BRA)
Women’s Singles Class 4-5
Women’s Singles Class 4-5
W: Pan Jiamin (CHN) RU: Gu Xiaodan (CHN)
W: Tamara Leonelli (CHI) RU: Yoleidy Fernandez (VEN) ITTF WORLD PARA FUTURE NAKHON
Women’s Singles Class 6
Women’s Singles Class 6-8
RATCHASIMA, THAILAND
W: Liu Xiaowu (CHN) RU: Fan Yiwen (CHN)
W: Giselle Muñoz (ARG) RU: Aline Ferreira (BRA)
Monday 13th - Thursday 16th July
Women’s Singles Class 7
Women’s Singles Class 9-10 W: Jennyfer Parinos (BRA) RU: Allana Maschio (BRA)
W: Bly Twomey (GBR) RU: Jhona Pena (PHI) Men’s Singles Class 1
Women’s Singles Class 8
W: Timo Natunen (FIN) RU: Yu Zhontao (CHN)
W: Huang Wenjuan (CHN) RU: Freja Larsen (DEN)
Men’s Doubles Class 4-8
Men’s Singles Class 2
Women’s Singles Class 9
W: Carlos Moraes / Fabio Silva (BRA)
W: Thirayu Chueawong (THA) RU: Ahmed
W: Mao Jingdian (CHN) RU: Kim Kun-Hea (KOR)
RU: Gabriel Copola / Elias Romero (ARG)
El-Mahsy (EGY)
Women’s Singles Class 10
Men’s Singles Class 3
W: Kong Wenjie (CHN) RU: Hou Chunxiao (CHN)
Men’s Doubles Class 4-8
W: Yuttajak Glinbanchuen (THA) RU: Guo Fei (CHN)
W: Carlos Moraes / Fabio Silva (BRA)
Men’s Singles Class 4-5
Women’s Singles Class 11
RU: Gabriel Copola / Elias Romero (ARG)
W: Adyos Astan (INA) RU: Barce Layaba (INA)
W: Elena Prokofeva (AIN) RU: Viktoriia Minaeva (AIN)
October 2026 SWAYTHLING 119
Rungroj Thainiyom
Mao Jingdian
Men’s Doubles Class 4
Mixed Doubles Class 7
Men’s Singles Class 8
W: Thirayu Chueawong / Natthawut Thinathet (THA)
W: Yuttajak Glinbanchuen / Wijittra Jaion (THA)
W: Peng Weinan (CHN) RU: Clément Berthier (FRA)
RU: Peter Lovas / Jan Riapos (SVK)
RU: Shi Yanping / Huang Zhirui (CHN)
Men’s Singles Class 9
Men’s Doubles Class 8
Mixed Doubles Class 10
W: Ma Lin (AUS) RU: Iuri Nozdrunov (AIN)
W: Wanchai Chaiwut / Yuttajak Glinbanchuen (THA)
W: Liu Fu / Pan Jiamin (CHN)
Men’s Singles Class 10
RU: Adyos Astan / Yayang Gunaya (INA)
RU: Wanchai Chaiwut / Wassana Sringam (THA)
W: Lian Hao (CHN) RU: Marlon Lopez (ESP)
Men’s Doubles Class 14
Mixed Doubles Class 14
Men’s Singles Class 11
W: Clément Berthier / Esteban Herrault (FRA)
W: Liao Keli / Liu Xiaowu (CHN)
W: Chen Po Yen (TPE) RU: Florian van Acker (BEL)
RU: Cheng Xuanxi / Peng Weinan (CHN)
RU: Chen Chao / Huang Wenjuan (CHN)
Men’s Doubles Class 18
Mixed Doubles Class 17
W: Lian Hao / Zhao Shuai (CHN)
W: Zhao Shuai / Mao Jingdian (CHN)
RU: Chalermpong Punpoo / Bunpot Sillapakong
RU: Filip Prchlik / Tereza Cakorova (CZE)
(THA)
Mixed Doubles Class 20 W: Lian Hao / Hou Chunxiao (CHN)
Men’s Doubles Class 22
RU: Bunpot Sillapakong / Janisa Khompast (THA)
W: Muhammad Dwiputra / Ridwanulloh Ridwanulloh (INA)
Mixed Doubles Class 22
RU: Jennahtul Ahmad Jennah/Mohd Abdullah (MAS)
W: Omar Musaev / Viktoriia Minaeva (AIN) RU: Master Techo / Phimolphan Deekam (THA)
Women’s Doubles Class 5
W: Seo Su Yeon (KOR) RU: Giada Rossi (ITA) Women’s Singles Class 3 W: Yoon Jiyu (KOR) RU: Carlotta Ragazzini (ITA) Women’s Singles Class 4-5 W: Wijittra Jaion (THA) RU: Zhang Bian (CHN) Women’s Singles Class 6 W: Maliak Alieva (AIN) RU: Pang Wing Ka (HKG) Women’s Singles Class 7 W: Bly Twomey (GBR) RU: Kubra Korkut (TUR) Women’s Singles Class 8
W: Dararat Asayut / Chilchitraryak Bootswansirini (THA)
ITTF WORLD PARA ELITE NAKHON
RU: Huang Zhirui / Liu Jing (CHN)
RATCHASIMA, THAILAND
Women’s Doubles Class 10
Saturday 18th - Wednesday 22nd July
W: Guo Xiaodan / Pan Jiamin (CHN) RU: Zhang Bian / Zhang Miao (CHN)
Women’s Singles Class 1-2
Men’s Singles Class 1 W: Kim Hyeon Uk (KOR) RU: Joo Young Dae (KOR)
W: Huang Wenjuan (CHN) RU: Sophia Kelmer (BRA) Women’s Singles Class 9 W: Mao Jingdian (CHN) RU: Xiong Guiyan (CHN) Women’s Singles Class 10 W: Yang Qian (AUS) RU: Anastasia Kostenevich (AIN) Women’s Singles Class 11
Women’s Doubles Class 14
Men’s Singles Class 2
W: Huang Wenjuan / Liu Xiaowu (CHN)
W: Park Jin Cheol (KOR) RU: Rafal Czuper (POL)
RU: Kanlaya Chaiwut-Kriabklang / Kanokporn
Men’s Singles Class 3
Phathumcai (THA)
W: Yuttajak Glinbanchuen (THA) RU: Jang
Women’s Doubles Class 20
Yeongjin (KOR)
W: Kong Wenjie / Mao Jingdian (CHN)
Men’s Singles Class 4-5
RU: Tereza Cakorova / Nela Kemlinkova (CZE)
W: Peng Zhengyang (CHN) RU: Kim Young-Gun (KOR)
Mixed Doubles Class 4
Men’s Singles Class 6
W: Thirayu Chueawong / Chilchitraryak
W: Rungroj Thainiyom (THA) RU: Chen Chao (CHN)
Men’s Doubles Class 14
Bootswansirini (THA)
Men’s Singles Class 7
W: Clément Berthier / Esteban Herrault (FRA)
RU: Natthawut Thinathet / Suthida Saensathan (THA)
W: Sayed Youssef (EGY) RU: Paulo Fonseca (BRA)
RU: Martin Perry / Billy Shilton (GBR)
W: Miya Yamaguchi (JPN) RU: Natsuki Wada (JPN) Men’s Doubles Class 4 W: Jang Yeongjin / Kim Hyeon Uk (KOR) RU: Thirayu Chueawong / Natthawut Thinathet (THA) Men’s Doubles Class 8 W: Wanchai Chaiwut / Yuttajak Glinbanchuen (THA) RU: Feng Panfeng / Peng Zhengyang (CHN)
120 SWAYTHLING October 2026
PARA
Yang Qian
Liu Jing
Men’s Doubles Class 18
Mixed Doubles Class 22
Women’s Singles Class 6
W: Lian Hao / Zhao Shuai (CHN)
W: Fan Ka Ho/Wong Ting Ting
W: Maliak Alieva (AIN) RU: Liu Xiaowu (CHN)
RU: Aaron McKibbin / Joshua Stacey (GBR)
RU: Wan Wai Lok/Wong Pui Kei (HKG)
Women’s Singles Class 7 W: Aruzhan Giniyatova (KAZ) RU: Raushan
Men’s Doubles Class 22
Orynbayeva (KAZ)
W: Jennahtul Ahmad Jennah / Mohd Abdullah (MAS) RU: Eduardo Cuesta / Fan Ka Ho (ESP/HKG) Women’s Doubles Class 5
ITTF WORLD PARA FUTURE ATKOBE,
Women’s Singles Class 8
KAZAKHSTAN
W: Milana Rodygina (AIN) RU: Daria Barilova (AIN)
Saturday 25th - Tuesday 28th July
Women’s Singles Class 9 W: Mirjana Lucic (CRO) RU: Baby Ravi (IND)
W: Carlotta Ragazzini / Giada Rossi (ITA) RU: Lee Mi Gyu / Seo Su Yeon (KOR)
Men’s Singles Class 1
Women’s Singles Class 10
Women’s Doubles Class 10
W: Rakan Al-Salmi (KSA) RU: Ardak
W: Marlene Reeg (GER) RU: Safira Faizutdinova (AIN)
W: Moon Sunghye / Yoon Jiyu (KOR)
Nurmagambetov (KAZ)
RU: Gu Xiaodan / Zhang Bian (CHN)
Men’s Singles Class 2
Women’s Singles Class 11
W: Dmitrii Chubarov (AIN) RU: Evgenii Riazantsev (AIN)
W: Wong Ting Ting (HKG) RU: Elena Prokofeva (AIN)
Women’s Doubles Class 14
Men’s Singles Class 3
W: Huang Wenjuan / Jin Yucheng (CHN)
W: Gu Yubin (CHN) RU: Colin Judge (IRL)
RU: Lethicia Lacerda / Aline Ferreira (BRA)
Men’s Singles Class 4-5
Women’s Doubles Class 20
W: Cheng Ming-Chih (TPE) RU: Krszysztof Zylka (POL)
W: Lin Tzu-Yu / Tian Zhiau-Wen (TPE) RU: Olga Gorshkaleva / Anastasia Kostenevich (AIN)
Men’s Singles Class 6 W: Piotr Manturz (POL) RU: Timur Khusnullin (AIN)
Mixed Doubles Class 4
Men’s Singles Class 7
W: Kim Hyeon Uk / Yoon Jiyu (KOR)
W: Liao Keli (CHN) RU: Michal Deigsler (POL)
RU: Park Jin Cheol / Seo Su Yeon (KOR)
Men’s Singles Class 8
Mixed Doubles Class 7
W: Borna Zohil (CRO) RU: Tobiasz Glowczyk (POL)
W: Yuttajak Glinbanchuen / Wijittra Jaion (THA)
Men’s Singles Class 9
RU: Feng Panfeng / Gu Xiaodan (CHN)
W: Iuri Nozdrunov (AIN) RU: Jan Reinig (GER)
Mixed Doubles Class 10
Men’s Singles Class 10
W: Park Jae Hyeon / Jung Young A (KOR)
W: Igor Misztal (POL) RU: José Manuel Ruiz (ESP)
RU: Peng Zhengyang / Zhang Bian (CHN)
Men’s Doubles Class 4-8 W: Gu Yibin / Peng Zhengyang (CHN) RU: Ibrahim Al-Hassan / Rakan Al-Salmi (KSA) Men’s Doubles Class 14-18 W: Igor Khudyakov / Azamat Orazbek (KAZ) RU: Ali Makhulbekov / Tokkozha Kadyrbek (KAZ) Men’s Doubles Class 22 W: Wan Wai Lok / Yuen King Shing (HKG) RU: Baek Minhum / Fan Ka Ko (KOR/HKG) Women’s Doubles Class 5-10 W: Gu Xiaodan / Zhang Bian (CHN) RU: Gu Mengmeng / Zhang Miao (CHN)
Men’s Singles Class 11
Women’s Doubles Class 14
Mixed Doubles Class 14
W: Yuen King Shing (HKG) RU: Alexey
W: Aruzhan Giniyatova / Raushan Orynbayeva (KAZ)
W: Wong Hon Lam / Pang Wing Ka (HKG)
Kudryavtsev (AIN)
RU: Zorem Amrayeva / Gulmira Kaidassova (KAZ)
RU: Chen Chao / Huang Wenjuan (CHN)
Women’s Doubles Class 20
Mixed Doubles Class 17
Women’s Singles Class 1-2
W: Anastasia Kostenevich / Olga Gorshkaleva (AIN)
W: Zhao Shuai / Mao Jingdian (CHN)
W: Liu Jing (CHN) RU: Nadezhda Pushpasheva (AIN)
RU: Altynay Yerhankyzy / Kamilla Issayeva (KAZ)
RU: Peng Weinan / Xiong Guiyan (CHN)
Women’s Singles Class 3
Mixed Doubles Class 20
W: Xue Juan (CHN) RU: Huang Zhirui (CHN)
Women’s Doubles Class 22
W: Su Jin-Sian / Lin Tzu-Yu (TPE)
Women’s Singles Class 4-5
W: Wong Pui Kei / Wong Ting Ting (HKG)
RU: Lucas Milsom / Yang Qian (AUS)
W: Gu Xiaodan (CHN) RU: Zhang Bian (CHN)
RU: Medine Karakurt / Melike Kirsakal (TUR)
October 2026 SWAYTHLING 121
Aaron McKibbin Mixed Doubles Class 4-7 W: Gu Yibin / Gu Xiaodan (CHN) RU: Shi Yanping / Huang Zhiui (CHN) Mixed Doubles Class 10
Patryk Chojnowski Men’s Singles Class 9 W: Josh Stacey (USA) RU: Tahl Leibovitz (USA) Men’s Singles Class 10 W: Patryk Choynowski (POL) RU: Su Jin-Sian (TPE)
W: Peng Zhengyang / Zhang Bian (CHN) RU: Cheng Ming-Chih / Lin Yen Ying (TPE) Mixed Doubles Class 14 W: Azamat Orazbek / Aruzhan Giniyatova (KAZ) RU: Ali Makhulbekov / Aigul Nassikhatova (KAZ) Mixed Doubles Class 17 W: Yordan Mitev / Valentina Marcheva (BUL) RU: Makhanbet Nassikhan / Gulmira Kaidassova (KAZ) Mixed Doubles Class 20 W: Su Jin Sian / Olga Gorshkaleva (TPE/AIN) RU: Talgat Erekeyev / Altynay Yerzhankzy (KAZ) Mixed Doubles Class 22 W: Yuen King Shing / Wong Ting Ting (HKG) RU: Tsoi Ming Fai / Wong Ka Ma (HKG)
ITTF WORLD PARA CHALLENGER SPOKANE, USA Thursday 6th - Sunday 9th August Men’s Singles Class 1-2 W: Rafal Czuper (POL) RU: Peter Isherwood (CAN) Men’s Singles Class 3 W: Thomas Schmidberger (GER) RU: Jenson Van Emburgh (USA) Men’s Singles Class 4-5 W: Valentin Baus (GER) RU: Cheng Ming-Chih (TPE) Men’s Singles Class 6 W: Samuel Altshuler (USA) RU: Bobi Simion (ROU)
Men’s Singles Class 11 W: Chen Po-Yen (TPE) RU: Takeshi Takemori (JPN)
Mixed Doubles Class 7 W: Thomas Schmidberger / Sandra Mikolaschek (GER) RU: Welder Knaf / Mariane Santos (BRA) Mixed Doubles Class 10 W: Lucas Carvalhal / Joyce Oliveira (BRA) RU: Cheng Ming-Chih / Lin Yen-Ying (TPE) Mixed Doubles Class 14
Women’s Singles Class 2-3 W: Thais Severo (BRA) RU: Huang Zhirui (CHN) Women’s Singles Class 4-5 W: Gu Mengmeng (CHN) RU: Zhang Miao (CHN) Women’s Singles Class 6 W: Liu Xiaowu (CHN) RU: Felicity Pickard (GBR) Women’s Singles Class 7 W: Lethicia Lacerda (BRA) RU: Bly Twomey (GBR) Women’s Singles Class 8-9 W: Danielle Rauen (BRA) RU: Allana Maschio (BRA) Women’s Singles Class 10 W: Bruna Alexandre (BRA) RU: Anja Handen (SWE) Men’s Doubles Class 4-8 W: Valentin Baus / Thomas Schmidberger (GER) RU: Lucas Carvalhal / Welder Knaf (BRA) Men’s Doubles Class 14 W: Liao Keli / Christian Scheiber (AUT) RU: João Narvais / Paulo Salmin (BRA) Men’s Doubles Class 18 W: Aaron McKibbin / Joshua Stacey (GBR) RU: Gabriel Antunes / Luiz Manara (BRA) Women’s Doubles Class 5-10 W: Gu Mengmeng / Zhang Miao (CHN) RU: Thais Severo / Marliane Santos (BRA)
W: Liao Keli / Jin Yucheng (CHN) RU: Samuel Altshuler / Zu Mingyu (USA) Mixed Doubles Class 17 W: Luiz Manara / Danielle Rauen (BRA) RU: Jean Carlos Mashki / Allana Maschio (BRA) Mixed Doubles Class 20 W: Su Jin-Sian / Lin Tzu-Yu (TPE) RU: Gabriel Antunes / Jennyfer Parinos (BRA)
ITTF WORLD PARA ELITE SPOKANE, USA Tuesday 11th - Saturday 15th August Men’s Singles Class 1-2 W: Rafal Czuper (POL) RU: Luis Flores (CHI) Men’s Singles Class 3 W: Thomas Schmidberger (GER) RU: Jenson Van Emburgh (USA) Men’s Singles Class 4-5 W: Valentin Baus (GER) RU: Maxime Thomas (FRA) Men’s Singles Class 6 W: Bobi Simion (ROU) RU: Ignacio Torres (CHI) Men’s Singles Class 7 W: Will Bayley (GBR) RU: Liao Keli (CHN) Men’s Singles Class 8 W: Aaron McKibbin (GBR) RU: Hayuma Abe (JPN) Men’s Singles Class 9 W: Laurens Devos (BEL) RU: Joshua Stacey (GBR)
Men’s Singles Class 7
Men’s Singles Class 10
W: Will Bayley (GBR) RU: Liao Keli (CHN)
Women’s Doubles Class 14-20
Men’s Singles Class 8
W: Bruna Alexandre / Danielle Rauen (BRA)
W: Patryk Chojnowski (POL) RU: Manuel
W: Aaron McKibbin (GBR) RU: Luiz Manara (BRA)
RU: Lin Tzu-Yu / Tian Shiau-Wen (TPE)
Echaveguren (CHI)
122 SWAYTHLING October 2026
PARA
Sandra Mikolaschek
Aino Tapola
Men’s Singles Class 11
Mixed Doubles Class 14
Women’s Singles Class 6
W: Chen Po-Yen (TPE) RU: Tomoya Yoshida (JPN)
W: Samuel Altshuler / Zhu Mingyu (USA)
W: Najlah Al-Dayyeni (IRQ) RU: Emelie Endre (SWE)
RU: Liao Keli / Jin Yucheng (CHN)
Women’s Singles Class 7
Mixed Doubles Class 17
W: Birgit Baumgartner (GER) RU: Nurjahan
W: Xue Juan (CHN) RU: Carlotta Ragazzini (ITA)
W: Luiz Manara / Danielle Rauen (BRA)
Jamani (IND)
Men’s Singles Class 4-5
RU: Koyo Iwabuchi / Yuri Tomono (JPN)
Women’s Singles Class 8
W: Sandra Mikolaschek (GER) RU: Flora Vauthier (FRA)
Mixed Doubles Class 20
WS: Zu Mingyu (USA) RU: Maike Bannuscher
W: Su Jin-Sian / Lin Tzu-Yu (TPE)
(GER)
RU: Gabriel Antunes / Jennyfer Parinos (BRA)
Women’s Singles Class 9-10
Women’s Singles Class 2-3
Women’s Singles Class 6 W: Liu Xiaowu (CHN) RU: Felicity Pickard (GBR) Women’s Singles Class 7 W: Jiang Shian (CHN) RU: Lethicia Lacerda (BRA) Women’s Singles Class 8-9 W: Danielle Rauen (BRA) RU: Mao Jingdian (CHN) Women’s Singles Class 10 W: Bruna Alexandre (BRA) RU: Tian Shiau-Wen (TPE) Men’s Doubles Class 8 W: Lucas Carvalhal / Welder Knaf (BRA) RU: Cheng Ming-Chih / Yeh Chin-Wei (TPE) Men’s Doubles Class 14-18 W: Logan Watson / Tahl Leibovitz (USA) RU: Gabriel Antunes / Luiz Manara (BRA) Women’s Doubles Class 5-10 W: Catia Oliveira / Joyce Oliveira (BRA) RU: Gu Mengmeng / Zhang Miao (CHN) Women’s Doubles Class 14-20 W: Bruna Alexandre / Danielle Rauen (BRA) W: Lin Tzu-Yu / Tian Shiau-Wen (TPE) Mixed Doubles Class 7
W: Natania Jain (IND) RU: Baby Ravi (IND) ITTF WORLD PARA FUTURE LAHTI FINLAND Friday 28th - Sunday 30th August Men’s Singles Class 1 W: Timo Natunen (FIN) RU: Alan Papirer (FRA) Men’s Singles Class 2 W: Jaganath Heggadahalli (IND) RU: Daniel Pauger (AUT) Men’s Singles Class 3 W: Martin Garba (CZE) RU: Martin Lukas (CZE) Men’s Singles Class 4-5 W: Aurelio Zutterman (BEL) RU: Yuma Aoki (JPN) Men’s Singles Class 6 W: Clément Latorre (FRA) RU: Haris Eiminovic (BIH) Men’s Singles Class 7 W: Filip Prchlik (CZE) RU: Luka Trtnik (SLO) Men’s Singles Class 8 W: Billy Shilton (GBR) RU: Emil Andersson (SWE) Men’s Singles Class 9-10
Men’s Doubles Class 4-8 W: Rameshbhai Chaudhary / Sumi Sehgal (IND) RU: Ibrahim Al-Hassan / Rakan Al-Hassan (KSA) Men’s Doubles Class 14 W: Tobiasz Glowczyk / Piotr Manturz (POL) RU: Daniel Horut / Filip Prchlik (CZE) Men’s Doubles Class 18 W: Jan Dukalski / Marcin Zielinski (POL) W: Lucas Carvalho / João Possas (BRA) Women’s Doubles Class 14-20 W: Nela Kemlinkova / Julia Selihh (CZE/EST) RU: Barbara Jablonka / Magdalena Sutowska (POL) Mixed Doubles Class 4-10 W: Sumit Sehgal / Vijaya Gangapatnam (IND) RU: Rameshbhai Chaudhary / Sonalben Patel
W: Hitesh Dolwani (IND) RU: Julien Cigolotti (FRA)
(IND)
Men’s Singles Class 11
Mixed Doubles Class 14
W: Timothe Ivaldi (FRA) RU: Tsoi Ming Fai (HKG)
W: Piotr Manturz / Magdalena Sutkowska (POL)
W: Fabio Silva / Thais Severo (BRA)
RU: Marcin Zielinski / Barbara Jablonka (POL)
RU: Welder Knaf / Marliane Santos (BRA)
Women’s Singles Class 1
Mixed Doubles Class 10
W: Aino Tapola (FIN) RU: Zeljana Ristic (SRB)
Mixed Doubles 17-20
W: Lucas Carvalhal / Joyce Oliveira (BRA)
Women’s Singles Class 2-5
W: Lucas Carvalho / Zu Mingyu (BRA/USA)
RU: Mohsin Watto / Gu Mengmeng (CAN/CHN)
W: Viyaya Gangapatnam (IND) RU: Sonalben Patel (IND)
RU: Tobiasz Glowczyk / Ewa Foskett (POL)
October 2026 SWAYTHLING 123
Filip Radovic
Najlah Al-Dayyeni
Mixed Doubles Class 22
Women’s Singles Class 3
Women’s Doubles Class 5
W: Chan Tsz Chung / Wong Pui Kei (HKG)
W: Giada Rossi (ITA) RU: Maeva Olivier (FRA)
W: Catia Oliveira / Joyce Oliveira (BRA)
RU: Tsoi Ming Fai / Wong Ka Man (HKG)
Women’s Singles Class 4-5
RU: Sandra Mikolaschek / Jana Spegel (GER)
W: Bhavina Patel (IND) RU: Flora Vautier (FRA) ITTF WORLD PARA ELITE YVELINES,
Women’s Doubles Class 10 Women’s Singles Class 6
W: Marliane Santos / Thais Severo (BRA)
Saturday 12th - Wednesday 16th September
W: Najlah Al-Dayyeni (IRQ) RU: Maliak Alieva
RU: Hadeel Al-Waeli / Rusul Al-Waeli (IRQ)
Men’s Singles Class 1
Women’s Singles Class 7
Women’s Doubles Class 14
W: Robert Davies (GBR) RU: Federico Falco (ITA)
W: Kelly van Zon (NED) RU: Galina
W: Maliak Alieva / Elena Litvinenko (RUS)
Men’s Singles Class 2
Gorokhovatcenko (RUS)
RU: Felicity Pickard / Bly Twomey (GBR)
W: Daniel Rodriguez (ESP) RU: Fabien Lamirault (FRA)
Women’s Singles Class 8
Men’s Singles Class 3
W: Yuri Tomono (JPN) RU: Zu Mingyu (USA)
Women’s Doubles Class 20
W: Thomas Schmidberger (GER) Florian Merrien (FRA)
Women’s Singles Class 9
W: Lei Lina / Yang Qian (AUS)
Men’s Singles Class 4-5
W: Lei Lina (AUS) RU: Danielle Rauen (BRA)
RU: Bruna Alexandre / Danielle Rauen (BRA)
W: Valentin Baus (GER) RU: Tommy Urhaug (NOR)
Women’s Singles Class 10
Men’s Singles Class 6
W: Yang Qian (AUS) RU: Anastasia Kostenevich (RUS)
FRANCE
(RUS)
W: Ignacio Torres (CHI) RU: Matteo Parenzan (ITA) Men’s Singles Class 7 W: Will Bayley (GBR) RU: Claudio Bahamondes (CHI) Men’s Singles Class 8
Mixed Doubles Class 4 W: Dmitrii Chubarov / Nadezhda Pushpasheva (RUS)
Women’s Singles Class 11
RU: Fabien Lamirault / Maeva Olivier (FRA)
W: Natsuki Wada (JPN) RU: Ebru Acer (TUR)
Mixed Doubles Class 7 W: Florian Merrien / Flora Vautier (FRA)
Men’s Doubles Class 4
RU: Thomas Schmidberger / Sandra Mikolaschek
W: Peter Lovas / Jan Riapos (SVK)
(GER)
RU: François Geuljans / Alan Papirer (FRA)
Mixed Doubles Class 10
Men’s Doubles Class 8
W: Lucas Carvalhal / Joyce Oliveira (BRA)
W: Emeric Martin / Florian Merrien (FRA)
RU: Nicolas Savant-Aira / Marliane Santos
RU: Carlos Moraes / Fabio Silva (BRA)
(FRA/BRA)
W: Florian van Acker (BEL) RU: Lucas Creange (FRA)
Men’s Doubles Class 14
Mixed Doubles Class 14
W: Clément Berthier / Esteban Herrault (FRA)
W: Artem Iakovlev / Aliak Alieva (RUS)
Women’s Singles Class 1
RU: Sam Gustafsson / Jonas Hansson (SWE)
RU: Clément Berthier / Morgen Caillaud (FRA)
W: Aino Tapola (FIN) RU: Jana Spegel (GER)
Men’s Doubles Class 18
Mixed Doubles Class 17-20
Women’s Singles Class 2
W: Artem Iakovlev / Iuri Nozdrunov (RUS)
W: Paulo Fonseca / Bruna Alexandre (BRA)
W: Giada Rossi (ITA) RU: Maeva Olivier (FRA)
RU: Ander Cepas / Juan Bautista Perez (ESP)
W: Luiz Manara / Danielle Rauen (BRA)
W: Clément Berthier (FRA) RU: Piotr Grudzien (POL) Men’s Singles Class 9 W: Ander Cepas (ESP) RU: Juan Bautista Perez (ESP) Men’s Singles Class 10 W: Filip Radovic (MNE) RU: Mateo Boheas (FRA) Men’s Singles Class 11
124 SWAYTHLING October 2026
England Dominates Home Countries ABOVE The English players in Jersey BELOW Two titles in for John Hilton FACING The faces of success left to right Jason Ramage, Brian Jeanes, Gabriela Tankel
England emerged the most successful of all at the Home Countries Veteran Championships held in Jersey, a tournament for the British Isles, the Channel Islands included although not geographically within the archipelago. Seven of the eight team titles finished in English hands but in the singles events life was rather different; four from a possible 10 was the verdict. The player to note in the months of August and September was England’s Jason Ramage. Partnering Andrew Wilkinson, at the Home Countries tournament in the 40 years age group he won men’s team and men’s doubles gold in addition to success in men’s singles 50 years. Earlier, with the same
126 SWAYTHLING October 2026
partner at the VETTS North Eastern Masters in Durham, it had been the same men’s doubles verdict as well as men’s singles 40 and 50 years gold. Similarly, Welshman Brian Jeanes and Phil Bowen, like Ramage from England, enjoyed success in both tournaments. In Durham and Jersey, Jeanes won men’s singles 60 years. In the former, Bowen secured men’s doubles 70 years partnering John Poysden, in the latter it was the full house. In the 70 years age group, he won the men’s singles as well as both men’s team and men’s doubles alongside David Tiplady. Success for Phil Bowen and also for his Mancunian ally, John Hilton; in Durham he won both men’s singles 70 and 75 years. Likewise, in good form in the north east of England, Linda Simpson excelled. She won women’s singles 70 and 75 years in addition to partnering Helen Shields to women’s doubles 70 years gold.
MASTERS
VETTS NORTH EASTERN MASTERS, DURHAM, ENGLAND
Men’s Doubles 40 Years
Open Doubles 80 Years
Saturday 29th - Sunday 30th August
W: Jason Ramage / Andy Wilkinson
W: Brian Hill / Roy Norton
RU: Keith Bird / Robin Pearce
RU: Bert Kilersjo / Charles Mouzon
Men’s Singles 40 Years
Men’s Doubles 50 Years
W: Jason Ramage RU: Andy Wilkinson
W: Chris Clinton / Simon Pugh
Mixed Doubles
Men’s Singles 50 Years
RU: Ritchie Venner / Lee Horton
W: Andy Wilkinson / Kinga Orl
W: Jason Ramage RU: Jason Thompson
Men’s Doubles 60 Years
RU: Costas Papantoniou / Gabriela Tankel
Men’s Singles 60 Years
W: Keith Deaville / Tony Worthington
W: Brian Jeanes RU: Chris Bartram
RU: Philip Cawser / Ray Hirst
Men’s Singles 70 Years
Men’s Doubles 70 Years
HOME COUNTRIES VETERAN CHAMPIONSHIPS, JERSEY, CHANNEL ISLANDS
W: John Hilton RU: Phil Cawser
W: Phil Bowen / John Poysden
Friday 18th - Sunday 20th September
Men’s Singles 75 Years
RU: Jimmy Brewster / David Tiplady
W: John Hilton RU: Maurice Newman
Men’s Doubles 75 Years
Men’s Team 40 Years
W: Paul Collins / Steve Kosmowsky
W: ENGLAND (Jason Ramage / Andy Wilkinson)
RU: Geoff Salter / John Williamson
RU: WALES (Danny Harris, Gavin Jones, Vincent Dion)
Women’s Singles 50 Years
Women’s Doubles 40 Years
Men’s Team 50 Years
W: Sanja Clements RU: Jill Rounce
W: King Oryl / Gabriela Tankel
W: ENGLAND (Darren Griffin / Adrian Pilgrim)
Women’s Singles 60 Years
RU: Zoe Podmore / Janet Adams
RU: SCOTLAND (Keith Dingwell, Kenny McLean)
W: Janet Adams RU: Joy Daniels
Women’s Doubles 50 Years
Women’s Singles 40 Years W: Gabriela Tankel RU: Sanja Clements
W: Denise Jacobi / Doreen Tierney
Men’s Team 60 Years
Women’s Singles 70 Years
Women’s Doubles 60 Years
W: ENGLAND (Tim Dyson / Paul Giles)
W: Linda Simpson RU: Helen Shields
W: Lynne Herrington / Barbara Kearney
RU: SCOTLAND (Gerry Campbell, Colin Green,
Women’s Singles 75 Years
RU: Shirley Gelder / Susie Venner
Alan Whiiton)
Women’s Doubles 70 Years
Women’s Team 40 Years
Open Singles 80 Years
W: Helen Shields / Linda Simpson
W: ENGLAND (Nicola Duke, Zoe Pilarek Cheesman)
W: Brian Hill RU: Dennis Bromage
RU: Teresa Devaney / Jan Hodgetts
RU: WALES (Laura Horswell, Bhanu Sabaratnam)
W: Linda Simpson RU: June Nelson
October 2026 SWAYTHLING 127
Phil Bowen
Andrew Wilkinson
Women’s Team 50 Years
Men’s Singles 60 Years
Men’s Doubles 50 Years
W: ENGLAND (Becky Hurrell / Clare Styles)
W: Brian Jeanes (WAL) RU: Andy Pilgrim (ENG)
W: Colin Green / Stephen Horsfield (ENG)
RU: SCOTLAND (Melissa Cheung, Fiona Kinloch)
RU: Rick Beattie / Adrian Jones (WAL) Men’s Singles 70 Years
Women’s Team 60 Years
Gold: Phil Bowen (ENG) RU: David Tiplady (ENG)
Men’s Doubles 60 Years
W: SCOTLAND (Joy Daniels, Joan Smith)
Men’s Singles 75 Years
W: Gerry Campbell / Alan Whitton (SCO)
RU: IRELAND (Sharon Gibbons, Ger Greene,
W: Stuart SeaHolme (ENG) RU: Geoff Salter
RU: Darren Griffin / Adrian Pilgrim (ENG)
Anne-Marie Nugent)
(SCO)
Men’s Doubles 70 Years W: Phil Bowen / David Tiplady (ENG)
Open Team 70 Years
Women’s Singles 40 Years
RU: Peter Aird / Roy Claxon (SCO)
W: ENGLAND (Phil Bowen, David Tiplady)
W: Laura Horswel (WAL) RU: Nicola Duke (ENG)
Men’s Doubles 75 Years
RU: SCOTLAND (Peter Aird, Roy Claxton, Geoff
Women’s Singles 50 Years
W: Johnny Clarke / Geoff Salter (ENG/SCO)
Salter)
W: Melissa Cheung (SCO) RU: Bhanu Sabaranam
RU: Derek Balding / Stuart Seaholme (ENG)
(WAL) Open Team 75 Years
Women’s Singles 60 Years
Women’s Doubles 40 Years
W: ENGLAND (Derek Balding, Stuart Seaholme)
W: Tulay Dundar (Eng) RU: Anne-Marie Nugent
W: Zoe Pilarek Cheeseman / Nicola Duke (ENG)
RU: IRELAND (Barry Dixon, Brian Finn, Norman
(IRL)
RU: Laura Horswel / Bhanu Sabaratnan (WAL) Women’s Doubles 50 Years
Nabney) Women’s Singles 70 Years
W: Rebecca Hurrell / Claire Styles (ENG)
Men’s Singles 40 Years
W: Catherine Inverarity (SCO) RU: Helen Levt
RU: Lynne Harrison Bowen / Tracey Sambrooke
W: Mariusz Cieminski (JER) RU: Marek Donagala
(WAL)
(WAL)
Men’s Singles 50 Years
Men’s Doubles 40 Years
Women’s Doubles 60 Years
W: Jason Ramage (ENG) RU: Stephen Horsefield
W: Jason Ramage / Andy Wilkinson (ENG)
W: Kay Chivers / Sharn Gibbons (GGY/IRL)
(ENG)
RU: Mariusz Cieminski / Miguel Freitas (JER)
RU: Ger Greene / Anne-Marie Nugent (IRL)
(SCO)
128 SWAYTHLING October 2026
No. 121 (April 2026)
Print Copy
Available
For copies of the printed version Contact: Richard Scruton Tel:+44 7870 197754 E-mail: richardofyork187@outlook.com
FROM THE ARCHIVES
The1929 World Championships Date: Monday 14th - Monday 21st January
Venue: Budapest
Competing Member Associations: Austria, Czechoslovakia, England, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Wales, Yugoslavia
Facts Fred Perry won the men’s singles title, later he was to win eight Grand Slam men’s singles tennis tournaments: Australia (1934), France (1935), United States (1933, 1934, 1936), Wimbledon (1934, 1935, 1936). The St Bride Vase was presented for the first time to the men’s singles winner at a World Championships, the award was made by Corti Woodcock. He was a member of the St Bride Institute Table Tennis Club in Fleet Street, London and was concerned that there was no perpetual trophy at the time which recognised Fred Perry’s achievement. In 1929, the World Championships men’s singles was the only tournament Fred Perry won. Prior to the start of play, at the Czechoslovakia Open he had lost to colleague Charles Bull, at the English Open to Czechoslovakia’s Antonin Malecek. Alongside his tennis trophies, Fred Perry donated his table tennis racket used at the 1929 World Championships to the Wimbledon Museum. 130 SWAYTHLING October 2026
BELOW The now famous St Bride Vase donated by Corti Woodcock FACING Fred Perry, racket in hand, dressed in most smart attire
Fred Perry never returned to the World Championships, he was due to play in 1930 in Berlin but owing to the death of his mother on the eve of the tournament, he withdrew. Victor Barna made his debut at a World Championships but was only able to play through public pressure; the Hungarian Table Tennis Association had established a policy that a player must be 18 years old to be selected. He was 17 years old; a portent for the future, he remained unbeaten in the men’s team event. The tournament set the stage for Hungarian supremacy in the sport, in the men’s team event, they remained unbeaten. Once again Latvia excelled expectations, they finished in fourth place in the men’s team event and thus matched their 1928 efforts. Maria Mednyanszky won the women’s singles title for the third consecutive time, reports at the time suggest because she was playing on home soil, she was more determined than ever to succeed.
October 2026 SWAYTHLING 131
Men’s Team: Positions 01. HUNGARY (9-0) Victor Barna, Sandor Glancz, Istvan Kelen, Zoltan Mechlovits, Milkos Szabados (cpt: Zoltan Mechlovits) 02. AUSTRIA (8-1) Manfred Feher, Paul Flussmann, Erwin Kohn, Alfred Liebster, Robert Thum 03. ENGLAND (7-2) Charles Bull, Frank Burls, Adrian Haydon, Fred Perry, Frank Wilde 04. LATVIA (6-3) Mordecai Finberg, Arnold Oschin, Rosenthal II, A. Stauer 05. CZECHOSLOVAKIA (5-4) Josef Bergman, Mikulas Fried, Bohumil Hajek, Antonin Malecek, Bedrich Nikodem 06. GERMANY (3-6) Herbert Caro, Heribert Haensch, Hans-Georg Lindenstaedt, E. Mayer, Friedrich Starke 06. ROMANIA (3-6) C. Albert, Fogel, Janos Ponta, A. Steiner 06. WALES (3-6) Appleby, Herbert Geen, T. Hilborn, Cyril Mossford 09. YUGOSLAVIA (1-8) Klauber, Milorad Konjovic, Geza Legenstein, Roth, Borivoj Stankovic 10. LITHUANIA (0-9) Arturas Amonas, Isakas Lipsicas, Chone Simensas
Results AUSTRIA 5-4 ENGLAND Paul Flussmann v Fred Perry -18, 17, -18 Robert Thum v Adrian Haydon -14, 15, -16 Alfred Liebster v Charles Bull 14, -15, 9 Robert Thum v Fred Perry -17, -15 Alfred Liebster v Adrian Haydon 18, 13 Paul Flussmann v Charles Bull 11, 11 Alfred Liebster v Fred Perry -11, 16, -10 Paul Flussmann v Adrian Haydon 20, -18, 17 Robert Thum v Charles Bull 13, 17 AUSTRIA 5-0 GERMANY Kohn Erwin v Herbert Caro 14, 12 Manfred Feher v E. Mayer 7, 16 Paul Flussmann v Friedrich Wilhelm Starke 17, 13 Manfred Feher v Herbert Caro 14, 8 Paul Flussmann v E. Mayer 16, 14
132 SWAYTHLING October 2026
AUSTRIA 0-5 HUNGARY Alfred Liebster v Zoltan Mechlovits -15, -14 Alfred Liebster v Miklos Szabados -12, 16, -21 Paul Flussmann v Victor Barna -11, -19 Robert Thum v Miklos Szabados -12, -8 Robert Thum v Victor Barna -9, -14 AUSTRIA 5-4 LATVIA Erwin Kohn v Arnold Oschin -19, -11 Paul Flussmann v Mordecai Finberg 14, 16 Alfred Liebster v Rosenthal II 16, 13 Erwin Kohn v Mordecai Finberg -16, 8, -14 Paul Flussmann v Rosenthal II 12, 8 Alfred Liebster v Arnold Oschin -16, 10, -18 Erwin Kohn v Rosenthal II 16, 12 Paul Flussmann v Arnold Oschin -21, -24 Alfred Liebster v Mordecai Finberg -17, 17, 13 AUSTRIA 5-0 LITHUANIA Manfred Feher v Isakas Lipsicas 11, 13 Erwin Kohn v Chone Simensas 17, 11 Paul Flussmann v Arturas Amonas 13, 8 Erwin Kohn v Isakas Lipsicas 13, 13 Manfred Feher v Arturas Amonas 10, 16 AUSTRIA 5-0 ROMANIA Paul Flussman v Fogel 14, 14 Manfred Feher v A. Steiner 11, 13 Robert Thum v Janos Ponta 14, 17 Paul Flussman v A. Steiner 26, 19 Manfred Feher v Janos Ponta 11, 9 AUSTRIA 5-0 CZECHOSLOVAKIA Manfred Feher v Bohumil Hajek 11, -20, 16 Robert Thum v Bedrich Nikodem 17, 19 Alfred Liebster v Antonin Malecek 17, 7 Manfred Feher v Bedrich Nikodem 17, -18, 18 Robert Thum v Antonin Malecek 17, 8 AUSTRIA 5-0 WALES Robert Thum v Herbert Geen 7, 11 Manfred Feher v Cyril Mossford 11, 14 Alfred Liebster v T. Hilborn 5, 8 Robert Thum v Cyril Mossford 12, 17 Manfred Feher v T. Hilborn 10, 9 AUSTRIA 5-0 YUGOSLAVIA Robert Thum v Geza Legenstein 5, 11 Erwin Kohn v Roth 9, 9 Manfred Feher v Klauber 10, 17 Robert Thum v Roth 9, 13 Erwin Kohn v Klauber 2, 15 ENGLAND 5-0 GERMANY Fred Perry v Herbert Caro 11, 18 Frank Wilde v Hans-Georg Lindenstaedt 11, 13 Frank Burls v E. Mayer 14, 16 Frank Wilde v Herbert Caro 18, 12 Frank Burls v Hans-Georg Lindenstaedt 14, 9
ENGLAND 2-5 HUNGARY Charles Bull v Victor Barna -11, -12 Fred Perry v Zoltan Mechlovits 15, -20, 11 Adrian Haydon v Miklos Szabados -16, -17 Fred Perry v Victor Barna 20, -11, -13 Adrian Haydon v Zoltan Mechlovits 16, 13 Charles Bull v Miklos Szabados -12, -10 Adrian Haydon v Victor Barna -18, -17 ENGLAND 5-3 LATVIA Charles Bull v Arnold Oschin -17, -16 Charles Bull v A. Stauer -16, 12, -19 Charles Bull v Mordecai Finberg -18, 19, -15 Fred Perry v Arnold Oschin 15, -15, 16 Fred Perry v Mordecai Finberg 9, 13 Adrian Haydon v Mordecai Finberg 11, 15 Adrian Haydon v A. Stauer 12, 17 Fred Perry v A. Stauer 9, 18 ENGLAND 5-0 LITHUANIA Fred Perry v Arturas Amonas 12, 11 Frank Burls v Chone Simensas 7, 8 Adrian Haydon v Isakas Lipsicas 8, 14 Frank Burls v Arturas Amonas 4, 9 Adrian Haydon v Chone Simensas 14, 15 ENGLAND 5-0 ROMANIA Charles Bull v Fogel 13, 11 Adrian Haydon v Janos Ponta 14, 16 Frank Wilde v A. Steiner 20, 7 Charles Bull v A. Steiner 9, 17 Frank Wilde v Fogel 17, 16 ENGLAND 5-3 CZECHOSLOVAKIA Fred Perry v Josef Bergman 19, 16 Frank Wilde v Bedrich Nikodem 20, -17, -17 Frank Burls v Bohumil Hajek 13, -17, -19 Frank Wilde v Josef Bergman 15, 11 Frank Burls v Bedrich Nikodem -15, 16, -15 Fred Perry v Bohumil Hajek 4, 12 Frank Burls v Josef Bergman 13, 13 Fred Perry v Bedrich Nikodem 11, 17 ENGLAND 5-1 WALES Fred Perry v Appleby 4, 18 Frank Wilde v Herbert Geen 12, 20 Frank Burls v Cyril Mossford -22, -14 Fred Perry v Cyril Mossford 10, 11 Frank Wilde v Appleby 10, 18 Frank Burls v Herbert Geen 6, 16 ENGLAND 5-0 YUGOSLAVIA Charles Bull v Roth 10, 16 Frank Wilde v Milorad Konjovic 15, 18 Adrian Haydon v Geza Legenstein 12, 21 Charles Bull v Milorad Konjovic 14, 8 Frank Wilde v Geza Legenstein 5, 5 HUNGARY 5-0 GERMANY Sándor Glancz v Heribert Haensch 13, 13 Zoltán Mechlovits v Hans-Georg Lindenstaedt 10, 6 Victor Barna v Herbert Caro 7, 15 Sándor Glancz v Hans-Georg Lindenstaedt -20, 15, 15 Zoltan Mechlovits v Heribert Haensch 19, 13
HUNGARY 5-0 LATVIA Victor Barna v Arnold Oschin 13, 14 Miklos Szabados v Mordecai Finberg 19, -17, 12 Zoltan Mechlovits v Rosenthal II 11, 6 Victor Barna v Mordecai Finberg -21, 11, 17 Miklos Szabados v Rosenthal II 12, 12 HUNGARY 5-3 LITHUANIA Sandor Glancz v Arturas Amonas 8, 12 Istvan Kelen v Isakas Lipsicas 12, 20 Istvan Kelen v Chone Simensas 11, 9 Miklos Szabados v Arturas Amonas -0, -0 (w/o) Miklos Szabados v Isakas Lipsicas -0, -0 (w/o) Miklos Szabados v Chone Simensas -0, -0 (w/o) Sandor Glancz v Arturas Amonas 8, 12 Sandor Glancz v Chone Simensas 12, 5
LATVIA 5-3 CZECHOSLOVAKIA Mordecai Finberg v Bohumil Hajek -21, 20, 15 Oschin Arnold v Bedrich Nikodem 12, -16, 18 Rosenthal II v Antonin Malecek -19, 16, -13 Mordecai Finberg v Bedrich Nikodem 14, 10 Oschin Arnold v Antonin Malecek 13, -17, -15 Rosenthal II v Bohumil Hajek -18, -17 Mordecai Finberg v Antonin Malecek -20, 16, 17 Oschin Arnold v Bohumil Hajek 11, -18, 18
ROMANIA 4-5 CZECHOSLOVAKIA
LATVIA 5-0 WALES Rosenthal II v Appleby 20, 13 Mordecai Finberg v Herbert Geen 14, 19 Arnold Oschin v T. Hilborn 12, 21 Mordecai Finberg v Appleby 9, -19, 16 Arnold Oschin v Herbert Geen 10, 5
Janos Ponta v Antonin Malecek -10, -14
A. Steiner v Bedrich Nikodem -15, 19, 14 Fogel v Antonin Malecek -16, 16, -17 Janos Ponta v Bohumil Hajek -12, -14 A. Steiner v Antonin Malecek -14, -15 Fogel v Bohumil Hajek 20, 22 Janos Ponta v Bedrich Nikodem 19, -15, 16 A. Steiner v Hajek Bohumil 12, -12, 18 Fogel v Bedrich Nikodem -19, 16, -12
ROMANIA 5-0 WALES A. Steiner v T. Hilborn 7, 18 Ponta Janos v Herbert Geen 16, 17 Fogel Rou v Cyril Mossford 17, 14 A. Steiner v Herbert Geen 5, 9
HUNGARY 5-0 ROMANIA Istvan Kelen v A. Steiner 6, 8 Zoltan Mechlovits v Janos Ponta 16, 16 Viktor Barna C. Albert 6, 12 Zoltan Mechlovits v A. Steiner 13, 11 Victor Barna v Janos Ponta 14, 10
LATVIA 5-0 YUGOSLAVIA Arnold Oschin v Borivoj Stankovic 5, 8 Mordecai Finberg v Klauber 9, 10 Rosenthal II v Roth 10, 14 Rosenthal II v Klauber 5, 11 Mordecai Finberg v Borivoj Stankovic 19, 21
HUNGARY 5-0 CZECHOSLOVAKIA Victor Barna v Antonin Malecek 20, -18, 8 Zoltan Mechlovits v Bohumil Hajek 10, 5 Miklos Szabados Josef Bergman 15, 15 Miklos Szabados v Bohumil Hajek 12, 13 Zoltan Mechlovits v Antonin Malecek -17, 16, 10
LITHUANIA 0-5 ROMANIA Isakas Lipsicas v Fogel -15, 18, -17 Chone Simensas v A. Steiner -5, -9 Arturas Amonas v Janos Ponta -19, -24 Isakas Lipsicas v A. Steiner -22, -14 Chone Simensas v Janos Ponta -6, -6
HUNGARY 5-0 WALES Miklos Szabados v Cyril Mossford 10, 16 Istvan Kelen v Herbert Green 15, 17 Sandor Glancz v T. Hilborn 6, 13 Miklos Szabados v Herbert Green 13, 17 Istvan Kelen v T. Hilborn 13, 11
LITHUANIA 1-5 CZECHOSLOVAKIA Arturas Amonas v Antonin Malecek -8, -5 Chone Simensas v Bedrich Nikodem -14, -3 Isakas Lipsicas v Josef Bergman 14, -10, 17 Arturas Amonas v Bedrich Nikodem -13, -13 Chone Simensas v Josef Bergman -19, -20 Isakas Lipsicas v Antonin Malecek -19, -18
Fogel v Milorad Konjovic 19, -8, 18
LITHUANIA 3-5 WALES Arturas Amonas v Appleby -13, -11 Chone Simensas v Herbert Geen -19, -18 Isakas Lipsicas v Cyril Mossford 14, -14, 18 Chone Simensas v Appleby -10, -15 Isakas Lipsicas v Herbert Geen 21, 26 Arturas Amonas v Cyril Mossford -19, -19 Isakas Lipsicas v Appleby -20, 17, 19 Chone Simensas v Cyril Mossford -18, -21
Antonin Malecek v Herbert Geen 9, 10
Ponta Janos v Cyril Mossford -20, 16, 15 ROMANIA 5-0 YUGOSLAVIA A. Steiner v Milorad Konjovic 16, 18 Fogel v Borivoj Stankovic 20, 17 C. Albert v Klauber 14, -15, 18 Fogel v Milorad Konjovic 19, -8, 18 C. Albert v Borivoj Stankovic 12, 12 ROMANIA 5-0 YUGOSLAVIA A. Steiner v Milorad Konjovic 16, 18 Fogel v Borivoj Stankovic 20, 17 C. Albert v Klauber 14, -15, 18
HUNGARY 5-0 YUGOSLAVIA Zoltan Mechlovits v Klauber -20, 10, 8 Istvan Kelen v Milorad Konjovic 7, 17 Miklos Szabados v Borivoj Stankovic 6, 7 Zoltan Mechlovits v Milorad Konjovic 10, 8 Istvan Kelen v Borivoj Stankovic 6, 12 LATVIA 5-0 LITHUANIA Rosenthal II v Chone Simensas 19, 16 Arnold Oschin v Arturas Amonas 5, 2 Arnold Oschin v Chone Simensas 12, 9 Mordecai Finberg v Isakas Lipsicas 0,0 (w/o) Mordecai Finberg v Arturas Amonas 15, 14 LATVIA 5-1 ROMANIA Arnold Oschin v C. Albert 16, 19 Mordecai Finberg v Fogel 15, 13 Rosenthal II v A. Steiner 18, 14 Arnold Oschin v A. Steiner -20, -15 Rosenthal II v Fogel 15, 21 Mordecai Finberg v C. Albert 15, 16
LITHUANIA 4-5 YUGOSLAVIA Chone Simensas v Klauber 15, -17, -13 Chone Simensas v Milorad Konjovic -7, -13 Chone Simensas v Geza Legenstein 15, 19 Isakas Lipsicas v Klauber 15, 19 Isakas Lipsicas v Milorad Konjovic -15, -10 Isakas Lipsicas v Geza Legenstein 11, 14 Arturas Amonas v Klauber -18, -9 Arturas Amonas v Milorad Konjovic -19, -20 Arturas Amonas v Geza Legenstein 10, 16
C. Albert v Borivoj Stankovic 12, 12 CZECHOSLOVAKIA 5-2 WALES Antonin Malecek v Cyril Mossford 18, 17 Hajek Bohumil v Herbert Geen -19, 16, 17 Fried Mikulas v Appleby -17, 18, -19 Hajek Bohumil v Appleby 15, 8 Fried Mikulas v Cyril Mossford -16, -12 Antonin Malecek v Appleby 8, 13 CZECHOSLOVAKIA 5-0 YUGOSLAVIA Bohumil Hajek v Klauber 15, 18 Fried Mikulas v Milorad Konjovic 17, 12 Josef Bergman v Roth 14, 15 Josef Bergman v Klauber 12, 8 Bohumil Hajek v Roth 14, 15 WALES 5-0 YUGOSLAVIA Herbert Geen v Roth 0, 0 (w/o) Appleby v Geza Legenstein 0, 0 (w/o) Cyril Mossford v Geza Legenstein 0, 0 (w/o) The remainng matches in the fixture WALES versus YUGOSLAVIA are stated as all walk-over
October 2026 SWAYTHLING 133
Men’s Singles Round of 16 Erwin Kohn (AUT) v Sandor Glancz (HUN) 14, -21, 19, 19 Adrian Haydon (ENG) v Victor Barna (HUN) 13, -21, -7, 19, 15 István Kelen (HUN) v Antonin Malecek (TCH) 18, 13, 13 Fred Perry (ENG) v Alfred Liebster (AUT) 18, 9, 12 Emö Földi (HUN) v Paul Flussman (AUT) 15, -21, 11, -17, 19 Miklós Szabados (HUN) v Frank Wilde (ENG) 13, 17, 14 Zoltan Mechlovitz (HUN) v Arnold Oschin (LAT) 10, 14, 13 Robert Thum (AUT) v Charles Bull (ENG) 17, 3, 16
Quarter-Finals Fred Perry (ENG) v Istvan Kelen (HUN) 9, 13, 14 Adrian Haydon (ENG) v Erwin Kohn (AUT) 12, 8, 8 Zoltan Mechlovitz (HUN) v Robert Thum (AUT) 19, 17, 11 Miklos Szabados (HUN) v Emo Földi (HUN) 10, 9, 20 Semi-Finals Fred Perry (ENG) v Adrian Haydon (ENG) 8, 19, 18 Miklos Szabados (HUN) v Zoltan Mechlovitz 18, -22, -22, 17, 13 Final Fred Perry (ENG) v Miklos Szabados (HUN) -14, 12, 21, 19
Women’s Singles Round of 16 Maria Mednyanszky (HUN) v Mona Rüster (GER) 8, 12, -17, 14 Daukscha (LAT) v Fanchette Flamm (AUT) 17, -19, 17, -17, 9 Josefine Kolbe (AUT) v Joan Ingram (ENG) 20, 8, 19 Anna Sipos (HUN) v Helly Reitzer (AUT) 17, 13, 15 Magda Gal (HUN) v Marie Masakova (TCH) -18, 13, 15, 9 Erika Metzger (GER) v Lili Forbath (AUT) 11, 14, 14 Ilona Zador (HUN) v Anastasia Flussmann (AUT) 15, 12, 16 Gertrude Wildam (AUT) v Marta Komaromi HUN) 13, 17, 16
Quarter-Finals Maria Mednyanszky (HUN) v Daukscha (LAT) 11, 17, 11 Anna Sipos (HUN) v Josefine Kolbe 18, 17, 17 Magda Gal (HUN) v Erika Metzger (GER) 19, -16, 11, 16 Gertrude Wildam (AUT) v Ilona Zador (HUN) 16, -13, 17, -14, 16 Semi-Finals Maria Mednyanszky (HUN) v Anna Sipos (HUN) 18, 13, 13 Gertrude Wildam (AUT) v Magda Gal (HUN) -16, -17, 17, 15, 16 Final Maria Mednyanszky (HUN) v Gertrude Wildam (AUT) 9, 15, 12
Men’s Doubles Round of 16 Victor Barna / Miklos Szabados (HUN) v Antonin Malecek / Bohumil Hajek (TCH) 17, 12, 17 Adrian Haydon / Frank Burls (ENG) v Laszlo Meszoli / Imre Magyar Muller (HUN) 15, 26, 19 Lajos David / Valter Kolmodin (HUN / SWE) v Mordecai Finberg / Rosenthall II (LAT) -14, 10, 15, 18 György Szegedi / Istvan Reti (HUN) v Alfred Liebster / Robert Thum (AUT) 18, 14, -10, -15, 18 Charles Bull / Fred Perry (ENG) v Arnold Oschin / A. Stauer (LAT) 16, 17, 15 Istvan Kelen / Zoltan Mechlovits (HUN) v Erwin Kohn / Munio Pillinger 19, 16, 10 Manfred Feher / Paul Flussmann (AUT) v Bela Nyitrai / Emö Földi (HUN) 12, -18, 13, 14 Laszlo Bellak / Sandor Glancz (HUN) v Mikulas Fried / Josef Bergmann (TCH) 14, 16, 19 Quarter-Finals Victor Barna / Miklos Szabados (HUN) v Adrian Haydon / Frank Burls (ENG) 7, -20, 18, 17 Gyorgy Szegedi / Istvan Reti (HUN) v Lajos David / Valter Kolmodin (HUN / SWE) 15, 12, 17 Charles Bull / Fred Perry (ENG) v Istvan Kelen / Zoltan Mechlovits (HUN) -19, 13, 15, -19, 17 Laszlo Bellak / Sandor Glancz (HUN) v Manfred Feher / Paul Flussmann (AUT) 13, 15, -13, 23
Women’s Doubles Quarter-Finals Ilona Zadar / Magda Gal (HUN) v Joan Ingram / Marjorie Haydon (ENG) w/o Gertrude Wildam / Franchette Flamm (AUT) v Dauschka / Kuraenko (LAT) -17, 17, 19, -18, 11 Mária Mednyánszky / Anna Sipos (HUN) v Josefine Kolbe / Anastasia Flussmann (AUT) 16, 12, 11 Erika Metzger / Mona Rüster (GER) v Lili Forbath / Helly Reitzer (AUT) 13, 17, -14, 13 Semi-Finals Gertrude Wildam / Franchette Flamm (AUT) v Ilona Zadar / Magda Gal (HUN) 14, -21, 13, -19, 7 Erika Metzger / Mona Rüster (GER) v Maria Mednyanszky / Anna Sipos (HUN) -10, -22, 15, 18, 19 Final Erika Metzger / Mona Rüster (GER) v Gertrude Wildam / Franchette Flamm (AUT) 14, 15, 12
Mixed Doubles Round of 16 Adrian Haydon / Erika Metzger (ENG / GER) v Fred Perry / Marjorie Haydon (ENG) w/o Laszlo Bellak / Magda Gal (HUN) v Teddy Stilwell / Reischig (ENG/AUT) 15, 15, 12 Zoltan Mechlovits / Maria Mednyanszky (HUN) v Antonin Malecek / Marie Masakova (TCH) 18, 10, -21, 15 Paul Flussmann / Helly Reitzer (AUT) v Frank Burls / Myra Collett (ENG) -9, 15, -17, 13, 17 Sandor Glancz / IIona Zador (HUN) v Germant / Mona Rüster (GER) 14, 12, 19 14, 12, 19 Alfred Liebster / Gertrude Wildam (AUT) v Way / Varga (ENG/HUN) 10, 7, 10 István Kelen / Anna Sipos (HUN) v Erwin Kohn / Josefine Kolbe (AUT) 9, 14, -21, 11 Manfred Feher / Lili Forbath (HUN) v Charles Bull / Joan Ingram (ENG) -15, -11, 19, 24, 19 Quarter-Finals Laszlo Bellak / Magda Gal (HUN) v Adrian Haydon / Erika Metzger (ENG/GER) 17, -15, 17, 20 Zoltan Mechlovits / Maria Mednyanszky (HUN) v Paul Flussmann / Helly Reitzer (AUT) 21, 18, 13 Alfred Liebster / Gertrude Wildam (AUT) v Sandor Glancz / IIona Zádor (HUN) -16, -4, 14, 12 Istvan Kelen / Anna Sipos (HUN) v Manfred Feher / Lili Forbath (HUN) 10, 20, 15
Semi-Finals Victor Barna / Miklos Szabados (HUN) v Gyorgy Szegedi / Istvan Reti (HUN) 18, -20, 14, 20 Laszlo Bellak / Sandor Glancz (HUN) v Charles Bull / Fred Perry (ENG) 18, -9, -11, 19, 20
Semi-Finals Laszlo Bellak / Magda Gal (HUN) v Zoltan Mechlovits / Maria Mednyanszky (HUN) 16, -13, 18, -11, 16 Istvan Kelen / Anna Sipos (HUN) v Alfred Liebster / Gertrude Wildam (AUT) 15, 16, 17
Final Victor Barna / Miklos Szabados (HUN) v Laszlo Bellak / Sandor Glancz (HUN) 15, 14, 13
Final Istvan Kelen / Anna Sipos (HUN) v Laszlo Bellak / Magda Gal (HUN) -19, 7, 13, 8
For full results of all events visit: The 1929 World Championships 134 SWAYTHLING October 2026
STEVE GRANT
TABLE TENNIS HISTORY Published periodically
Edited by Steve Grant
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