267 players from 35 countries will compete in European Para Table Tennis Championships 2023 in Sheffield
267 players from 35 countries will take part in the ITTF European Para Table Tennis Championships 2023 when the action gets underway in Sheffield from 4-9 September 2023.
The six-day tournament at the English Institute of Sport will see players compete in singles and doubles competitions across 11 classes including five for wheelchair athletes (C1-C5), five for standing athletes (C6-C10) and one for athletes with an intellectual impairment who meet sport-specific criteria for Para table tennis.
22 places at the 2024 Paralympics in Paris are on offer at the Championships as the winners of each of the men and women’s singles classes will qualify directly for the 2024 Paralympic Games. Players can also gain world ranking points which will contribute towards qualification for Paris.
The draw has been made for the tournament and can be viewed at https://www.ittf.com/tournament/5484/ITTF-European-Championships-2023/.
One of the first players on court will be Poland’s world number one, Rafal Czuper, who will take on Julien Michaud of France in one of the first matches of the day in the men’s single’s class 2.
He is part of a strong Polish team at the Championships which also includes world number two, Natalia Partyka who will compete in the women’s single class 10. She will open her campaign on Monday afternoon when she takes on Tabita Vulturar of Romania.
There will be significant home interest in the tournament after Britain named an 18-strong team to take part in only the second elite para table tennis event to be held in the UK since the London 2012 Olympic Games.
The home team includes world champion, Will Bayley, and Commonwealth champions Jack Hunter-Spivey and Joshua Stacey, along with Rob Davies, who will be aiming to win his fifth European championship when he begins his campaign in the first session of the day on Monday morning.
The action starts at 09:00 (BST) on Monday 4 September 2023 and will be streamed live on the IITF YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@ITTFWorld.
Live scoring and all results can be viewed at https://www.ittf.com/tournament/5484/ITTF-European-Championships-2023/.
The European Para Table Tennis Championships is an ITTF event which is supported by funding from the National Lottery and Sheffield City Council and will be delivered in association with a range of partners including UK Sport, British Para Table Tennis and Table Tennis England (TTE). Event suppliers include: Butterfly, Neon Flooring, 729 – Table Tennis Balls and the Crowne Plaza Hotel Sheffield.