We followed the Swedish para national team to Paris for the Velodrome National at Saint Quentin en Yvelines during one of the selection rounds for the olympic games in 2024. 

 

"This was one of the toughest qualifying rounds, 1 out of 6 competitions with a top 40 world ranking", says Robert Svanberg, the captain for the Swedish para national team since 2009. Robert has a background in Eskilstuna table tennis club where our son also competed in his youth. Thereby, he holds a special place in our heart.

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There were 280 participants from 37 countries that participated in the competition. From the Swedish national team, 6 females and 5 males. "The most renowned nations for this sport include China, England and France. Sweden has a very strong team with many successes in international competitions", Robert explains. 

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In para table tennis, there are two categories: 1-5 is for handicapable in a wheelchair; 6-11 is for those who could stand up but with different limitations. The games are played in 3 sets with a victory by the 11:th point (which could continue up to 5 sets to reach a two point difference). 

 

The para table tennis is the third dicipline in the Olympic games based on the amount of players.