As the curtain fell on the 2024 ITTF Montenegro Para Open in Podgorica over the weekend, a clear message emerged: the gold medallists from the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games are determined to repeat their feats when the world gathers in Paris later this year.
Just as they had triumphed in Japan, Korea Republic’s Joo Youngdae (class 1), Germany’s Valentin Baus (class 5), and Belgium’s Laurens Devos (class 9) secured the men’s singles titles, while Australia’s Lei Li Na (class 9-10) emerged victorious in the women’s singles.
“Joo Youngdae’s success didn’t stop there,” as he teamed up with Jang Yeongjin to claim the men’s doubles gold (class 4) and Lee Migyu to win the mixed doubles (class 4), making him one of the tournament’s standout performers.
Equally impressive was Frenchman Clément Berthier, who, in addition to his men’s singles victory (class 8), paired with Esteban Herrault (class 14) to win the men’s doubles and clinched the mixed doubles title with Morgen Caillaud (class 14).
Caillaud herself had a successful outing, adding two more titles to her name by winning the women’s doubles with Germany’s Nina Reck (class 14).
- Korea Republic’s Moon Sunghye (class 5) and Brazil’s Bruna Alexandre (class 20) each secured a pair of titles.
- Berthier and Herrault also took the men’s doubles, and Caillaud won the women’s doubles with Germany’s Nina Reck.
Other notable champions included Valentin Baus and Laurens Devos, who added to their collections by triumphing in the men’s doubles with Thomas Schmidberger (class 8) and Marc Ledoux (class 18), respectively.
However, there were some surprises, with Chile’s Matthew Pino (class 6) and independent athlete Danill Domaneskii (class 7) claiming the men’s singles titles, while Norway’s Nora Korneliussen (class 6-7) and independent athlete Eva Kuts (class 8) emerged victorious in the women’s singles.
The final day of the tournament saw success for the Asian contingent:
- Japan’s Koya Kato and Takeshi Takemori won the men’s doubles (class 22).
- Japan’s Hajime Hara and Nanako Hazeyama triumphed in the mixed doubles (class 22).
- Korea Republic also celebrated gold in the mixed doubles, with Kim Junggil and Yoon Jiyu (class 7) and Baek Youngbok and Jung Younga (class 10) taking the top prizes.
With the 2024 ITTF Slovenia Para Open set to commence on 7th May, the table tennis world is eagerly awaiting the next chapter in the lead-up to the highly anticipated Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
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