The I Feel Slovenia Open Thermana Laško: A Successful Tournament Ahead of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games

Australia’s Samuel von Einem Clinches Gold in Men’s Singles Class 11

Australia’s Samuel von Einem finally clinched the gold medal in the men’s singles class 11 event, after earning silver medals at the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. Von Einem, who was not among the highly seeded players, defeated the reigning world champion Kim Gitae of South Korea in the semi-finals before overcoming Frenchman Lucas Creange, the third seed, in the final.

Other Notable Champions in Men’s Singles Events

In the men’s singles events, other notable champions included:

• Fabien Lamirault of France (class 2)
• Will Bayley of Great Britain (class 7)
• Laurens Devos of Belgium (class 9)

Additionally, Wanchai Chaiwut (class 4) of Thailand, Cheng Ming-Ching (class 5) of Chinese Taipei, Matteo Parenzan (class 6) of Italy, and Filip Radovic (class 10) of Montenegro also emerged victorious in their respective categories.

Dominant Performances in Women’s Singles Events

The women’s singles events saw success for top-seeded players, including:

• Giada Rossi of Italy (class 1-2)
• Yoon Jiyu of South Korea (class 3)
• Borislava Peric-Rankovic of Serbia (class 4)
• Maryna Lytovchenko (class 6)
• Ebru Acer of Turkey (class 11)
• Lei Li Na of Australia (class 9)
• Yang Qian of Australia (class 10)

Yoon Jiyu was the most dominant player, securing a triple crown by winning the women’s singles, women’s doubles (partnering Seo Yeon), and mixed doubles (with Kim Junggil) titles.

Successful Doubles and Mixed Doubles Events

In the doubles events, the gold medalists included:

• Jang Youngjin and Joo Youngdae of South Korea (men’s doubles class 4)
• Sam Gustafsson and Jonas Hansson of Sweden (men’s doubles class 14)
• Aaron McKibbin and Joshua Stacey of Great Britain (men’s doubles class 18)

The women’s doubles champions were:

• Nergiz Altintas and Irem Oluk of Turkey (class 10)
• Aida Dahlen and Merve Tveiten of Norway (class 14)
• Lin Tzu-Yu and Tian Shiau-Wen of Chinese Taipei (class 20)
• Nanako Ota and Ayumi Ota of Japan (class 22)

In the mixed doubles events, Hajime Hara and Nanako Hazeyama of Japan (class 22) and Igor Misztal and Katarzyna Marszal of Poland (class 17) emerged victorious.

The tournament in Laško serves as a crucial step for the table tennis players as they prepare for the upcoming Paralympic World Qualification tournament in Pattaya, Thailand, from May 23rd to 25th.

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