Denmark’s Peter Rosenmeier and Thailand’s Rungroj Thainiyom will compete in the same singles category at the para table tennis worlds.
Pattaya hosts the championships from 13 to 19 November. The confirmed entry lists also feature players from Finland, Norway, Malaysia and Indonesia.
ScandAsia previously reported on Sweden’s six-player squad. Here are more players to follow when competition begins in Thailand.
How the competition classes work
Players compete in classes based on how their impairment affects movement, balance and control at the table. This helps ensure fair competition.
Classes 1–5 are for wheelchair players. Classes 6–10 are for standing players with physical impairments.
Within each group, lower numbers generally indicate greater limitations. Class 11 is for players with intellectual impairments.
Some events combine classes, such as classes 4 and 5. The numbers describe how an impairment affects play, rather than a player’s sporting level.
Danish pair could meet Nordic and Thai rivals
Rosenmeier will compete in men’s class 6 singles. Fellow Dane Freja Juhl Larsen will play in women’s class 8.
Rosenmeier and Larsen will also partner in mixed doubles. Their category includes Thailand’s Thainiyom and Kanlaya Chaiwut-Kriabklang.
Norway’s Krizander Magnussen and Nora Korneliussen will compete in the same category. So will Sweden’s Emil Andersson and Cajsa Stadler.
These entries create possible Nordic–Thai encounters. However, the entry lists do not show who will face whom.
Finnish wheelchair players enter singles and doubles
Finland’s Aino Tapola will compete in women’s class 1 singles. Timo Natunen will play in men’s class 1.
The Finnish pair will also compete together in wheelchair mixed doubles.
Meanwhile, Norway’s Tommy Urhaug will play in the combined men’s class 4–5 singles event.
Magnussen and Korneliussen will compete in men’s and women’s class 7 respectively. Both will also play mixed doubles.
Southeast Asian players to follow
Thailand’s Wanchai Chaiwut will compete in the combined men’s class 4–5 wheelchair event. He shares the category with Urhaug and Sweden’s David Olsson and Isak Nyholm.
Chalermpong Punpoo will play in men’s class 7 alongside Magnussen and Sweden’s Sam Gustafsson.
Other confirmed Thai singles players include Yuttajak Glinbanchuen, Phimolphan Deekam, Suthida Saensathan and Patamawadee Intanon.
Dararat Asayut, Wijittra Jaion, Wassana Sringam and Chaiwut-Kriabklang also feature in the lists.
Malaysia’s Jennahtul Fahmi Ahmad Jennah and Mohd Hzlin Abdullah will compete in men’s class 11. They will also partner in men’s doubles for players with intellectual impairments.
Their compatriot Gloria Gracia Wong Sze will play in women’s class 10. Sweden’s Anja Händén will compete in the same category.
Indonesia’s Leli Marlina will contest the combined women’s class 4–5 wheelchair event.
PEACH, the Pattaya Exhibition and Convention Hall, will host the championships. Players will compete for medals in singles, doubles and mixed doubles.
Sources: ITTF, Norwegian Table Tennis Association
