International Events | 21 Aug 2024

Countdown to Para Table Tennis at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games

Para table tennis, one of the key highlights of the Paralympic program, will be hosted at the South Paris Arena, beginning on Thursday, August 29th, and wrapping up on Saturday, September 7th.

Over the course of 10 days, fans can expect continuous action, with two sessions daily—morning matches starting at 10:00 am and evening sessions at 5:00 pm. With such a packed schedule, Para table tennis is set to be one of the marquee sports of the Games, rivaling athletics, swimming, and sitting volleyball in terms of both scale and excitement.

Para table tennis debuted at the inaugural Games in Rome in 1960. Originally, the competition was reserved for wheelchair athletes, a format that remained until the 1976 Paralympics in Toronto, where standing classes were introduced. Today, the sport is divided into 11 classes, with lower numbers indicating athletes with more significant impairments.

In Paris, the singles events will feature competition in all 11 classes for men, while the women’s singles will see action in 10 classes, with classes 1 and 2 combined. Notably, the Paris 2024 Games will see the return of doubles events to the Paralympics for the first time since 1976. This includes two men’s doubles and two women’s doubles events for both wheelchair and standing athletes, along with one mixed doubles event in each category. However, class 11 athletes will not compete in doubles events.

Unlike previous Paralympic Games that featured a group stage followed by knockout rounds, this year’s competition will have a straight knockout format throughout. The events will kick off with the men’s, women’s, and mixed doubles, while the singles competitions for men and women will start on Sunday, September 1st.

A total of 181 athletes will compete for medals in Paris.