The International Table Tennis Tournament for People with Disabilities was held last weekend in Cetniewo. As the tournament was another qualifier for the Olympic Games in Beijing, it attracted a record number of participants. Table tennis powerhouses from China, Japan, Sweden, Finland and Great Britain entered the competition; representatives of 22 countries were present in total. Poland was represented in the team tournament by Waldemar Krzemiński and Andrzej Kwiatkowski of TOP Bolesławiec, and Mirosław Kowalski from Radom.
The Polish team defeated the Netherlands 3:1 and lost to Sweden 0:3. In the match for advancement to the final, they dramatically lost 3:2 to the Danish team, the European team champions. The match unfolded dramatically. Our players lost despite having two set points. Ultimately, the team finished fourth.
The individual tournament was held after the team competition. It was attended by 155 competitors. After two days of competition, Waldemar Krzemiński won fifth place, while Andrzej Kwiatkowski finished eighth. In September, the competitors from Bolesławiec will face another test of their abilities. The World Championships will be held in Switzerland at that time.
(information provided by R. Tomczyk)