Team USA participated at the 2010 ITTF Para Table Tennis World Championships – US men reached the quarter finals in Teams and in Class Singles events!
Submitted by: Daniel Rutenberg – USATT Paralympic National Team Coach
November 2010

Gwangju, South Korea – The US Paralympic National Table Tennis team participated at the 2010 ITT Para Table Tennis World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea from October 25^th through November 3^rd, 2010.

The members of the 2010 US Paralympic National Table Tennis Team that participated at the World Championships included: Pamela Fontaine (Double Oak, TX); James Segrest (Ft Worth, TX), Tahl Leibovitz (Ozone Park, NY) and Mitchell Seidenfeld (Minneapolis, MN). The team was supported by Head Coach & Team Leader Daniel Rutenberg (Frisco, TX) and Team Assistant Mike Meier (Seoul, South Korea).

The 2010 ITTF Para Table Tennis World Championships featured Open Wheelchair and Standing events, Class Singles and Team category events.  It included the best 296 Para Table Tennis players from all over the world representing 46 countries. 

In the Open Standing event Tahl Leibovitz reached the quarter finals after a tough draw and close match against the eventual winner, the Spaniard Jose Manuel Ruiz. However, finishing in the top 8 in the World is a very good result.

In Class Singles, both Mitchell Seidenfeld and Tahl Leiobovitz reached quarter finals in their respective Classes 7 and 9.

Mitch came out 1^st of his group in Class 7.  Then, he faced the British Paul Karabardak winning 3-0 despite getting injured in the last game towards the end of that match.  The injury cost Mitch the passing for medal contention against the Spaniard Jordi Morales 1:3. Mr. Morales ended winning the Silver medal in Class 7.  Very good results despite of Mitch’s injury, he never gave up!

Tahl also won all his matches coming out of his group 1^st in Class 9.  Tahl defeated 3-0 Andreas Aulie of Norway reaching the quarter finals.  Then, in a close match 2-3 (despite of being up 2-0) against Gerben Last from The Netherlands was the end of the road for Leibovitz in the Class 9 Singles.  Job well done Tahl!

Pamela Fontaine (Class 3) and James Segrest (Class 2) had very close matches in their groups, but unfortunately didn’t advance to the next rounds in their Classes.  However, their participation and experience give both grounds to get much better for future events!  They both played with commitment and focus for the entire tournament and it was great to see them pushing their opponents and increasing their international competition experience.

In Men’s Team event Tahl and Mitch played in Class 9. They played in the quarter finals against the French Team with a 2-3 loss (leading 2-0) in the key doubles match was very close and another chance for medal for Team USA.

“Despite tough draws and injury of one of our players our team did very well,” said Coach Rutenberg.  “I couldn’t be more proud of this team, the way they fought in every point, game, match and event!  I’m very pleased with the performance and results of our athletes. It was really a privilege to have 4 of our greatest Para Table Tennis players representing the USA against the very best Para Table Tennis payers from around the world,” he added.

Each member of the team has learned invaluable experience through this World Championships.  Hopefully, this will serve to all of us as a strong foundation to build from as we move forward to 2011 for the Regional Championships and then the Paralympic Games in 2012!

ITTF PTT, the Organizing Committee and the City of Gwangju did a great job hosting the tournament.  The venue was Yeomju Sport Complex.

A special thanks to Mike Meier for the invaluable help and unconditional support to the team while in South Korea!

For complete tournament results please go to: http://www.ipttc.org/results/international/2010/worldchampionships/details/

The U.S. Paralympic National Team expresses its gratitude to USATT for their support and help for this tournament.  Also, we want to thank Li-Ning for their generosity for the team uniforms and gear!

Paralympic table tennis is separated into 10 classes depending on player’s disability.  Classes 1 to 5 are for players seated on wheelchairs while classes 6 to 10 are for standing competitors. The smaller the number is in the class, the more severe their disabilities are.  For more information on U.S. Para Table Tennis please visit: www.usatt.org.

TEAM USA RESULTS – SUMMARY

TAHL LEIBOVITZ (Class 9)

RECORD:

Win Matches: 9

Lost Matches: 2

Open Standing Class (OM6-10)

90 Players – Single Eliminations

293~USA~LEIBOVITZ,Tahl defeated 61~DEN~ROSENMEIER,Peter 3:0 (7,7,7)

293~USA~LEIBOVITZ,Tahl defeated 256~SVK~CSEJTEY,Richard 3:0 (11,2,9)

Top 32

293~USA~LEIBOVITZ,Tahl defeated 216~NOR~AULIE,Andreas 3:0 (9,9,8)

Round of 16:

293~USA~LEIBOVITZ,Tahl defeated 137~HUN~BERECZKI,Dezso 3:1 (-12,6,4,10)

Quarter Finals

74~ESP~RUIZ,Jose Manuel defeated 293~USA~LEIBOVITZ,Tahl 0:3 (-9,-7,-9)

Single Class 9

18 Players – 6 Groups  (Round Robin)

SM9 Group E

293~USA~LEIBOVITZ,Tahl defeated 136~HUN~ZBORAI,Gyula 3:0 (9,2,7)

293~USA~LEIBOVITZ,Tahl defeated 67~EGY~HOSNY AFIFI,Hossam 3:0 (9,6,8)

Round of 16: (Single Eliminations)

293~USA~LEIBOVITZ,Tahl defeated 216~NOR~AULIE,Andreas 3:0 (18,8,8)

Quarter Finals: (Single Eliminations)

208~NED~LAST,Gerben defeated 293~USA~LEIBOVITZ,Tahl 2:3 (7,10,-8,-8,-12)

Teams Class 9 (TM9) – Teammate Mitchell Seidenfeld

Quarter Finals: (Single Eliminations)

293~USA~LEIBOVITZ,Tahl defeated 104~FRA~BOUVAIS,Thomas 3:1 (-11,8,4,8)

293~USA~LEIBOVITZ,Tahl defeated 103~FRA~BELLAIS,FRederic 3:0 (8,11,9)

Doubles

DL	293~USA~LEIBOVITZ,Tahl	DL	104~FRA~BOUVAIS,Thomas	2:3 ; 8,9,-9,-9,-5
	292~USA~SEIDENFELD,Mitchell		103~FRA~BELLAIS,Frederic

MITCHELL SEIDENFELD (Class 7)

RECORD:

Win Matches: 5

Lost Matches: 4

Open Standing Class (OM6-10)

90 Players – Single Eliminations

292~USA~SEIDENFELD,Mitchell defeated 145~ISR~GOFER,Asaf 3:1 (-6,10,7,6)

292~USA~SEIDENFELD,Mitchell defeated 136~HUN~ZBORAI,Gyula 3:1 (-8,7,10,6)

Top 32

258~SVK~GASPAR,Ladislav defeated 292~USA~SEIDENFELD,Mitchell 0:3 (-4,-8,-6)

Single Class 7

18 Players – 6 Groups (Round Robin)

SM7 Group F

292~USA~SEIDENFELD,Mitchell defeated 115~GBR~BAYLEY,William 3:0 (12,-10,7,11)

292~USA~SEIDENFELD,Mitchell defeated 58~CZE~HORUT,Daniel 3:1 (11,-3,8,9)

Round of 16: (Single Eliminations)

292~USA~SEIDENFELD,Mitchell defeated 116~GBR~KARABARDAK,Paul 3:0 (13,5,7)

Quarter Finals: (Single Eliminations)

73~ESP~MORALES,Jordi defeated 292~USA~SEIDENFELD,Mitchell 1:3 (-6,4,-10,-12)

Teams Class 9 (TM9) – Teammate Tahl Leibovitz

Quarter Finals: (Single Eliminations)

103~FRA~BELLAIS,FRederic defeated 292~USA~SEIDENFELD,Mitchell 0:3 (-5,-4,-2)

104~FRA~BOUVAIS,Thomas defeated 292~USA~SEIDENFELD,Mitchell 0:3 (-9,-4,-7)

Doubles

DL	293~USA~LEIBOVITZ,Tahl	DL	104~FRA~BOUVAIS,Thomas	2:3 ; 8,9,-9,-9,-5
	292~USA~SEIDENFELD,Mitchell		103~FRA~BELLAIS,Frederic

PAMELA FONTAINE (Class 3)

RECORD:

Win Matches: 0

Lost Matches: 3

Open Wheelchair Class (OF1-5)

64 Players – Single Eliminations

212~NGR~ABIORA,Chinenye defeated 290~USA~FONTAINE,Pamela 1:3 (5,-8-11-6)

Single Class 3

24 Players – 8 Groups (Round Robin)

SF3 Group C

249~SVK~KANOVA,Alena defeated 290~USA~FONTAINE,Pamela 0:3 (-9,-2,-6)

281~TUR~ALTINTAS,Nergiz defeated 290~USA~FONTAINE,Pamela 2:3 (11,-10,-7,6,-8)

JAMES SEGREST (Class 2)

RECORD:

Win Matches: 0

Lost Matches: 3

Open Wheelchair Class (OM1-5)

101 Players – Single Eliminations

91~FRA~ROBIN,Jean-Philippe defeated 291~USA~SEGREST,James 0:3 (-2,-7,-4)

Single Class 2

18 Players – 6 Groups (Round Robin)

SM2 Group B

11~AUT~RUEP,Hans defeated 291~USA~SEGREST,James 0:3 (-4,-9,-6)

185~KOR~KIM,Gong Yong defeated 291~USA~SEGREST,James 0:3 (-7,-2,-7)

TEAM USA at the 2010 ITTF Para Table Tennis World Championships
Gwangju, South Korea
October 25 – November 3, 2010
Front row (L-R): James Segrest, Mitchell Seidenfeld and Pamela Fontaine
Back row (L-R): Mike Meier, Tahl Leibovitz and Daniel Rutenberg