Jenson’s Statement of Intent
Hotly tipped going into competition, van Emburgh shrugged off his defeat in the final just days earlier at the Future competition by putting on an assured showing in the MS3 category.
The Tokyo 2020 medallist was forced to settle for silver just days earlier, competing in a double-header within the US capital. In that Future competition he was pipped to top spot by France’s Florian Merrien, but seemingly he used the frustration to drive himself a spot higher this time.
The US athlete shrugged off the Future loss to the Frenchman with a 3-1 victory in the semi-final, and he saw off Jang Yeonjin of Republic of Korea in the final with a 3-0 outcome. “I’m happy and it’s an honour to do it on home soil” van Emburgh told USA Table Tennis. “My mental is completely different (against Yeongjin) and I just try to play my best.”
For the hosts, it wasn’t just van Emburgh among the medals though. Ian Seidenfeld won bronze in the MS6, while Mingyu Zu won the same colour in the WS8.
The Will Bayley Show
Will Bayley. A name synonymous with our sport across his home nation of Great Britain and he just continues to thrive.
Not for the first time this year, Bayley ensured he’d be leaving an event with multiple gold medals – this time, it was three. First came individual success in the MS7, 3-0 in the final against Japan’s Kosuke Hemmi. But it was on finals day in the doubles where he went back-to-back.
MD14 success came in an all-British final, Bayley and Theo Bishop defeating Billy Shilton and Martin Perry. With Bly Twomey in XD14, he made it a double success as they beat Brazil’s Paulo Salmin and Lethicia Lacerda.
It all culminated with a trifecta of top spots, with MD14 success coming in an all-British final as Bayley and Theo Bishop defeated Billy Shilton and Martin Perry.
Big Performances in the Capital
The competition had reigning Paralympic champions at the heart of it, but the outcome was very much mixed as others stepped up to the plate. In the C4-5 category, C4
champion in Paris, Kim Young-Gun, was only able to reach the quarter-finals, with Valentin Baus striking perfectly throughout competition for an eventual gold. He saw off Jack Hunter-Spivey 3-0 in the final, a far more straightforward outing than their meeting earlier in competition when Baus recovered from 2-0 down for victory.
The MS11 final was a carbon copy of Paris 2024 – but the outcome wasn’t. Chen Po-Yen and Kim Gi Tae met as they resumed their enthralling head-to-head rivalry, but this time it was the man representing Chinese Taipei who took the title, Po-Yen a 3-0 victor in the final.
In the WS1-3, Jiyu Yoon (silver in WS3 in Paris) battled past Giada Rossi (gold in C1-2 in Paris) in the final, while Laurens Devos of Belgium overcame the young Ander Cepas in MS9.
On the other side of things, Natsuki Wada came out on top in the C11, finishing atop an all-Japan podium following a final victory over Kanami Furukawa. And Brazil’s young starlet, Sophia Kelmer, kept things going on her rapid rise to the top with another title here. The 17-year-old took WS8 victory and posting on Instagram, simply wrote “To infinity and beyond”.
Lovas and Riapos do it again
Slovakia’s finest do it again! Peter Lovas and Jan Riapos continued to excel in a competitive field, emerging as MD4 victors against Yeongjin Jang and Sang gu Jeong almost a year short of the Slovakian duos Paris success story.
Still to come in 2025
The ITTF Para circuit just keeps rolling around and in just under a month we head to Tokyo. From 10-12 September, the Japanese capital will host an ITTF Future event, while a month later it’s an Elite double. Sao Paulo (Brazil) and Yvelines (France) will welcome the very best from across our sport.
There is also the very exciting matter of the continental competitions to come too! At the end of September, the Oceania Championships will take place in Auckland (New Zealand. October is time for the Pan American (Sao Paulo) and Asian (Beijing) Championships too, with the best of Africa and Europe meeting in their respective competitions in November.
Recap the Action
You can head to our ITTF World YouTube channel to watch the action back from across four tables each day, while you can get a full list of results by visiting our website.