Paralympic Table Tennis

276 athletes compete for 29 gold medals

Table tennis as a Paralympic sport was introduced into the Olympic games, in two phases. Firstly, seated table tennis players were included in the early games in 1960; other disabled players were not able to compete in table tennis until the Toronto Paralympic games of 1976. It wasn't until 1980 it athletes with cerebral palsy were also able to play.

In 2000, Paralympic table tennis was extended to those with intellectual disability. With this new inclusion, table tennis is now one of the most widely available Paralympic sports for competitors with a range of different disabilities.

Regardless of disability, table tennis is played on a table which is 9 feet x 5 feet. It has a net in the middle and the object of the game is to hit the ball over the net to the other person's side without them being able to return it.

Each match consists of five sets and each set involves getting to 11 points. Service is changed every two points and it is the player who gets to 11 first who wins the set. As there are five sets, it is the first player to win three sets who wins the overall match. During the Paralympics there are knockout rounds until the two top players reach the final.

As with many other Paralympic sports, players are classed according to their level of disability and they play only against those in the same class. Within each class there are male and female competitors who are split into singles and doubles teams.