The French men’s and women’s teams took two historic titles at the 2017 International Federation for Intellectual Impairment Sport (World Intellectual Impairment Sport) World Table Tennis Championships on Monday (23 October), securing the first titles for players with Down’s syndrome.

Lucille Poquet, Camille Frson, Celine Delalande and Carole Hennion were the victors in the women’s on the opening day of competition in Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic.

They overcame the Egyptian side of Norhan Aboutale and Nermen Abdelhafez 3-0.

There was similar success for the French men. Cedric Courrillaud, Ludovic Morainville, Jean Bachevillier and Alexandre Sol also beat Egypt 3-0. Kareem Elzeiny and Mazen Elsamay proved no match for their opponents.

The Championships in Hradec Kralove are the first World Intellectual Impairment Sport competition to feature the new trial eligibility groups of Down’s syndrome and autism.

The new categories join the existing classification of players with an intellectual impairment where matches were also played on Monday.

Hong Kong’s Paralympic bronze medallist Mui Wui Ng and teammates Hiu Tung Li and Pui Kei Wong claimed gold in the women’s junior team competition.

They triumphed over hosts Czech Republic featuring Jana Feixova and Denisa Macurova, 3-0.

Away from the medal matches the men’s team and men’s junior competition for players with intellectual impairments got underway.

Defending champions France won their opening group games against Egypt and Austria, both 3-0, to advance to the next round.

Hong Kong beat Thailand 3-0 in the men’s junior competition.

Hradec Kralove 2017 runs until 27 October.

News and updates will be available at the World Intellectual Impairment Sport website (www.inas.org) and Facebook and Twitter.

Full results are available at the competition website.

About World Intellectual Impairment Sport

World Intellectual Impairment Sport represents more than 300,000 athletes with intellectual impairments around the world. We give elite athletes the chance to compete at an international level and on the Paralympic stage. But we cannot continue our work towards the inclusion of the people with intellectual impairments in society without your support.

We are a registered charity and your help can make a big difference. Find out more