From November 26th, 2025 to November 30th, 2025 it was that time again.
The World Parkinson’s Table Tennis Championship, a world championship in table tennis for athletes suffering from Parkinson’s disease, was on the program.
This year it was held in Helsingborg, a beautiful small town in southern Sweden.
A total of around 200 players competed in 3 different classes.
Germany was represented by a total of 19 athletes, including 3 women and 16 men.
Jörg Ziaja from Schwelm, who plays table tennis for TV Rüggeberg, was also there in Sweden.
When he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2009 at the age of 39, playing table tennis was out of the question. However, the previous sports of gymnastics and badminton could no longer be practiced due to illness.
In 2019 the call came from his friend Christoph from Dortmund to set up a table tennis group for Parkis in his club.
“Without knowing what to expect, my curiosity was great and so I set off for Dortmund,” says the now 55-year-old.
Although table tennis is very different from previous sports, the enthusiasm for it and the ambition to play tournaments for people suffering from Parkinson’s disease were quickly aroused.
In 2022 he moved to TV Rüggeberg, which immediately welcomed him in a friendly manner to improve his training.
It is now the 4th World Cup for the 55 year old and he wanted to face this challenge again in singles, doubles and mixed doubles.
In the individual, he moved into the main round as group winner in a strong preliminary round with all games won.
The first round against France was also survived with a 3-0 win.
Having landed in the top 16, things got tough in the round of 16.
After being down 3:7 in the 4th set, the game was turned around and the 4th set ended 11:9 in his favor.
In the 5th set the opponent from Croatia won 11:13.
The only consolation was that it was the eventual world champion.
Things got exciting in the preliminary round with his doubles partner Horst Schunk from Oberhausen.
After a defeat against Austria, they won the game against Spain. Since there was only a group of 3, things got exciting after Spain won against Austria. Now everyone had a victory.
With a one set lead, Jörg and Horst reached second place and were therefore further into the main round.
Once they reached the semi-finals, they played a nice game that unfortunately ended in their opponent’s favor in the 5th set. So Jörg and Horst come home with a bronze medal.
Beate Höfelmeyer from Hamburg was Jörg’s mixed partner.
At first glance, a rather reserved person who quickly shows his strength with the bat in his hand.
After a few initial difficulties in the first game of the preliminary round, they ultimately defeated every opponent.
They continued to play in the same way until they reached the final.
Maik Gühmann from Germany and Negin Schaller from Austria, two good friends of the two, were the opponents in the final.
After two even sets the score was 1:1. The 3rd set then went to the opponents 3:11.
“There’s still something going on” were Jörg’s words during the break in the set and they actually forced the opponent into the 5th set.
When the change came at 5:3 it was just “we can do it”.
No sooner said than done, they achieved the gold medal and the World Championship title with an 11:8 victory.
Beate Höfelmeyer repeated this in women’s doubles and singles and thus achieved
3 gold medals. A great achievement that has rarely been achieved by Germany.
Of 19 athletes from Germany, 12 achieved at least one medal. A strong performance against the represented TT strongholds from France, Sweden and Denmark.
As always, it was a great tournament where contact with friends from all over the world was the top priority.
Another unforgettable moment was the surprise upon arrival home.
The club colleagues from TV Rüggeberg stood there at his home to welcome their world champion. A great gesture from a great team that you will never forget.
Many thanks to TV Rüggeberg, who is always there to help when it comes to organizing tournaments.
