Second press conference of PPP Austria
At the second press conference of the LOC (local organising committee) of PPP Austria on Friday, 08.09.2023, at the Hotel Ibis in Wels, moderator David Huber and organiser Irmgard Plank, who acted as interpreter here, reported on the state of preparations and welcomed to the podium Hermine Hofner, the 1. chairwoman of the association, and Hans Friedinger, president of the Upper Austrian Table Tennis Association, as well as other representatives of regional politics, sponsors and the local table tennis league club SPG Felbermayr Wels, which actively supports the event, who in turn addressed the audience with greetings.
Everyone was looking forward to the World Championships, which will not only be the world’s largest table tennis tournament for people with Parkinson’s disease with about 300 participants and about 400 accompanying persons, but also the first ever sporting World Championships in Wels. Several speakers at the one-hour event emphasised the disease-reducing aspect of table tennis for those affected and wished not only the event a good success, but also the athletes personal success and, above all, fun during their participation.
About half of Team Austria also presented the uniform jerseys in which the 38 athletes from Austria will compete in Wels. The interested media representatives also asked a few questions about the tournament schedule and were surprised by the high number of daily matches in the preliminary rounds. The organising team is looking forward to numerous visitors and the start of the World Cup!