Humanity above winning

The COVID-19 pandemic has truly changed our lives. In 2019, we had just concluded the first ever world table tennis championship for people with Parkinson’s disease (PD). This was a significant achievement. Since the establishment of PingPongParkinson®️ in 2017, we have been working to help the PD population through a novel, holistic rehabilitation approach that can address the needs of younger and less symptomatic individuals with Parkinson’s who are seeking a more active and enjoyable form of physical therapy.

For IDSDP this year, we will be highlighting the positive impact of playing table tennis for people with Parkinson’s, as experienced by our community of players, through this ‘Humanity Above Winning’ film.

“Since I restarted playing table tennis, I think I’m living my happiest life. You are a winner if you are a human first,” says Sunil Raghavan, ITTF Parkinson’s World Table Tennis Championship Player

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we adapted by embracing virtual reality technology as part of a new rehabilitation program. We will be hosting the inaugural Parkinson’s VR Championships on 11 April 2021, as we commemorate World Parkinson’s Day. 

“COVID-19 changed our lives for better and for worse. Let’s go beyond social distancing and extend friendships around the globe,” claims Nenad Bach, PingPongParkinson®️Founder.

Through the Parkinson’s Championships (VR championship and Parkinson’s World Table Tennis Championships), we continue to advocate for increased partnerships and collaboration between sport and the public health sector through sport therapy. Further, as we forge forward in this new normal, we harness the opportunities in digital therapeutics as well as investment in sport and development.

We also support sport being recognized as a contributor and driver for public policy good. In this perspective we are very happy that our PingPongParkinson®️ Brazil country chapter, led by Edmur Mesquita, has collaborated to assist with changes to legislation for people with Parkinson’s (PwP) in a country where there is expected to be 600,000 people with Parkinson’s by 2030.