(BY TINA HUYNH)
Jenson Van Emburgh Takes More Medals on his Paralympic Journey
Jenson Van Emburgh, a seventeen-year-old Class 3 para table tennis player from Florida, excelled in the ITTF Para Table Tennis Tournament September 6-10, 2017 in Ostrava, Czech Republic. He achieved a bronze medal in singles after winning against many competitive, high-level players in tough matches, and only lost to Welder Knaf, a world ranked number ten player from Brazil. It was a very close loss, only by two points on the fifth match of the semi-final game. Van Emburgh also won a silver medal in team in this tournament.
The result adds to a growing collection of superb results from the talented Van Emburgh who, this year alone, has added some significant achievements to his resume. The Czech Para open result is significant in that it was the final para event ahead of the European Para Championships and drew a high level of competition for players doing their last preparation. Taking two medals away from this event is an outstanding achievement for Jenson.
Carrying spinal cord injury at T-1, Van Emburgh started playing when he was nine after one of his brother’s tennis tournament.
“I wasn’t very good at tennis due to how disabled I am and wanted to find a sport that would be more of a fair playing ground and found table tennis was it,” he said.
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