| Table tennis at the IV Paralympic Games | |
|---|---|
 Paralympic Table tennis | |
Table tennis at the 1972 Summer Paralympics consisted of nineteen events, ten for men and nine for women.
| Table tennis at the IV Paralympic Games | |
|---|---|
| Paralympic Table tennis | |
Table tennis at the 1972 Summer Paralympics consisted of nineteen events, ten for men and nine for women.
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  West Germany (FRG) | 4 | 3 | 1 | 8 |
| 2 |  Austria (AUT) | 4 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
| 3 |  South Korea (KOR) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 4 |  Great Britain (GBR) | 2 | 4 | 8 | 14 |
| 5 |  Switzerland (SUI) | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| 6 |  Netherlands (NED) | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| 7 |  Italy (ITA) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 8 |  Israel (ISR) | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 9 |  Sweden (SWE) | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 10 |  France (FRA) | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
 United States (USA) | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | |
| 12 |  Hong Kong (HKG) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 13 |  Belgium (BEL) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 Ireland (IRL) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 15 |  Canada (CAN) | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 16 |  Norway (NOR) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Totals (16 entries) | 19 | 17 | 36 | 72 | |
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singles 1A | Aria de Vries-Noordam  Netherlands | Ursula Schatz  Switzerland | Demerakas Canada |
Mati Angel  Israel | |||
| Singles 1B | Rosa Sicari  Italy | Jane Blackburn  Great Britain | Tora Lysoe  Norway |
Tournier France | |||
| Singles 2 | Rosa Schweizer  Austria | Ilse Scharf Austria | Maguy Ramousse France |
| G. Matthews Great Britain | |||
| Singles 3 | Ingrid Voboril Austria | J. Swann Great Britain | Michal Escapa Israel |
| Gwen Buck Great Britain | |||
| Singles 4 | Carol Bryant Great Britain | L. Verbrauwe Belgium | Irene Schmidt Netherlands |
| O'Brien Great Britain | |||
| Doubles 1A-1B | Great Britain (GBR) Barbara Anderson Jane Blackburn | Norway (NOR) A. Klausen Tora Lysoe | Switzerland (SUI) Gilberte Brasey Ursula Schatz |
| Canada (CAN) Demerakas S. Long | |||
| Teams 2 | Austria (AUT) | Ireland (IRL) | United States (USA) |
| Great Britain (GBR) | |||
| Teams 3 | Austria (AUT) | Great Britain (GBR) | Canada (CAN) |
| United States (USA) | |||
| Teams 4 | Netherlands (NED) Loes Lekx Irene Schmidt | Sweden (SWE) | Austria (AUT) |
The 1972 Summer Paralympics, the fourth edition of the Paralympic Games, were held in Heidelberg, West Germany, from 2 to 11 August 1972. The games ended 15 days before the 1972 Summer Olympics held in Munich, also in West Germany.
Paralympic table tennis has been competed at every Summer Paralympic Games since they were first held in 1960. Men and women compete in singles and team events in ten different classes according to the extent of their disability.
Egypt has been participating in the Paralympic Games since 1972, and has participated in every edition of the Summer Games since then.
Borislava Perić-Ranković is a disabled Serbian table tennis player. She represented Serbia at the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Summer Paralympics in table tennis, winning one gold and three silver medals. She competes in the disability class 4. In the 2016 Summer Paralympics she won her first Paralympic gold medal in the individual class 4 competition, defeating China's Zhang Miao in the finals. At the 2020 Summer Paralympics, she won a bronze medal.
Independent Paralympic participants were athletes from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia at the 1992 Summer Paralympics in Barcelona. Athletes from the parts of Yugoslavia still terming themselves "Yugoslavia" had competed as "independent Olympic participants" at the 1992 Summer Olympics, also hosted by Barcelona. They were not permitted to participate as "Yugoslavia", due to United Nations Security Council Resolution 757 placing sanctions on the country. The International Paralympic Committee thus recognises Yugoslavia's participation in the Paralympics from 1972 to 1988 and from 1996 to 2000 inclusive, but not in 1992, where its athletes officially belonged to no national delegation.
Peru made its Paralympic Games début at the 1972 Summer Paralympics in Heidelberg, with a single representative to compete in swimming. It sent two competitors to the 1976 Summer Paralympics, then was absent for two decades, before returning in 1996 with a three-man delegation. It has participated in every subsequent edition of the Summer Paralympics, but has never taken part in the Winter Paralympics.
Hong Kong made its Paralympic Games début at the 1972 Summer Paralympics in Heidelberg, and has taken part in every subsequent edition of the Summer Paralympics. It has never participated in the Winter Paralympics.
Absent at the inaugural Paralympic Games in 1960 in Rome, Japan made its Paralympic debut by hosting the 1964 Games in Tokyo. The country has participated in every subsequent edition of the Summer Paralympics, and in every edition of the Winter Paralympics since the first in 1976. It has hosted the Paralympic Games twice, with Tokyo hosting the 1964 Summer Games, and Nagano the 1998 Winter Paralympics.The next Summer Paralympics in 2020 was held again in Tokyo. Japan is represented by the Japan Paralympic Committee.
The Philippines made its Paralympic Games debut at the 1988 Summer Paralympics in Seoul and has been fielding athletes up to the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro. Its athletes has won two bronze medals; Adeline Dumapong in powerlifting (2000), and Josephine Medina in table tennis (2016). The country has never won a Paralympic gold medal.
Finland competed at the 1972 Summer Paralympics in Heidelberg. It was the country's third participation in the Paralympics, and it sent a significantly larger delegation than for the previous Games. In 1960 and in 1968, it had been represented by a single athlete; for the Heidelberg Games, it sent 24 athletes to compete in five sports: archery, athletics, swimming, table tennis and weightlifting. This was the first time Finnish women had competed at the Paralympics.
Romania made its Paralympic Games début at the 1972 Summer Paralympics in Heidelberg, sending a single representative to compete in table tennis. He was eliminated in his first match. The country was then absent from the Paralympics until the 1996 Summer Games, where it was again represented by a single competitor. Romania was represented again by just one athlete in 2000, and two in 2004, but sent a larger delegation of five athletes to the 2008 Summer Games. It first participated in the Winter Games in 2010. Its sole representative was Laura Valeanu, who entered two events in alpine skiing.
The 21st International Stoke Mandeville Games, later known as the 1972 Summer Paralympics was an international multi-sport event held in Heidelberg, West Germany, from August 2 to 11, 1972, in which athletes with physical disabilities competed against one another. The German Disabled Sports Association planned to stage the Games in Munich following the 1972 Olympic Games, however the Olympic village in Munich was designated to be closed and converted into private apartments. The organisers tried to arrange for alternative accommodation for the athletes but when this was not possible the city of Heidelberg stepped in with an invite to stage the Games at the University of Heidelberg's Institute for Physical Training.
Michal Escapa is a former Israeli Paralympic champion.
Anna-Carin Ahlquist is a Swedish in wheelchair table tennis player and paralympic champion. Ahlquist represented Sweden at the 2008, 2012, 2016 Summer Paralympics, and 2020 Summer Paralympics.
Table tennis at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio took place in September 2016. 276 athletes – 174 men and 102 women – are scheduled to compete in 29 events. Table tennis events have been held at the Paralympics since the first Games in Rome in 1960. Team events will feature contests consisting of one doubles and two singles matches.
Monique Kalkman-Van den Bosch is a Dutch former professional wheelchair tennis and table tennis player. Monique competed at the Paralympics in 1984, 1988, 1992 and 1996. In 2017, she was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Jennifer Ellen Johnson née Brown is a former wheelchair basketball player and a para table tennis player. She developed polio at the age of five in Jamaica. She has represented Jamaica at the Paralympics from 1968 to 1980 and then represented the United States at the Paralympics from 1984 to 2004. She was married to Denton Johnson before his death.
Rosa Sicari is an Italian Paralympian.
Ruth Lamsbach is a German paralympic athlete and multiple medalist at the Paralympic Games.
