Two-time Paralympian Colin Judge will represent Ireland at the ITTF World Para Table Tennis Championships in Pattaya, Thailand, from tomorrow, 13th to 19th November.
He flew out after delivering an engaging and thought-provoking contribution to the Sport Ireland Institute’s Athlete Friendly Employer Network event in Dublin last Friday.
The Blackrock athlete has qualified through his world ranking for the Men’s Singles Class 3 competition, where he will face some of the world’s leading players.
Judge has enjoyed an impressive international season, securing silver at the World Para Future event in Aktobe, Kazakhstan, and bronze at the World Para Challenger in Spokane, United States.
A member of Blackrock Table Tennis Club, he represented Ireland at the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, carrying the Irish flag alongside Orla Comerford at the Opening Ceremony in Paris.
His international achievements include a European Class 2 title in 2017 and European Class 3 bronze in 2023, following his reclassification in 2018.
Among his potential opponents in Pattaya are China’s Feng Panfeng, Germany’s Thomas Schmidberger and the United States’ Jenson Van Emburgh.
“Colin has been an outstanding ambassador for Irish table tennis for many years, ” said David McNally, CEO of Table Tennis Ireland. “His results this season show he is competing at the very highest level. The World Championships are a fantastic opportunity for him to test himself against the best in his class, and everyone at Table Tennis Ireland wishes him the very best in Pattaya.”
More Than Medals
Judge was one of the standout contributors at last Friday’s Sport Ireland Institute Athlete Friendly Employer Network breakfast, where he joined fellow Olympian Jack Woolley in a conversation hosted by RTÉ’s Darren Frehill.
Speaking about the challenges of adapting to a change in sporting classification, rebuilding confidence and developing an identity beyond competition, Judge said, “You’ve got to be brave in the beginning.”
“Just because I failed at something doesn’t mean that I can’t do it. It just means that I haven’t figured it out yet.”
Read our full report: More Than Medals: The People and Potential Behind Irish Sport.
Sport for Business Perspective
Judge’s journey illustrates the wider value of investment in high-performance athletes, particularly in sports that receive relatively limited commercial attention.
His achievements on the international stage have been matched by an ability to communicate the lessons of elite competition to audiences beyond sport.
That combination of sporting excellence, personal resilience and communication skills is precisely what the Sport Ireland Institute’s Athlete Friendly Employer Network seeks to highlight.
For potential commercial partners, Judge represents an opportunity to support Irish para sport while engaging with an athlete whose influence extends well beyond the table tennis arena.
His appearance at the World Championships this week provides another opportunity to showcase both his sporting ability and the broader contribution of Ireland’s Paralympic athletes.
Paralympics Ireland and Table Tennis Ireland are full members of the Sport for Business Community. If you would like to join them and see your organisation in our content, on our stages, and in the daily conversation around the commercial world of Irish Sport, email us today and let’s see what is possible.
Image Credit: Paralympics Ireland
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