Chile's Para Table Tennis Team Sets Record with Eight Qualifiers for 2026 World Championships

The International Table Tennis Federation announced that eight Chilean para‑table‑tennis athletes have qualified for the 2026 World Championships in Pattaya, Thailand, to be held from 23 to 29 November. The qualifiers earned their spots through continental championship allocations and ITTF world rankings, including world‑number‑one Ignacio Torres (class 6) and Matías Pino of Rengo (class 6). The team also features Manuel Echaveguren, Florencia Pérez, Claudio Bahamondes, Luis Flores, Tamara Leonelli and Vicente Leiva, all of whom won titles at the 2025 Parapan American Games.

The eight‑member squad, the largest Chile has ever sent to a para‑table‑tennis world event, will compete in singles, men’s doubles and mixed doubles. Head coach Francisco Carrasco highlighted the historic size of the delegation and the realistic chance of winning medals, noting the sustained training program and support from the Chilean Paralympic Committee and national sports bodies. The team aims to improve on its best past results – quarter‑final appearances in 2018 and 2022 – and to secure Chile’s first world‑championship medals in the sport.