Seidenfeld and Leibovitz End Para Doubles MD18 Bid in Round of 32

PARIS, France, August 29th, 2024 – On the first day of table tennis competition at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, Team USA’s Tahl Leibovitz and Ian Seidenfeld paired up for Men’s Doubles Class 18. The classes for doubles are determined by the combined classification of the two players.  The Paris 2024 Games marked the first time since Toronto 1976 that doubles events had been held in Paralympic Table Tennis.

Seidenfeld (23) and Leibovitz (49), began their Paralympic careers well after the pause on para table tennis doubles. The two former Para Men’s Singles gold medalists were eager to enter the resurrected Paralympic event.

“We had a lot of doubles events before it was taken away, now they have it back again, and I think it’s a great event. We have all these athletes, every single person here is fantastic, so I think the doubles is a really good addition.” – Tahl Leibovitz

Seidenfeld and Leibovitz delivered a strong performance in the round of 32 against China’s Liu Chaodong and Zhao Yiqing in the MD18 classification. Although the United States duo lost in three games, each game was closely contested, with each game separated by fewer than four points. Despite the defeat, Seidenfeld was still able to see the undesired result in positive light.

“I think we were just a couple misses away from winning at least one of those games. We just needed to be a little bit tighter, and given that they were such a strong team, I think that’s a positive note. I felt like played really well, I’m confident going into singles." – Ian Seidenfeld

Although Team USA’s run in the MD18 competition has ended, it provided valuable experience for the players as they now focus on their singles events.

Next on the schedule for the 2024 U.S. Para Table Tennis Team is the Men’s Singles competition at South Paris Arena 4, where all three US men are medal contenders.

Jenson Van Emburgh

MS3 Round of 16

10 AM – 2:30 PM (GMT+2)

Ian Seidenfeld

MS6 Round of 16

10 AM – 2:30 PM (GMT+2)

Tahl Leibovitz

MS9 Round of 16

10 AM – 3 PM (GMT+2)