Durban - South Africa’s number one men’s table tennis player says he is ready to represent the country at the World Table Tennis Championships in Durban next week.
Theo Cogill, 36, of Cape Town, won the South African Men’s Singles title in April by beating former champion Kurt Lingeveldt.
Cogill said he started playing table tennis at the age of 12. “I started playing at my primary school, EA Janari Primary, which is in Bonteheuwel in Cape Town. Then I started playing at a community centre, and thereafter I eventually joined a club.”
Cogill said he was excited and looking forward to representing the country in his 4th world championships, and to play in his home country.
He said he now competes as an able-bodied athlete and a paralympic athlete after surviving a life-threatening stab wound just before his 24th birthday.
“I had intervened in a fight outside a popular entertainment venue, when I ended up being the victim and rushed to the emergency room with a nasty stab wound to my neck.”
Cogill said that after the incident he thought he would not be able to play again due to severe damage to his spinal cord.
“I couldn’t walk for almost two years, so it was extremely tough getting back. I had to learn to walk again, taking tiny steps at a time, before I could even consider returning to the sport,” he said.
Cogill said he motivated himself to get through the situation.
“I was able to represent South Africa at the Tokyo Paralympic Games in 2021, which gave me immense pride. I am so excited that I can now represent my country in the World Table Tennis Championships. I am number one ranked in South Africa. My current work ranking is 191, which is currently the highest there has ever been in South Africa.”
The table tennis championships will take place from May 20 to 28 at the Durban Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre Complex.
The top 128 players in men’s and women’s singles will compete for the title of world champion.