Yannick Paredis from Budel proves that having a disability does not mean you have to stop dreaming about a top sports career. The 21-year-old table tennis player has a brain disorder, but is passionate about his sport full-time. From Thursday he will participate in the European Championships for para-table tennis, where he hopes to reach at least the quarter-finals. A conversation about brain stimulation, cramps and his big goal: the Paralympic Games in Los Angeles.
The hospital is a place where Yannick regularly visited as a child. The first symptoms of dystonia were noticed at the age of 5. Due to this brain disorder, he suffers from a disorder in the control of the muscles. At the age of eight he went under the knife at the UMC Groningen, during which he received deep brain stimulation. Electrical pulses are sent to his brain, causing him to suffer less from movement disorders. The brain disorder does affect his speech.
Yannick goes to a mytyl school from group 4, a special school for children with disabilities. In his spare time he enjoys playing football. Table tennis came his way through his father. “I sometimes said to him laughingly that I thought it was a camping sport. But when I started doing it myself, I liked it and I had a talent for it.” According to him, the idea of a camping sport is still with many people. “But when they see us in action, they are surprised by the level,” he says.
Table tennis is going to play an increasingly important role in his life. And when he is just 16, he gets the chance to live and train at Sports Center Papendal. He combines this with the Sports Science course. “In the beginning it took some getting used to only seeing my parents at the weekend. But I never had any problems, I actually found my own place quite relaxing.”
“That occasionally causes frustration, but I can’t do anything about it.”
Yannick now trains every day during the week with the Dutch selection. And at the weekend he plays in the regular competition with his association Taverbo from Boxtel. Physically, things have been stable in recent years: “I regularly had cramps in my right arm, so I had to use my left hand during a rally. The cramp is less bad now, but I am a little less mobile at the table,” he explains. Controlling his muscles also becomes more difficult when he is tired: “That occasionally causes frustration, but I can’t do anything about it.”
Paredis is in fifteenth place in the world rankings in his category. At the European Championships in Helsingborg, Sweden, which starts this Thursday, he is seeded ninth. “It is the second time that I have been allowed to go to the European Championships. On my debut I was too impressed. Now the quarter-finals is my goal, and from there I will look further. There are many good players, but we can all beat each other.”
Paredis also participates in doubles and mixed doubles at the European Championships. His ultimate goal is to participate in the 2028 Paralympic Games in Los Angeles. Yannick is confident that he will make it to LA, but it will be a process with its fair share of challenges. “I receive compensation from the association, but not yet full support,” he explains.
He calls the search for sponsors quite difficult, because his sport is not very well known: “That is why I am dependent on them sponsor who grant it to me. With them I will fully pursue my sporting dream.”