Jonah Kahn (51) and his son Ivan Kahn (15) took part in the table tennis championships last weekend. The team from Amsterdam could meet in the semifinals, but Jonah stranded in the second round and Ivan in the quarterfinals. “I prefer not to play against my father,” said Ivan.
Logically, Ivan came into contact with table tennis at a young age. “When I was two or three, my father and mother bought such a shelf at IKEA. They stuck it on the kitchen table. Just put it on and then we went to play,” says Ivan.
At the kitchen table, table tennis is therefore a regular topic of conversation with the Kahn family. Not everyone is happy about that. “At a certain point at the dining table it is only about table tennis. That drives my sister completely crazy,” says a smiling Ivan.
Oldies vs. youngsters
During the Dutch Championship, Jonah Kahn was not the only fifty-something who was present. Trinko Keen, 51, also participated. Last year Keen became Dutch champion, but this weekend he stranded in the semi-finals. “The youth is not yet strong enough to make it impossible for people in their fifties to participate in the Dutch National Championships. You don’t see that in other countries. That is writing on the wall,” says Jonah Kahn.
NH Sport was present in Zwolle on Sunday and followed Jonah and Ivan during the last day of the Dutch Championship.