How Jenny Parinos Got Her Start in Para Table Tennis
At age 12, urged by an athlete neighbor, the table tennis player discovered the sport at Saldanha in Santos.
Paralympic table tennis player Jenny Parinos recalled transitioning from casual ping-pong games at her apartment complex to high-performance sports. Encouraged by a neighbor who competed at the Beijing 2008 Games, she took her first steps in table tennis at age 12.
Before establishing herself as one of the country's top names in the sport, Jenny Parinos saw the paddle merely as everyday entertainment. At age 12, her experience was limited to recreational ping-pong matches at school and in the common areas of her apartment building, with no sporting ambitions whatsoever.
Her journey toward high performance began thanks to a neighbor who was already a professional athlete and had competed in the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games. Noticing the young girl playing, the neighbor spent about a month insisting that Jenny check out structured para table tennis. The final nudge came from her own parents, who suggested she go just to put an end to the persistence.
Brought to the historic Saldanha club in Santos—where she still trains today—her first contact with the sport made an immediate impact. Accustomed only to the casual pace of ping-pong, she was suddenly confronted with the speed, technique, and intense dynamics of professional athletes in action.
Curiosity about her own potential instantly turned into motivation. After a first training session to see if she could keep up with the fast-paced game, Jenny returned the next day, the following week, and never stopped, launching her career at the tables right then and there.
