Panathinaikos (table tennis club)
| Nicknames | The Trifolium Vazeli |
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| Founded | 1924 |
| Based in | Athens, Greece |
| Stadium | Leoforos Alexandras Stadium |
| President | Dimitris Vranopoulos |
| Head coach | Lefteris Makras Nikos Zervas |
| Website | pao1908.com pao1908.com |
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The table tennis department of Panathinaikos A.O. was founded in 1924 by player Nikos Mantzaroglou. Through the next decades Panathinaikos became one of the best table tennis teams in Greece with a lot of successes in both men and women.
In 1974, the men's team had its biggest success in the European competitions. In the ETTU Cup, Panathinaikos passed Turnerschaft Innsbruck, Centro Sportivo Milano, TTC Rot-Weiß Hamburg and reached the semi-finals, where they were disqualified by Hertha BSC Berlin.
History
The table tennis department of Panathinaikos A.O. was founded in 1939, led by table tennis instructor Nikos Mantzaroglou.
The first official men’s title for Panathinaikos came in 1951, and since then the “Greens” have been among the dominant forces, particularly throughout the 1960s.
In 1974, the men’s team reached the semifinals of the Cup Winners’ Cup, while over the years many of its players became Balkan and Mediterranean champions.
In 2001, Panathinaikos found itself in the B’ Division of Attica, and a renewal process was initiated — gradually restoring the department to its rightful place among the country’s top clubs.
One of the women’s team’s best seasons was in 1972, when the squad captured three official titles: the Greek Championship (Overall Standings), the Greek Championship (Women’s Division), and the Greek Cup. However, the landmark year came in 2022, when the women’s team won the Europe Trophy, a historic international triumph.
The 1974 season is considered the pinnacle year for the department, with the men’s team consisting of Priftis, Kostopoulos, Kolymbadis, and the Makris brothers.
Panathinaikos successively eliminated Innsbruck (5–1), Centro Sportivo Milano (5–0), and Rot-Weiss Hamburg (5–4) at the Sporting indoor hall, becoming the first Greek team ever to reach the semifinals of a European competition.
In the semifinals, Panathinaikos faced Hertha Berlin, from which it was eliminated with a 5–3 score. It is also worth noting that in the same year, the “Shamrock” captured the Cities Cup title.
Honours
- Greek Clubs' Championship, Men (12):
- 1951, 1952, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1966, 1968, 1975
- Greek Clubs' Championship, Women (3):
- 1972, 1973, 1974
- Greek Cup, Men (3):
- 1965,1966, 1969
- Greek Cup, Women (2):
- 1972, 2022
- ETTU Cup, Men
- Semi-finals (1): 1974
- ETTU Europe Trophy, Men
- Winners (1): 2024
- ETTU Europe Trophy, Women
- Winners (1): 2022
Current players
Season 2025–26
Men's squad
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Women's squad
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Former Notable players
Men
- Andrej Gaćina
- Jorge Campos
- Emmanuel Lebesson
- Spyros Giannakopoulos
- Giannis Kalogiannis
- Nikos Kostopoulos
- Maria Louka
- Stamatina Louka
- Nikos Mantzaroglou
- Kostas Priftis
- Lena Ralli
- Eleni Vlachaki
- Jakub Dyjas
- João Monteiro
- Kristian Karlsson
- Betty Janes Klosky
Women
Sources
- 100 years Panathinaikos, Liveri, 2008
- Official website (in Greek)