Jordan's Princess Zeina Rashid Helps Celebrate the 5th Anniversary of PingPongParkinson

by Warren Rosenberg - MetroSports Magazine February 6, 2022

She arrived without fanfare. No chariot, no entourage, no red carpet. All that accompanied her on her visit to the Westchester Table Tennis Center in Pleasantville, NY, was a paddle in hand and her close friend and colleague, the Croatian-American internationally recognized recording artist, composer, peace activist and the founder of the PingPongParkinson® movement, Nenad Bach.

Yes, she is royalty. Yes, she is a two-time Olympian. Yes, she sits on the Board of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Foundation, the Jordanian Olympic Committee, and PingPongParkinson®. But she is as humble, gracious and sincere as can be.

Her Royal Highness, Princess Zeina Rashid of Jordan, visited the WTTC on Sunday, February 6th 2022, as the first stop on her visit to New York metro area to celebrate the 5th Anniversary of the global non-profit PingPongParkinson® followed by a visit to CRUSH Table Tennis in Greenwich Connecticut the following Monday.

Married to Jordan’s Prince Rashid El Hassan and mother to Prince El Hassan bin Rashid and Prince Talal bin Rashid, Her Royal Highness Princess Zeina is an accomplished scholar, athlete, and promoter of the benefits of sport.

Educated at the Amman Baccalaureate School, she went on to earn the Bachelor of Science in Economics at the Royal Holloway College of London University and a Master of Science in Environment and Development from the London School of Economics. Originally training and competing as a gymnast, she went on to win the gold medal at the Junior Arab Cup Table Tennis Championships in 2003, silver medal at the 2003 Asian Junior Championships, the bronze medal at the Pan Arab Games in 2005, the gold medal at the Ladies Arab Cup in 2005 and to compete in the 2004 Athens Olympics and the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The purpose of Princess Zeina’s visit to the New York Metro area was to participate in celebrating and promoting the growth of PingPongParkinson®, founded and headquartered at the Westchester Table Tennis Center (WTTC), and its expansion into Connecticut. While in New York, she met with colleagues and fellow Board members of PPP, Nenad Bach, the world renowned composer and musician, Will Shortz, owner of the WTTC and crossword puzzle editor of the New York Times, Dr. Art Dubow, and Dr. Warren Rosenberg, owner of the New York Sports Photo Group and publisher of MetroSports Magazine.

Ever the athlete, Princess Zeina took paddle in hand and showed off her Olympic-level athletic skills by taking on Nenad Bach, Will Shortz and Amy Wang, no lightweights when it comes to the sport of table tennis.

Nenad Bach is just months from having returned from Berlin as the Doubles Champion at the 2021 International Parkinson’s World Table Tennis Tournament.

Will Shortz is the Guiness Book of World Records holder of the most consecutive days playing table tennis.

Amy Wang, winner of the 2021 women’s U.S. National Table Tennis Championship and of the 2021 Junior Pan Am Games Team Trials.

Look for full coverage in the upcoming Jan-Feb 2022 issue of MetroSports Magazine