Yiannis Panzios, member of the board of directors of E.F.O.E.P.A., has “left”.

The Hellenic Philatelic Table Tennis Federation is saddened to say goodbye to one of its own people, its board member Giannis Panzios. He passed away early on the morning of Friday 29/12, after struggling vigorously for months with a serious health problem. He was 70 years old.

A passionate friend of table tennis, he offered a great deal of work as a factor in Athenian clubs, he used his university knowledge there, as he was an economist, while he also enjoyed his children’s involvement in the sport.

He was one of the first to frame the effort to create AE Athena Magoufanas in 2000. He became the general secretary of its first board of directors and was one of those who edited the union’s founding statute, which was forwarded to be approved. The progress of Athena in pan-Hellenic distinctions and massiveness from the first years is well known.

In 2007 and after moving from Pefki to Dionysos, he also pioneered the creation of the table tennis department at the local Sports Club. He took over as rector and in the approximately six years of his tenure, the department had to display a multitude of athletes, distinctions and the emergence of great talents, along with good organization and housekeeping.

In recent years he has been heavily involved with Roof 80, which is based near his last place of residence, Petralona. He became the general manager of the club, but also a table tennis administrator. He quickly improved the outlook of the department by finding a new training space. His third wife, Gogo, was also a secretary at Roof 80.

He was a candidate for membership in the EFOEPA elections in March 2021. He was elected to the first alternate positions and in June 2023, after a reorganization, he joined the federation’s board of directors. A cultured, very active and lovable man, Giannis Panzios accomplished everything he undertook. He discussed and implemented ideas, was particularly interested in the future of the sport, while also helping associations, in which he did not have an administrative position.

He had three children from his first two marriages, and had two stepdaughters from his third. His son Spyros was systematically involved in table tennis, he even reached a good level at a young age and had pan-Hellenic successes in team games. Today he is a doctor and he helped his father as much as he could from this side as well…

His stepdaughter Despoina is a distinguished table tennis player and in 2022 she was named Greek champion in the girls’ team with OA Chania. The care, the constant “running” to help Spyros in the past, and also until recently Despina, in their needs in the sport, was only a part of his daily life for table tennis.

The administration of EFOEPA accepted with sadness and emotion the sad news in the west of 2023. It extends its deepest condolences to the family of the deceased and joins in their mourning. The place and day for the stern “farewell” to Giannis Panzios will be known in the coming days.