Swaythling April 2021

SWAYTHLING
Issue No.110 April 2021
ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE
PING PONG ALKMAAR
GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY
FOR GREEN & GOLD
THE LEGACY OF
TIBOR HARANGOZO
PUTTING
STONES INTO
A MOSIAC
QUESTION
ANSWERED
MIWA HARIMOTO
MARATHON EFFORT
AUSTRALIA
WELCOMES
OFFICIALS TO
HALL OF FAME
STELLAN BENGTSSON
FIRST AND FOREMOST
VIVE LA
DIFFERENCE
WANG CHUQIN
COMES OF AGE
ENGLISH
TWINS
STUN IN
VIENNA
AIM
FOR
THE
STARS
SETBACKS
OVERCOME
BUT DREAM
POSTPONED
JACQUES
SECRETIN
SADLY
MISSED
EXERCISE
VITAL
FOR SENIOR
PLAYERS
1ST
GENERATION
CONCLUDES
DEGREES
AWARDED
25 YEARS
ITTF WORLD
TOUR

SWAYTHLING
Issue No.110 April 2021
Editor
Cover: Eva Jeler
Ian Marshall
Sub Editor
Richard Scruton
Statistician
Matt Solt
Printed by
Anton Hamran
Contributors
Malcom Anderson, Günther Angenendt, Nenad
Bach, Stellan Bengtsson, Erwin Berg, Roland
Berg, Claude Bergeret, Hannah Bubel, Janis
Burke, Lee Cawson, Cheong-Ki Chan, Ron
Crayden, Steve Dainton, Danni Di Torro, Alvaro
Diaz, Thorsten Gohl, Per Hällström, Miwa
Harimoto, Neil Harwood, Melanie Hauser, Scott
Houston, Alan Hydes, Eva Jeler, Karl Jindrak,
Miran Kondric, Alexis Lebrun, Felix Lebrun,
Stéphane Lebrun, Christophe Legout, Lei Lina,
Ma Lin, Goran Munivrana, Olalekan Okusan,
Shari Olsen, Kastriot Orana, Ryan Pettengill,
Chandana Perera, Abbas Ramezani, Alois
Rosario, Vladimir Samsonov, Werner Schlager,
Diane Schöler, Eberhard Schöler, Adham
Sharara, Mark Smith, Rudi Sporrer, Sue
Stevenson, Karine Teow, Glenn Tepper, Elena
Timina, Mary Twigge, Wang Chuqin, Anne
Warner Cribbs, Richard Way, Diane Webb,
Harvey Webb, Wong Chun Ting, Laura Wong,
Charles Wyndham, Jessica Yamada, Yang Qian,
Lily Zhang
Photographers
Malcolm Anderson, Günther Angenendt,
Butterfly, Alvaro Diaz, Thorsten Gohl, Tibhar,
Rémy Gros, Scott Houston, Richard Kalocsai,
Ireneusz Kanabrodzki, Vladimir Mirskiy, Diane
Schöler, Eberhard Schöler, Mark Smith,Rudi
Sporrer, Swedish Table Tennis Association,
Table Tennis Australia, Diane Webb, John Wood
NEXT
Closing date for contributions for the next issue (no.111) is Thursday 1st July 2021.
Kindly send to: claude.bergeret@fftt.email or rcsettu@pt.lu
CONTENTS
Swaythling club news ......................................................................................4
Stellan Bengtsson, first and foremost ....................................................6
The legacy of Tibor Harangozo ..........................................................12
English twins stun in Vienna, still youngest ever ........................................18
Vive la difference .........................................................................................20
Putting stones into a mosaic ......................................................................24
Miwa Harimoto, marathon effort ...................................................................30
Golden opportunity for green and gold .....................................................32
Wang Chuqin comes of age ...............................................................34
ITTF World Tour, 25 yeaars ..........................................................................36
Setbacks overcome but dream postponed ...............................................46
First generation concludes, degrees awarded .............................................50
The sport for the north .............................................................................52
Australia welcomes officials to the Hall of Fame ...................................58
Panademic, exercise vital for senior players ........................................62
Aim for the Stars 2020 in retrospect ......................................................64
All you need is love, Ping Pong Alkmaar .................................................66
Question answered ..........................................................................................72
Jacques Secretin, distinctive skills, sadly missed .............................................74
We remember ..................................................................................................78
Hitting the headlines .....................................................................................80
Bright Lights
Postponement, then cancellation; too
often that has been the situation as
the pandemic continues to disrupt international
sport but even though the
calendar has been curtailed, just as
Diane and Rosalind Rowe, followed
later by Stellan Bengtsson stunned
the world as teenagers, in the past
year bright young names have lifted
the gloom. Miwa Harimoto, Felix
Lebrun and Wang Chuqin have shone
like beacons. Equally, there are those
who have continued to promote table
tennis successfully, seeking new
challenges, overcoming obstacles
and providing sport for the good of all.
Alkmaar in the Netherlands and North
West Territories in snowclad Canada
provide glowing examples. Quite
simply, player, coach or official, where
there’s a will there’s a way.
2 3

Swaythling Club News
Award for
Chandra Madosingh
Reports published
ma, the Proceedings Book of the 16th
ITTF Sports Congress held on Friday
19th and Saturday 20th April 2019 in
Budapest, prior to the commencement
of the Liebherr World Championships,
is now available.
A publication of 406 pages, such subjects
as the effect of forehand top spin
play on the lower part of the body, multi-ball
practices and the comparisons
between the plastic ball as opposed to
the celluloid ball are detailed.
Amelia Ho, President of the British
Columbia Table Tennis Association,
presented Dr Chandra Madosingh with
a “Special Award” on behalf of Table
Tennis Canada prior to the Annual
General Meeting held virtually on Saturday
19th September.
Originally the presentation was due to
take place on Saturday 8th June when
Mike Skinner and Najam Chishti were
honoured; on that occasion Chandra
Madosingh was named a Director of
Table Tennis Canada but for medical
reasons was unable to attend.
Executive Committee meets
On Saturday 17th October, the Swaythling Club Executive Committee met in the
German town of Ratingen some eight miles north east of Düsseldorf; social distancing
was strictly observed. Present were Diane Schöler (Honorary President),
alongside Ebby Schöler (President), Harvey Webb (Deputy President), Claude
Bergeret (Secretary), Reto Bazzi (Rules Expert), Hans Westling (Chair World
Veteran Championships Committee).
Covid-19 meant the postponement of
the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, but
it did not deter the efforts of Professor
Miran Kondric, Chair of the ITTF
Sports Science and Medical Committee.
Alongside its counterpart from the
Japanese Table Tennis Association,
a report on their six gatherings commencing
in 2014 has been published:
“JTTA meets ITTF on the way to Olympic
Games Tokyo 2020”.
“We don’t want people sitting in committees,
day and night; we want them
out in sports halls and at the training
sessions, influencing players and
making a difference to performance.
Although Asian and European players
are very successful, the players
are much more art-based than science-based.
We want a little bit more
science to influence Olympics in 2020
and 2024.”
Significantly, with the Olympic Games
in mind the editorial reads:
In addition, edited by Miran Kondric,
alongside David Paar and Kei Kamiji-
New Members
Shahira El-Alfy (Egypt), Mario
Genovese (Malta), Scott Houston (Australia),
Brian Kean (England), Dr. Alaa
Meshref (Egypt), Dina Meshref (Egypt),
Andreja Ojstersek-Urh (Slovenia)
Landmark birthday
From the archives
Victor Barna versus Alan Hydes
At the first ever Commonwealth
Championships, held in 1971 in Singapore,
Victor Barna played Alan Hydes.
England completed a clean sweep of
titles. Tony Clayton, Alan Hydes and
Trevor Taylor with Alan Ransome as
reserve formed the men’s team, Pauline
Piddock, Karenza Mathews and Jill
Shirley comprised the women’s trio.
Change of Address
Katalina Gatinska
3 Impasse du Coq, 68100 Mulhouse,
France
Tel: +33 665325348
Email: kgatinska@mail.bg
Ebby Schöler, President of the Swaythling
Club International, the only
German player ever to reach the men’s
singles final at a World Championships,
celebrated his 80th birthday on Tuesday
22nd December.
4 5

Asian ascendancy
Stellan Bengtsson, first and foremost
The first ever men’s singles title that
you win in an international tournament,
it is for any player an occasion
to remember, for the vast majority it is
dreamland.
However, if you are going to achieve
that feat, go straight to the heart of the
matter; don’t mess about with some
minor trophy in a distant part of planet
earth, make it a win that everyone
remembers, one that writes your name
indelibly in the history books of sport.
That is exactly what Sweden’s Stellan
Bengtsson achieved 50 years ago.
On Wednesday 7th April 1971, only
18 years 255 days old, not only did
he win the men’s singles title at the
World Championships in Nagoya; he
became the first Swede, the first left
hander and the first player to progress
from winning the boys’ singles title at
a European Youth Championships to
securing the ultimate prize. Later, Seiji
Ono and Jean-Philippe Gatien added
their names to the left handers list,
Jan-Ove Waldner and Jörgen Persson
joined the Swedish role of honour.
However, of the European trio only
Jan-Ove Waldner secured the European
Youth title; an incredible three in
succession his last being in 1983 in
Malmö; six years later in Dortmund he
was crowned world champion.
han Bernhardt, in July of the same
year in Teesside in the north east of
England, on Thursday 9th July, he won
the boys’ singles title European Youth
Championships. Just less than nine
months later, some 272 days, he was
crowned world champion!
Incredible and his performance in
Teesside was equally remarkable. He
progressed through the junior boys’
team, junior boys’ doubles and junior
boys’ singles without losing a single
game; no less than 44 games without
a loss! The first game surrendered
was in the mixed doubles semi-final
with Lena Andersson; they needed
three games to beat Hungary’s Gabor
Gergely and Henriette Lotaller. In
the final they experienced defeat at
the hands of Czechoslovakia’s Milan
Orlowski and Ilona Vostova; it was the
only loss Stellan Bengstsson experienced
in the whole tournament.
“We lost 5-3 to Czechoslovakia in the
boys’ team final; it was a good generation
of players, Tibor Klampar, Milan
Orlowski and from England Nicky Jarvis”,
reflected Stellan Bengtsson who,
in Teesside, partnered Tibor Klampar
to boys’ doubles gold.
“I’m not sure how it happened that I
partnered Tibor Klampar, we thought
we had a good chance; Zoltan
Berczik was the Hungarian coach,
time and again he yelled at Klampar,
but Tibor never took the shouting
seriously”, smiled Stellan Bengtsson.
“We had a good time, we travelled by
boat; for that tournament I was really
Moreover, Stellan Bengtsson was the
first European to hold aloft the St Bride
Vase since 1953 when Hungary’s Ferenc
Sido had succeeded in Bucharest.
He appeared on the scene in an era
when Asian ascendancy had been
firmly established. Very much the
architect of the dynasty was Japan’s
Ichiro Ogimura; his win at the 1954
World Championships in the Wembley
arena, when he beat Sweden’s Tage
Flisberg in the final, was a watershed
in the sport. Loyal to his country but
importantly Ichiro Ogimura was “international
man”, later underlined when
he became President of the International
Table Tennis Federation; it is to
Ichiro Ogimura that Stellan Bengtsson
attributes his win in Nagoya.
Ichiro Ogimura visited Sweden, he
conducted coaching sessions which
Bo Persson and Stellan Bengtsson
attended, before in 1969 inviting both
teenagers to spend seven and half
months in Japan.
“Ogi changed my game completely,
everything; without him I would have
had no chance at all in Nagoya, no
chance whatsoever”, stressed Stellan
Bengtsson. “He was ahead of his time;
he was the Einstein of table tennis.
There was no multi-ball practice in
those days but if you watch the Chinese
play today, it is on his principles
that their techniques are based.”
Great players tend to think differently;
that characteristic was witnessed in
the personality of Ichiro Ogimura. He
challenged the hierarchy of the Japanese
Table Tennis Association to give
Bo Persson and Stellan Bengtsson
permission to compete in the national
championships; they agreed!
“I lost in round one!” smiled Stellan
Bengtsson who found himself in a
most unusual situation.
“At the time in Japan there were
different types of table tennis balls,
soft or hard; before a match you had
to agree with your opponent which
ball to use”, he added. “To decide we
used “rock, paper, scissors”; I lost, we
played with a soft ball, I wanted hard, I
had no chance!”
Disappointment in the men’s singles,
it was rather better in the men’s
doubles; they lost to the combination
Nobuhiko Hasegawa and Shigeo Ito,
the two most recent world champions.
World champion, a proud moment
“Actually, I wasn’t in the best of
shape, I’d played non-stop since I was
14 years old when I first played in the
European Youth Championships”, recalled
Stellan Bengtsson. “I was over
played, in fact Christer Johansson, the
national coach, sent me home from a
national team training camp, he sent
me back to my club.”
Note the time span and compare that
The loss to China meant second
with Stellan Bengtsson. After being a
position in the group and a meeting
member of the successful gold medal
with Yugoslavia to decide third place,
winning men’s team in April 1970
a 5-3 defeat was the order of the day.
at the European Championships in
An experience never to be forgotten
Stellan Bengtsson beat Antun Stipancic
but lost to both Dragutin Surbek
Some 5,000 people welcomed Stellan
Bengtsson home after his win in
Moscow alongside Hans Alser, Kjell
but then it was very much back down
Signing the scoresheet in Nagoya
Johansson, Bo Persson and Carl-Jo- well prepared.”
to earth on his return to Sweden.
and Milivoj Karakasevic. China duly
Nagoya
6 7
Beat idol
Nevertheless, the value of having
practised in Japan was irreplaceable
in a tournament that had a special
significance. Owing to the Cultural
Revolution, China had been absent
from the World Championships since
1965 when Zhuang Zedong had won
the men’s singles title for the third
successive time.
“We thought we had a good chance
to win the men’s team event”, reflected
Stellan Bengtsson. “We lost 5-3 to
China in the second group stage.”
Defeat but there was a silver lining;
Stellan Bengtsson beat Zhuang Zedong.
“I had played Zhuang Zedong in 1970
at the Scandinavian Open in Halmstad
and won”, explained Stellan Bengtsson.
“He was my idol; it was such an
honour to play him. I bowed to him at
the end of the match, seemed so unreal
to beat your idol!”
Admired by the ladies, world champion
Congratulations from Shigeo Ito

ecorded a 5-2 success against Japan
to seal the title.
“I was not too down after that match,
there was a one-day break, one day to
reload and fourth place was a medal”,
recalled Stellan Bengtsson. “Surbek
had been European champion in 1968
and Karakasevic, a pen-holder, was
very difficult to play against.”
Individual events underway, the mixed
doubles, partnering Lena Andersson
was a first-round defeat against
Japan’s Katsuyuki Abe and Setsuko
Kobori; the men’s doubles in harness
with Bo Persson was departure one
round later, also at Japanese hands.
They were beaten by Shigeo Ito and
Mitsuru Kohno.
Partnering Bo Persson may appear a
strange selection, both were left handers.
“Hans Alser and Kjell Johansson
was the obvious pair, they had been
world champions in both 1967 and
1969”, explained Stellan Bengtsson.
“Furthermore, Bo and myself had
won the French Open and Swedish
Open titles.”
Road to gold
It was total focus on the men’s singles
event. Throughout Christer Johansson,
Kjell Johansson’s elder brother,
fulfilled the coaching role, making sure
his player was well prepared and then
sitting courtside to support and advise.
A comfortable start was the order of
proceedings; a first round straight
games win was recorded against
Japan’s Motokuni Aramaki, followed
by the same margin of victory when
opposing DPR Korea’s Kim Yung Sam.
“I knew Aramaki, I’d played him in
practice sessions when visiting Japan;
the North Koreans were down, we’d
beaten them 5-0 in the men’s team
event”, reflected Stellan Bengtsson.
Comfortable wins but then life became
more testing. In the third round he beat
China’s Li Jingguang by the minimal
two point margin in the deciding game,
a player against whom he had lost in
straight games in the team event.
“Li Jingguang played just like He
Zhiwen, pen-hold, short pimples, the
same serving style coming across the
ball with variations of sidespin and
backspin”, explained Stellan Bengtsson.
“In the fifth game I remember
clearly I was down 8-14 and 11-16 and
came back to win.”
Nobuhiko Hasegawa was beaten by
Stellan Bengtsson in round four
Cover of programme for 1971 World
Championships
in the previous round success by the
very narrowest of margins.
“Visiting Japan, I’d practised with
Hasegawa in many places; on one
occasion they set up a match and
I won; he became a really good
friend”, reminisced Stellan Bengtsson.
“In the first two games, the
umpire faulted me on my service, I
had to refocus; to win again 21-19
in the fifth made me strong mentally.
Christer Johansson, my coach, kept
stressing, round by round.”
A place in the last eight; next in line
was perhaps a somewhat surprise
quarter-finalist, Czechoslovakia’s Jaroslav
Kunz; a straight games victory
was the outcome.
Shigeo Ito, the runner up
Signed racket
spin play; it was a chance for a medal,
a big match, I played well.”
Gaining in confidence, at the semi-final
stage, Stellan Bengtsson ended
Chinese hopes. He overcame Xi
Enting, the player who two years later
was to beat Kjell Johansson in the final
at the 1973 World Championships in
Sarajevo. A straight games win was
the order of the day; however, the
contest was closer than the margin
of victory may success. He trailed in
16-19 in each game before winning the
next five points.
“It’s the only time I beat Xi Enting,
previously I’d lost to him; he had good
service variation”, explained Stellan
Bengtsson. “I really don’t know how I
managed to beat him, but I believed
that I could not lose a close game, I
was full of confidence.”
opponent but belief was strong.
“In Japan I’d tried to discover a way
to beat Ito; he had a very strong
forehand, his top spin play was very
strong, his defence was not that good”,
said Stellan Bengtsson. “I tried to play
short, so I could gain the first attack;
it’s very much the style of play you see
today, I think I was one of the first.”
Tactics exerted to perfection, “the
best table tennis destroyer” were the
words of Lollo Hammarlund, the Chair
of the Committee for Swedish National
Teams and later President of the International
Table Tennis Federation.
Success and different to the norm
when a rather unexpected name,
at the time Stellan Bengtsson was
listed at no.10 on the world rankings,
clinches a major title. It applies also in
tennis, when there is a surprise winner
at a major international tournament, it
is not the reigning world champion who
is beaten in the final. More often than
not, the incumbent has departed earlier,
the winner seizes an opportunity.
Stellan Bengtsson belied that theory.
Also, the win against Shigeo Ito
meant that at some stage of the tournament,
either in the men’s singles or
the men’s team event, he had beaten
every player who won the men’s
singles title at a World Championships
in a 14-year period from 1961 to 1975!
Wins against Zhuang Zedong, Nobuhiko
Hasegawa, Shigeo Ito, Xi Enting
and Istvan Jonyer underline the quality
of the performance in Nagoya.
Stellan Bengtsson stands next to his statue in Falkenberg
“Kunz blocked very well, he was
A.K. Bill Vint, the recently elected
President of the English Table Tennis
Association, watched by Charles
good against top spin; later in 1975
A place in the fourth round, as in the in Calcutta he was two-nil and 4-0 up
Wyles, Chair of the English Table Tennis
Association, congratulates Stellan
first a Japanese adversary waited; this against Istvan Jonyer, the eventual One more step to go, a third adversary
from Japan, Shigeo Ito, the
Stellan Bengtsson displaying his tal-
A fresh faced teenage Stellan Bengtsson Bengtsson on his success at the 1970
time the redoubtable Nobuhiko Hasegawa
and once more a thriller, just as “I had to mix things up, vary my top reigning world champion, a prodigious
ents in the 1960s
European Youth Championships
winner”, explained Stellan Bengtsson.
8 9

Lost to brother
The mission was accomplished, the
boy who in his home in Falkenberg,
when five years old, had started to
play on an old sheet of plywood in the
basement against his elder brother,
had won the greatest prize the sport
had to offer.
“Always I lost to my brother, Sven,
I would cry, my mother would tell
him to let me win”, explained Stellan
Bengtsson. “I played just about
every ball game imaginable; when I
was seven years old, I finished third
in a local tournament, soon after
when I was 10 years of age, I was
invited to Falkenberg.”
Perhaps the defeats against elder
brother contributed to a most determined
character; he was ever present
in the playing hall for some four years,
driven by the unwritten rule that the
best could practise the longest.
Also, disappointment no doubt had
an effect. In 1969 Stellan Bengtsson
played in the World Championships in
Munich losing to Japan’s Tetsuo Inoue
in the third round. Losing is disappointing
but the feeling was minor when
compared with two years earlier. In
1967 he had been selected for the
World Championships in Stockholm,
a debut on home soil when only 14
years old; a teenager’s dream.
Alas, prior to the tournament, he
broke his leg, three months out of action.
However, you will see the name in
the men’s singles event; no, he did not
play on one leg. He was replaced by a
colleague 11 years his senior, a certain
Stellan Bengtsson. Moreover, also
from Falkenberg, in local tournaments
they caused confusion when they both
entered. Thus, the elder became “Stor”
meaning big, the younger “Mini”.
Born on Tuesday 7th October 1941,
“Stor” Stellan Bengtsson made 18
appearances for the Swedish men’s
teams. He participated twice in the
European Championships being men’s
team silver medallist on both occasions,
in 1960 in Zagreb and 1962 in
Berlin. In addition to 1967, he competed
in the 1963 World Championships
in Prague and in 1965 in Ljubljana.
Domestically, in 1963 and 1965 he
was a member of the winning team at
the National Championships, notably
in the former, partnering Lena Guntsch
to mixed doubles gold.
Reaction
“The reaction was huge, I was made
sportsman of the year, presented with
the achievement of the year award;
there were 5,000 people in the square
in Falkenberg to greet me, the phone
was always ringing, I was famous;
it changed my life, I went to play in
Germany”, added Stellan Bengtsson.
“Sometimes I wonder maybe it would
have been better if I had won when I
was 25 years old, there was the pressure
of being the world champion, the
world number one; you had to be able
to handle the situation, not easy.”
Quite simply, the young man from
Falkenberg was a national hero,
later in 2003 the local Rotary clubs
launched an initiative to erect a
statue of Stellan Bengtsson to mark
the achievement.
A young Stellan Bengtsson proudly
wearing the Falkenberg shirt
“Of course, when approached I was
honoured to accept the proposal but
since 1971 I’d changed a bit, so we
had to get a model to stand for the
sculptor”, smiled Stellan Bengtsson.
“There were four candidates, I was
pleased a local artist was selected.”
The person chosen was Martina
Falkehag Finn; the commission giving
Stellan Bengtsson food for thought.
“Often I wonder if it had never happened
how different might my life have
been”, concluded Stellan Bengtsson.
“I even wonder would I have finished
living in San Diego.”
Who knows what life holds but one
fact is certain, the name is cast in
stone; to be more accurate, cast in
bronze, the name Stellan Bengtsson,
world champion, the first Swede.
The 1960s, stor Stellan Bengtsson and
mini Stellan Bengtsson
1971 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
STELLAN BENGTSSON
MEN’S TEAM
A total of 39 teams competed, initially in 12 first
stage groups. The teams finishing in first places in
each group proceeded to compete in two second
stage groups, six teams in each group.
Notable success but of course for
Stellan Bengtsson v Jean-Paul Weber 10-21, 19-21
Kjell Johansson v Zhuang Zedong 21-17, 17-21,
Stellan Bengtsson senior, the home
The Podium at the 1970 European Youth
Hans Alser v Daniel Dhondt 21-9, 21-4
21-12
coming could not be compared with Championships, Milan Orlowski, Stellan Stellan Bengtsson and Bo Persson at
Kjell Johansson v Jean-Paul Weber 20-22, 13-21 Hans Alser v Li Li Jingguang 21-17, 16-21, 18-21
that afforded Stellan Bengtsson junior. Bengtsson, Sergej Leshev, Tibor Klampar the 1970 Scandinavian Open
The precious trophy, not letting go
10 11
First Stage:
1. Sweden 2. Iran 3. Ghana 4. New Zealand
Sunday 28th March
Sweden: Hans Alser, Stellan Bengtsson, Kjell
Johansson
Iran: Houschang Bozorgzadeh, Sayed Hejazi,
Mohamad Vahazadeh
SWEDEN 5-0 IRAN
Hans Alser v Yousefi Sayed Hejazi 21-5, 21-14
Stellan Bengtsson v Houschang Bozorgzadeh
21-13, 21-17
Kjell Johansson v Mohamad Vahazadeh 21-14,
21-3
Hans Alser v Houschang Bozorgzadeh 21-15,
21-10
Kjell Johansson v Yousefi Sayed Hejazi 21-14,
21-14
Sunday 28th March
Sweden: Hans Alser, Kjell Johansson, Bo Persson
New Zealand: Richard Lee, James Morris, Gary
Murphy
SWEDEN 5-0 NEW ZEALAND
Bo Persson v Richard Lee 21-14, 21-9
Kjell Johansson v Gary Murphy 21-18, 21-9
Hans Alser v James Morris 21-8, 21-9
Kjell Johansson v Richard Lee 21-16, 21-11
Bo Persson v James Morris 21-12, 21-15
Monday 29th March
Sweden: Hans Alser, Stellan Bengtsson, Kjell
Johansson
Ghana: Ebenezer Ekuban, John Hanson, Emmanuel
Quaye
SWEDEN 5-0 GHANA
Stellan Bengtsson v John Hanson 21-10, 21-8
Kjell Johansson v Emmanuel Quaye 21-18, 21-11
Hans Alser v Ebenezer Ekuban 21-9, 21-9
Stellan Bengtsson v Emmanuel Quaye 21-4, 21-12
Hans Alser v John Hanson 21-7, 21-16
Group B (Second Stage)
Tuesday 30th March
Sweden: Hans Alser, Stellan Bengtsson, Kjell
Johansson
France: Daniel Dhondt, Jacques Secretin, Paul
Weber
SWEDEN 5-3 FRANCE
Stellan Bengtsson v Jacques Secretin 11-21, 22-
20, 14-21
Kjell Johansson v Daniel Dhondt 15-21, 21-10,
21-11
Hans Alser v Jean-Paul Weber 21-18, 21-9
Kjell Johansson v Jacques Secretin 21-16, 19-21,
21-19
Hans Alser v Jacques Secretin 21-17, 21-12
Tuesday 30th March
Sweden: Hans Alser, Stellan Bengtsson, Kjell
Johansson
DPR Korea: Chuang Ryang Woong, Kim Chang
Ho, Pak Sin Il
SWEDEN 5-0 DPR KOREA
Stellan Bengtsson v Chuang Ryang Woong 21-16,
21-15
Hans Alser v Pak Sin Il 23-21, 21-12
Kjell Johansson v Kim Chang Ho 22-20, 21-16
Stellan Bengtsson v Pak Sin Il 11-21, 21-16, 21-16
Kjell Johansson v Chuang Ryang Woong 21-10,
21-12
Tuesday 30th March
Sweden: Hans Alser, Stellan Bengtsson, Kjell
Johansson
Czechoslovakia: Stefan Kollarovits, Jaroslav Kunz,
Milan Orlowski
SWEDEN 5-1 CZECHOSLOVAKIA
Stellan Bengtsson v Milan Orlowski 21-19, 21-10
Hans Alser v Stefan Kollarovits 19-21, 21-12, 23-21
Kjell Johansson v Jaroslav Kunz 18-21, 16-21
Stellan Bengtsson v Stefan Kollarovits 25-23,
21-15
Kjell Johansson v Milan Orlowski 21-17, 21-12
Hans Alser v Jaroslav Kunz 21-18, 21-12
Wednesday 31st March
Sweden: Hans Alser, Stellan Bengtsson, Kjell
Johansson
Hungary: Mathyas Beleznai, Istvan Jonyer, Tibor
Klampar
SWEDEN 5-4 HUNGARY
Stellan Bengtsson v Istvan Jonyer 21-16, 21-15
Kjell Johansson v Mathyas Beleznai 21-10, 21-14
Hans Alser v Tibor Klampar 18-21, 13-21
Kjell Johansson v Istvan Jonyer 21-16, 21-13
Stellan Bengtsson v Tibor Klampar 21-19, 21-9
Hans Alser v Mathyas Beleznai 19-21, 21-19,
12-21
Kjell Johansson v Tibor Klampar 17-21, 21-13,
15-21
Hans Alser v Istvan Jonyer 17-21, 22-20, 13-21
Stellan Bengtsson v Mathyas Beleznai 21-14,
21-10
Wednesday 31st March
Sweden: Hans Alser, Stellan Bengtsson, Kjell
Johansson
China: Zhuang Zedong, Li Jingguang, Liang
Geliang
SWEDEN 3-5 CHINA
Hans Alser v Liang Geliang 20-22, 19-21
Stellan Bengtsson v Zhuang Zedong 21-11, 13-21,
21-13
Kjell Johansson v Li Jingguang 21-18, 21-17
Hans Alser v Zhuang Zedong 13-21, 17-21
Kjell Johansson v Liang Geliang 13-21, 21-17,
20-22
Stellan Bengtsson v Li Jingguang 18-21, 17-21
Third Place
Thursday 1st April
Sweden: Stellan Bengtsson, Kjell Johansson, Bo
Persson
Yugoslavia: Milivoj Karakasevic, Anton Stipancic,
Dragutin Surbek
SWEDEN 3-5 YUGOSLAVIA
Kjell Johansson v Dragutin Surbek 21-23, 21-15,
21-19
Bo Persson v Milivoj Karakasevic 18-21, 20-22
Stellan Bengtsson v Antun Stipancic 21-16, 21-14
Kjell Johansson v Milivoj Karakasevic 12-21, 21-14,
21-19
Stellan Bengtsson v Dragutin Surbek 15-21, 21-19,
20-22
Bo Persson v Antun Stipancic 13-21, 10-21
Men’s Singles
Round One: v Motokuni Aramaki (JPN) 21-6, 21-
14, 21-14
Round Two: v Kim Yung Sam (PRK) 21-9, 21-13,
21-12
Round Three: v Li Jingguang (CHN) 9-21, 21-16,
14-21, 21-14, 21-19
Round Four: v Nobuhiko Hasegawa (JPN) 21-13,
7-21, 18-21, 21-12, 21-19
Quarter-Final: v Jaroslav Kunz (TCH) 21-14, 21-19,
21-17
Semi-Final: v Xi Enting (CHN) 21-19, 21-19, 21-19
Final: v Shigeo Ito (JPN) 21-17, 19-21, 21-13,
21-10
Men’s Doubles (Partner: Bo Persson)
Round One: v José Carlos Avelar / Federico Aguilar
Meardi 21-7, 21-7, 21-13
Round Two: v Shigeo Ito / Mitsuru Kohno (JPN)
17-21, 17-21, 11-21
Mixed Doubles (Partner: Lena Andersson)
Round One: Katsuyuki Abe / Setsuko Kobori 14-21,
17-21, 18-21

The legacy of Tibor Harangozo
Familiar to table tennis players throughout the world, Aurus,
Evolution MX-P are amongst the most well-known of all racket
coverings, the name Tibhar is synonymous with excellence.
However, how did it all begin?
Born in 1922, a member of the Yugoslav
national team, the company is
christened after Tibor Harangozo, simply
take the first three letters of each
name and the title is revealed.
Originally, an outstanding defensive
player in the classical style; the peak
of his career being at the 1939 World
Championships staged in Cairo. In the
Egyptian capital city, alongside Zarko
Dolinar, Adolf Herskovic, Ladislav
Hexner and Max Marinko, he was a
member of the silver medal winning
men’s team.
During World War Two, he studied
medicine in Budapest and was
the best player in occupied Europe.
Players gathered from such countries
as Germany, Hungary, Austria and
the former Yugoslavia. Following the
conclusion of hostilities, unwell, Tibor
underwent surgery, the operation resulted
in paralysis of his right arm.
cess became increasingly difficult. In
reality, he could only execute forehand
strokes but persistent, unrelenting he
changed and adopted an attacking
style, virtually nothing but forehands.
Incredibly at the 1949 World Championships
in Stockholm, he reached
the men’s singles’ quarter-finals and
the same round in the men’s doubles
partnering younger brother Vilim.
Alas, the paralysis intensified to such
an extent that he was not able to
hold the racket in any manner in his
right hand. True to his character he
would not be beaten. He tried to play
left-handed, he reached the quarter-finals
of a Yugoslav ranking tournament
and was on the path to regaining a
place in the national team.
Tibor Harangozo, the founder
Ahead of his time
It was a role in which he excelled;
he was forward thinking. Intensive
programmes, he focused on technical
excellence in every aspect, he created
innovative exercises; most significantly
he introduced multi-ball training,
a fact that underlines how far Tibor
Harangozo was ahead of his time. The
practice has been honed to perfection
by the Chinese and is nowadays
integral to coaching worldwide but
note Tibor Harangozo was adopting
the practice in the mid-1950s; China
did not enter the World Championships
until 1959!
The fruits of his efforts were very
much reflected in the success of Linde
Wertl who, after winning the women’s
singles title at the 1950 Austrian
National Championships, the following
year made her debut for the national
team and came under the tutelage of
Tibor Harangozo. At the 1951 World
Championships in Vienna, she departed
with two silver medals, in the women’s
team lining up alongside Trude
Pritzi and Trude Wutzl, soon after in
the mixed doubles. Notably her partner
a certain Vilim Harangozo! Later,
amongst her many achievements, she
was to be a women’s singles bronze
medallist at the 1952 World Championships
in Bombay and a silver medallist
in 1955 in Utrecht.
interval training method. Five years
later, he created the “International
Table Tennis School Tibor Harangozo”.
Courses first took place during the
summer holidays, later also during
Easter and Christmas holidays. The
school was revolutionary, at that time
national teams did not have their own
specific training camps. Soon the initiative
attracted players from throughout
Europe, including national teams from
Germany, Luxembourg and France.
Notably, the school was not only open
to professional players, ambitious artisans
and hobby players from a variety
of horizons attended. Everyone wanted
to be coached by Tibor Harangozo.
Very quickly, it became obvious that
other centres should be created. In
particular, such facilities were opened
in Germany, Italy, France, Switzerland
and in the former Yugoslavia.
Head coaches were Professor Radivoj
Hudetz, Charles Roesch and Tomi
Terecik; in similar roles followed Walter
Grabner, Boris Pranjkovic, Mario Amizic,
Eva Jeler, Thomas Wetzel, Branka
Batinic and Damir Jurcic. Later Damir
Jurcic joined Tibhar. Furthermore,
courses for coaches were organised,
national associations sent coaches in
order to enhance their education.
Label born
At the same time as learning was
being promoted, Tibor Harangozo was
also pioneering hobby and competition
products. He travelled to Japan
where he made an agreement with a
table tennis factory to produce rubbers
with different playing characteristics.
The Tibhar individual programme
was realised.
Most importantly in 1969 the Tibhar
label was born, soon after in 1972 a
range of rubbers was marketed that
included classics like Speedy Spin,
still available today, alongside Learn
Spin, Cata Spin, Speedy Soft, Vari
Spin and Grass. The goal to develop
blades and rubbers for every type of
playing and skill level was achieved.
Pertinently, in the same year, for the
first time, Tibhar attended the ISPO
fair.
Eventually he became one of the best
players in Germany; his first major
club of note being ATSV Saarbrücken,
in those days competing in the first
division.
Later in his career, he moved to 1.FC
Saarbrücken and combined his work
in the coal mining industry with his
work at Tibhar. The company was
growing at a rapid rate, Tibor asked
Erwin if he would consider working
full time. Despite the fact Erwin had
a good and safe job, also a family
with two young children, he decided
to make the move. Looking back, it
was a very courageous decision. If
you ask Erwin today, why he took this
decision, he just says: “I don’t really
know. It seemed to be wrong, but it
felt right”!
In 1975, the Company sold their
first “Made in Japan” blades. Some,
like the Hinoki H-1-9, are still in the
present-day programme. One year
later, Tibor Harangozo and the former
Romanian national coach Victor Vladone,
developed a new blade range
based with the motto “soft but fast”.
The blade gave birth to the Tibhar
IV-S and IV-L blades which are still
present in today’s range.
Notable innovations, likewise, soon
after in the playing arena there were
significant results. Using Tibhar
equipment, at the 1978 European
Youth Championships in Barcelona,
representing Romania, Eva Ferenci
and Georg-Zsolt Böhm enjoyed outstanding
success. Together they won
the junior mixed doubles title; in addition,
Eva Ferenci emerged the junior
girls’ singles champion, having earlier
gained junior girls’ doubles bronze
when partnering Bettine Vriesekoop
of the Netherlands. Not to be overshadowed,
Georg-Zsolt Böhm joined
forces with Simion Crisan to reserve
the top step of the junior boys’ doubles
podium.
Erwin Berg in 1980 Tibor Harangozo and Erwin Berg in 1977
A major influence on Austrian progress,
Tibor Harangozo also coached
Sadly, in his left arm he suffered the
same ailment, the playing career was
for short periods of time in Bavaria,
over. Unfortunately, the qualifications
Subotica and Zagreb as well as in
One year hence in 1973, Erwin Berg,
gained in Budapest were not recognised
in Yugoslavia, he needed to earn
Chile. Eventually, in 1954 he arrived in
a good friend of Tibor, joined the company.
He had started to play when 16
Saarbrücken, the final destination.
Holding the racket in the manner a living, he pursued the path of a table
years old, enjoying a very successful First “Made in Japan” blades like the Viktor Vladone
which had brought him great suc- tennis coach.
He introduced and adapted the
career, competing in the Bundesliga. Hinoki H-1-9.
12 13

New manager
Delight but in the same year there
was great sadness; only 56 years old,
Tibor Harangozo died as a result of
an accident whilst on holiday in the
Netherlands; his wife Ljerka inherited
the company but had no management
experience.
The solution was Erwin Berg became
the company’s new manager. He
focused on a policy of stability, whilst
remaining true to Tibor’s legacy. He
put the emphasis on collaborating with
coaches and experts in the table tennis
world, consistently developing new
ideas. Farkas Paneth, Victor Vladone,
Charles Roesch and in particular
Professor Radivoj Hudetz provided
immense help and support.
Quite simply, Erwin Berg upheld the
legacy of Tibor Harangozo; despite his
comparative young age, his innovative
thinking had wrought changes
the majority of brands follow today.
Tibor was a table tennis pioneer, when
facing a problem, he never wilted until
a solution was found. Moreover, he
was a world-class player but arguably
the major reason for his entry into the
annals of table tennis is because he
was an outstanding coach. He was the
initiator of many new playing theories;
his book “Table Tennis” published in
1954 very much provided a basis for
modern day coaching principles.
Player, coach and entrepreneur; the
effect of his business acumen was
that, just a few month’s after his death,
on Monday 1st January 1979, Tibhar
GmbH, the equivalent of Tibhar Ltd,
was entered into the German commercial
register.
The company now firmly established,
in 1977 Erwin Berg decided to introduce
textiles. Shirts and shorts were
produced, functional but not fashionable,
there was a need to enter the
fashion market. In 1983 Erwin Berg
visited several textile factories in Hong
Kong; he returned to Germany with
new ideas and launched the “Miami”
range. Shirts in three colours, two
tracksuits and one pair of shorts with
a unique design were produced; the
collection proved successful, it grew
and stood the test of time.
over 100 retail outlets and some 30
national association adopted Tibhar
equipment. Growth meant new premises
were needed; on Monday 1st
January 1990, the company relocated
to Klarenthal, since that date the premises
have been extended but remain
the headquarters.
Sponsored players
An ever-growing company, associating
the Tibhar name with excellence
was very much in the marketing ideals;
in 1985, Georg-Zsolt Böhm, six times
winner of the men’s singles title at
the German National Championships,
became the first top class international
player to sign a sponsorship contract.
Later, following the dissolution of
the Soviet Union in December 1991,
Tibhar contracted 15-year-old Vladimir
Samsonov from Belarus, a player who
has become a veritable legend in the
Roland Berg and Vladimir Samsonov in 1998
Georg-Zsolt Bohm in the 1980s
sport, his talent unquestioned, his
behaviour and manners and example
to all. He has become the archetypal
role model and, as he plies his trade,
he continues to be Tibhar’s flagship
player.
A landmark in the signing of Vladimir
Samsonov, soon after there was
another but of a different nature. In
1995, three years after Tibhar had
launched the rubber named “Rapid”,
the first such product for the company
to be made in Germany, Roland Berg,
Erwin’s son joined the company.
Listed among the top ten juniors in
the country, Roland had played in the
German second division but arguably
the most important factor for Tibhar
was that he was a business graduate.
Soon after his appointment, new
products appeared. In particular, the
Samsonov Alpha blade alongside the
Smash 28 and Smash 28/R tables
were unveiled plus, following the
change in ball size, the TIBHAR*** 40
mm ball entered the market.
In 1992 Tibhar launched “Rapid”
Furthermore, using ayous wood, a
lightweight blade was developed; it
proved a huge success. In the following
years, the blade production was
moved from Romania to Slovenia from
where it is distributed to the present
day.
Both blades are still present in
Forward thinking, demand increased
rapidly during the period 1985 to 1990,
Tibhar company buildings
today’s range
Vladimir Samsonov at the GAC World Championships in 2011 in Rotterdam
14 15
IV-S blade
IV-L blade

Show court table
Now on-line at www.tibhar.com,
many national and international level
tournaments adopted the ball; most
notably the 2002 European Championships
in Zagreb. It was at this
event Tibhar set up a show court
table for the first time; an example
which many brands followed.
It was the idea of Erwin and Roland
as a result of an incident in the
men’s singles title decider at the 1997
ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals in Hong
Kong when Vladimir Samsonov beat
China’s Wang Liqin to clinch the title.
Broadcast on television and only one
ball used in those days as opposed
to the current concept of several per
game; at one stage of the match, the
ball rolled underneath the tiered seating.
It took some time to find the ball
and being televised did not reflect the
sport in the best possible light.
Erwin had the idea to make a table
and surrounds, which would be
completely enclosed and produced
from a hard material, the plastic court
surrounds being superseded, using
the solid material we see today. He
started to build a prototype show
court table in his garage. The top of
the table was removed from its usual
legs and mounted on four pieces of
Plexiglas. He added the blue Tibhar
logo and LED lights under the frame;
the appearance was simply fabulous!
It took four people to put the table
top on to its frame, the whole top was
made of one piece and not two. Comfortable
with this project, he put the
Plexiglas pieces in his car and drove
from Klarenthal to Zagreb. Upon his
arrival he talked to the organisers
who approved his idea. The table
was erected; the image presented
was you could think that the tabletop
was floating!
Not only the table looked very good,
but also no ball could roll underneath;
this was also valid for the new
surrounds, which built a perfect frontier
around the court. No ball could
leave the area; these two concepts
had a great impact on the image of
table tennis. Ever since, encouraged
by the International Table Tennis
Federation, show court tables have
played an important role in almost
every major tournament.
Official supplier
The Plexiglas table at the Liebherr 2002 European Championships in Zagreb
the company’s Chief Executive Officer,
Tibhar was the official equipment supplier.
Successful, additional to many
other international tournaments, Tibhar
fulfilled the same role at the Liebherr
2006 World Team Championships
in Bremen, the Liebherr 2007 World
Championships in Croatia and since
2018 at the Europe Top 16 Cup.
Highly visible, the company kept pace
with market trends. On Tuesday 1st
January 2013, the first three Evolution
rubbers were released, FX-P
and EL-P alongside MX-P being very
much at the vanguard of development.
Pertinently, the 2013-2014 catalogue
contained 218 items, almost twice as
many as 20 years earlier.
Two years later, the Evolution series
welcomed three new “members”;
FX-S, EL-S and MX-S. More recently
MX-P50 was released in 2019, as
the company reacted to requests for
harder sponge and faster rubbers. The
relevance of the notation being that
“S” at the end of each name stands for
spin, “P” power, “FX” for flexible, “EL”
for elastic and “MX” for maximum.
High quality products, the Tibhar Evolution
programme became extremely
popular being extended to a wide
range of products including clothing,
edging tape and sweatbands. Life
somewhat different to when the company
started but the legacy of Tibor
Harangozo is maintained; a racket can
be found to suit the playing style of
every player.
Enhancing the image, at the Liebherr
2003 World Championships in Paris,
Make no mistake, more innovations
the year in which Roland Berg became
Bernadette Szocs with her racket in Darko Jorgic at the 2019 ITTF World
and more surprises are yet to come. which one side was pink
Tour German Open
16 17
New ideas
Principles maintained but the company
remains always open to progress.
Supporting the International Table
Tennis Federation in promoting new
ideas; in 2017, Tibhar sponsored the
T2 APAC tournaments where matches
were limited to 24 minutes duration.
Meanwhile, in July 2019 at the T2
Diamond tournament, Tibhar provided
a racket for Romania’s Bernadette
Szocs which was one side black and
the other pink.
Also, the idea was promoted later in
the year when Tomislav Pucar and
Shang Kun played an exhibition match;
fans were invited to try coloured rubbers,
the response most enthusiastic.
Consistent innovation, nowadays
Tibhar has around 25 employees; five
extensions have been made to the
company buildings, offices and warehouse.
The company is the dominant
table tennis brand in France, and
amongst the leading brands in all other
European countries.
In recent years, many players, clubs
and national associations using Tibhar
have enjoyed success. Memorably in
2016, Frenchman Emmanuel Lebesson
won the men’s singles title at the
Liebherr European Championships; in
2018 in Montreux, Bernadette Szocs
emerged victorious at the CCB Europe
Top 16. More recently in 2020, 1.FC
Saarbrücken secured the men’s Bundesliga
title for the first time in their
history, prior to finishing in runners up
spot in the Table Tennis Champions
League Men.
Since the first day it has been the
goal of the company and their founders
to advance the development of
table tennis and continuously improve
product quality. Starting with the first
“professional” training camp, the idea
of different materials adapted to each
playing style in Tibor Harangozo’s era,
or the first ever handmade show court
by Erwin Berg, Tibhar’s past and new
ideas not only have led to the growth
of the company but have also revolutionised
the entire sport.
Family member
At the European Youth Championships
in 1987 in Athens, when only 11 years
old, he was a cadet boys’ singles bronze
medallist. Two years later in 1989 he
emerged the winner, the 13-year-old attracted
attention with his smooth, fluent,
controlled style of play; in particular, he
caught the eye of Tibhar.
Vladimir Samsonov reflects on the
watershed moments that resulted in an
agreement being reached, one which
has remained unbroken and to this day
remains as strong as ever.
“It’s a long time ago, it was 1989 at the
European Youth Championships in Luxembourg
when I first spoke to Tibhar;
it was the time of the break-up of the
Soviet Union. Alexandre Petkevitch was
my coach, he made the arrangements;
a contract was proposed in 1991 and in
1992 at the European Championships in
Stuttgart I signed; ever since that date
we have been together.
At the time Tibhar was a relatively
young company, Alexandre and myself
liked the proposals made; I was a young
Emmanuel Lebesson, the 2016 European
champion
player, everything fitted.
Most importantly with Erwin Berg
there was a strong human contact, a
very positive personality. Also, Radivoj
Hudetz was always there to help,
they were people you could trust. I felt
secure; that’s a major reason why I’ve
always stayed with Tibhar; it’s more
than a business deal, it’s like being part
of a family.
I’ve enjoyed a good relationship with
everyone at the company, in particular
with Erwin’s son Roland. Over the
years new people have come, always
there has been a good atmosphere,
one of working together.
It continues to be a very positive
experience. One of the major strengths
of Tibhar is that the company is always
looking forward, coming up with good
ideas, making every effort to promote
table tennis. I try to give feedback, help
and advise as much as possible.
Most certainly I’m looking forward to
supporting new ideas, new concepts,
new developments; my commitment to
Tibhar remains as strong as ever.”
Vladimir Samsonov signed his contract
with Tibhar in 1992

English twins stun in Vienna
still youngest ever
Youth was very much on view on Sunday 28th April at the Liebherr
2019 World Championships in Budapest; China’s 18-year-old
Sun Yingsha and 20 years of age Wang Manyu won the women’s
doubles title. They recovered from a two games to nil deficit to
record a six games success in opposition to Japanese 18 yearolds
Hina Hayata and Mima Ito.
Rosalind and Diane Rowe in 1950
The question posed: was the Chinese
pair the youngest ever to win the title
having a combined age of 38 years?
Equally were the Japanese the youngest
to reach the final, their ages totalling
36 years?
On both counts, the answer is in the
negative, on Sunday 11th March 1951,
at the 18th World Championships, the
combined age was 34 years; in the
Konzerthaus in Vienna, English twins
Diane and Rosalind Rowe emerged
the winners. At the time they were 17
years and 320 days old; now 70 years
later that record still stands firm. Diane
now Diane Schöler, is the Honorary
President of the Swaythling Club International,
sadly Rosalind passed away
in June 2015.
Putting matters into context the twins
were just over seven months younger
than the most junior member of the 2019
quartet, Sun Yingsha; she was 18 years
and 175 days old when holding high the
W. J. Pope Trophy.
Furthermore, neither Diane nor Rosalind
possessed a world ranking,
international experience being minimum.
Coached at the West Ealing club by Ken
Craigie; in 1949, when 16 years old, Rosalind
was selected to play for England
against Czechoslovakia. At the same
time, Diane won a Daily Mirror competition
for which the prize was coaching
from Victor Barna; he was to become
their mentor. Later, a few months before
the World Championships in Vienna
in early 1951 they had played against
Wales, prior to competing in Belgium,
France and the Netherlands.
It was rather different in Budapest. Sun
Yingsha was listed at no.28 in the global
order, Wang Manyu at a lofty no.4;
both were attuned to the global scene,
no strangers to the ITTF World Tour.
Memorably in 2017 in Riva del Garda,
they had met in the girls’ singles final at
the World Junior Championships, Sun
Yingsha prevailing in a classic seven
games encounter.
The comparison is stark. Accepted
times have changed but can you
imagine at the next World Championships,
a teenage pair from Europe,
both players with no world ranking,
only minimal international experience,
winning the women’s doubles title?
Such was the achievement of Diane
and Rosalind Rowe.
Almost opening round exit
ed the full five games to overcome the
Yugoslav partnership of Margita Covic
and Marica Temunovic. Perhaps that
was a blessing in disguise, did the close
contest inject an air of confidence?
In round two they beat the Welsh duo
of Audrey Bates and Audrey Coombs,
followed by success in opposition to
the partnership formed by England’s
Joyce Roberts and Scotland’s Betty
Pithie. A semi-final place booked; in
total harmony and overcoming any
nerves, they accounted for Hungary’s
Gizi Farkas and Roszi Karpati to reserve
a place in the title decider. They
faced Romania’s Angelica Rozeanu
and Sari Szasz.
Watching intently was the late Ron
Crayden, at the time a member of the
England men’s team; several years
ago he recalled the occasion in quite
vivid detail.
“Could they overcome their opponents
and their own emotions? Our fears
were groundless for they played like
veterans. The first two games had the
audience weak with nervous excitement
as the twins were trailing to the
very end. Suddenly there was a dramatic
change when Ros and Di struck
with the venom of angered cobras; their
opponents, Angelica Rozeanu and Sari
Szasz, wilted under the pressure and
the roof was almost raised as the twins
took a two-nil lead.
Full credit must be given to the Romanians
for fighting back to make it two
games all. At the start of the fifth and
final game the atmosphere was charged
with dramatic tension, but it was the
twins who remained calm and collected.
They had a few words together to
boost their confidence; with the crowd
roaring them on they made a beeline
for the goal, changing ends with a 10-4
lead. As they neared the 21 mark one
could not only sense the overall excitement
but almost reach out and touch
it..19…20…21!”
Make no mistake, it was a remarkable
performance, the quality of the opposition
the best of the era. At the time
of the tournament Angelica Rozeanu,
Gizi Farkas and Sari Szaz occupied
the respective three top places on the
world rankings!
Moreover, Gizi Farkas had won the
women’s singles title at three consecutive
World Championships commencing
in 1947 in Paris, Angelica
Rozeanu was the defending champion,
having beaten Gizi Farkas in the
1950 final in Budapest.
seeded” reminisced Diane Schöler. “My
main memory of that finals’ night was
of the cheers of encouragement from
British forces in the audience.”
National heroines
Diane and Rosalind were national heroines;
every year the Eagle Sports Annual
was produced, it was a prized Christmas
present. Always two pages were
dedicated to table tennis; just as Stanley
Matthews, the footballer was revered,
Stirling Moss, the racing driver admired,
so were the Rowe twins. In fact, rarely
were they referred to as the Rowe twins;
they were the famous Rowe twins.
Charles Wyndham in the book “Table
Tennis Twins” published in 1967 underlined
the fact.
“I can’t believe it’s true”, whispered
Diane to Rosalind. “Is it really happening
to us?” The following morning at 5
am. they took off in a large passenger
plane for England. When they landed,
they were greeted by reporters and
large crowds of excited people. “We
really must be World Champions”, said
Rosalind. “I’ve never seen such crowds
before. I can scarcely believe that they
are here to meet us. It was several
hours before the two girls fought their
way through the crowds and managed
Women’s Doubles: Diane Rowe & Rosalind Rowe
to reach the door of their home where
their mother was waiting for them.”
Celebrities, following a landmark
tournament; their efforts overshadowed
those of Johnny Leach who regained
the men’s singles crown won in 1949 in
Stockholm. It remains to this date the
only occasion when two titles at a World
Championships have been won by players
born in England.
A welcome from thousands of admirers,
the welcome from their mother
was warm but as Charles Wyndham
described very different, typically British,
down to earth.
“Come in”, she said. “You must be tired
out. I’ve got the kettle on for a nice cup
of tea. I expect you could both do with
one after being abroad for so long. “To
both girls home meant quiet and a good
rest. The following week, however, they
were back at work in an office and practising
table tennis every evening.”
Note, they were not full-time players.
It was part time local office work and
practice at the West Ealing club.
Times have changed but one fact has
not changed, the record of being the
youngest still stands and considering the
current scene will stand for many years
to come.
Round One: bt Margita Covic / Marica Temunovic (YUG) 21-16, 17-21, 22-24, 21-18, 21-15
Round Two: bt Audrey Bates / Audrey Coombs (WAL) 21-12, 17-21, 21-15, 21-15
Quarter-Final: bt Joyce Roberts / Betty Pithie (ENG/SCO) 21-19, 21-17, 21-12
Semi-Final: bt Gizi Farkas / Roszi Karpati (HUN) 21-14, 6-21, 21-15, 15-21, 21-12
Final: bt Angelica Rozeanu / Sari Szasz (ROU) 22-20, 21-19, 19-21, 20-22, 21-12
Moreover, when the event commenced
there was no suggestion of what was
Diane ready to seize the opportunity
Elegant backspin play from Rosalind Rowe
to follow; they almost disappeared from
“Looking back, no one thought we had
view in the opening round, they need-
a chance in Vienna. We were not even The opening ceremony for the 1951 World Championships
18 19

VIVE LA
difference!
Left handed, shake hands grip, a
strong forehand top spin a major
feature, it’s the way the French play;
it’s the way that brought Jean-Philippe
Gatien the world title and the way that
saw the late Jacques Secretin and
more recently Emmanuel Lebesson
become European champions.
However, is it now the end of the
road for the style? The country’s most
recent European champion is very
different, almost the total antithesis!
On Sunday 11th October in Berlin, 14
years old at the time, Felix Lebrun won
the cadet boys’ singles title at the European
Youth Top 10 tournament; he is
a right handed penhold grip player!
proved correct?
Felix Lebrun started to play table tennis
when three years old, “baby ping”;
basically, able to sit up straight on a
table, the child with racket in hand
returns balls fed in multi-ball slow motion.
At the start it was just a case of
grasping hold of the racket; later when
four and a half years old he adopted
the penhold method.
“I saw a penholder, a Chinese player
who was playing for the Istres Club,
Chen Jian”, explained Felix Lebrun.
“He was also a practice partner for
some time for the men’s team at the
national training centre, INSEP. I liked
him and his style of play very much, I
took him as an example, as a model.”
A role model and faith in a style of
the play that on the global stage is
increasingly in the minority; that fact
does not deter Felix Lebrun, very
much he is his own man and sees
positives in the style.
“It is a good grip for returning services,
playing short over the table, trying
to return the ball so it would bounce
twice at the opponent’s side”, said
Felix Lebrun. “Conversely, it is very
difficult to play a ball when it is above
shoulder level.”
Problems when playing above shoulder
level, his opponents may not
agree! Like Wang Hao in his heyday,
he is notably strong from the backhand,
confident and relaxed in the
rallies, as well as crucially having an
imposing range of services from which
he can mount a strong first attack.
However, there is one most notable
technical difference where he is very
different from Wang Hao or any other
penholder for that matter. He serves
using a shake hands grip!
“Yes, I serve shake hands, and take
my fore finger away; I don’t really
remember how it started”, sighed Felix
Lebrun. “It just seems for me, the most
efficient way to serve.”
A most impressive young man, he
plays in a very smooth and controlled
manner, his balance outstanding but
he does have one problem to overcome.
He must wear spectacles;
various opinions have been afforded
as to when a person may start to wear
contact lenses, at the moment, Felix
has decided to wait.
“It is a problem because of sweating;
sometimes I take them off because I
become unsure and cannot see owing
to the steam on the lenses”, stressed
Felix Lebrun. “As soon as possible I’d
like to wear contact lenses.”
First reserve
Good players adapt, good players
overcome problems; those are major
reasons why Felix Lebrun, born on
Tuesday 12th September 2006, succeeded
at the European Youth Top 10;
a tournament for which owing to the
pandemic, it was difficult to prepare.
In fact, he did not expect to compete.
Originally, he was the first reserve, it
was only two weeks prior to the event
that he knew he would be playing;
travel restrictions prevented certain
countries sending players. A table
tennis table in his house, he had
practised at home in preparation for
ensuing national league matches but
having received the invitation to play
in Berlin, he attended a training camp
at INSEP. Alas that did not bear great
fruit, a foot injury reduced the amount
of time he could practise.
“I felt I could win a few matches; I
didn’t feel much stress when the tournament
started. I tried to encourage
myself with some “tcho”; after that it
went smoothly!” smiled Felix Lebrun.
After beating Slovakia’s Jakub Goldir
and Romania’s Andrei Teodor Istrate
on the first day; in his opening match
on the second day of play, he suffered
his one and only defeat of the tournament.
He was beaten by Poland’s
Matteusz Zalewkski.
“I lost because he played well, and I
made too many easy mistakes; also, I
had problems returning his services; of
course, after the match I was disappointed.
I went outside to try to forget,
relax”, reminisced Felix Lebrun. “I had
only 30 minutes to recover before the
next match, the coaches came to see
me; in general, I recover quite well in
such situations.”
He recovered, he beat both Spain’s
Daniel Berzosa and Romania’s Darius
Movileanu, before on the concluding
day of play accounting for Iulian Chirita,
also from Romania and Germany’s
Lleyton Ullmann to seal the title.
Most creditable performances, at the
2019 European Youth Championships
in Ostrava, Movileanu had beaten
Chirita in the cadet boys’ singles final,
the win against Chirita, by the minimal
two point margin in the deciding fifth
game was the crucial contest in the
whole tournament.
Full of determination at the 2020 European Youth Top 10
He plays very much in the style of
China’s now retired Wang Hao, three
times Olympic Games men’s singles
silver medallist and crowned world
champion in 2009 in Yokohama. However,
The cadet boys podium in Berlin, Felix Lebrun, Iulian Chirita, Andrei Teodor Istrate
there is a major difference, Wang
Hao maintained tradition, Felix Lebrun
breaks with tradition. Name a French
for me. I had to take more risks and an Youth Championships, he progressed
penhold grip player who progressed to
impose myself on the match.”
to the fourth round where Germany’s
high international level, such a species
does not exist. Conversely, Wang
Mike Hollo ended adventures.
A landmark success, domestically he
had won the under 13 boys’ singles title “After the European Youth Championships,
I focused more on my forehand
Hao was advised by his first coach,
“Against Chirita, it was a very close at the national championships in 2018
Xui Ruikin, that the choice should
match; I know the Romanians well, we and 2019, internationally his best was and improved my services”, explained
be penhold. The reasoning was that
both knew that it was really the final. I in 2019 when achieving a cadet boys’ Felix Lebrun. “I still need to improve
if there was a close call for national
lost the first and fourth games narrowly”,
reflected Felix Lebrun. “He domi-
World Junior Circuit in Spain, losing to ent distances from the table and being
singles semi-final finish on the ITTF my forehand in general, playing differ-
team selection, the national coaches
would choose tradition and select the Felix when 18 months old
Felix Lebrun, under 13 boys’ singles national
nated the play, but I was able to react colleague Alexis Kouraichi, the eventual relaxed. Also, the quick game, the ball
penholder! Perhaps Xui Ruikin was
champion in 2019
in the fifth; his style is very difficult winner. Later in the year at the Europe-
into the body, better placement.”
20 21

Elder brother
Notable achievements, some distance
still to go but moving ever closer to
the level of Chen Jian his inspiration;
however, if he needs such motivation,
he has a role model much nearer to
home, his three years older brother,
Alexis who likewise has enjoyed notable
success.
Born on Wednesday 27th August
2003; at the 2019 World Junior Championships
staged in Korat, Thailand,
lining up alongside Vincent Picard, Lilian
Bardet and Dorian Zheng, bronze
in the boys’ team event was gained.
Moreover, Alexis played a vital role in
that success; at the quarter-final stage
France recorded a 3-0 win against Singapore,
in the third match of the fixture
he beat Josh Chua Shao Han to seal
the semi-final place.
Different from his younger brother in
that he is a shake hands grip player
but similar in the fact that he is well
aware of improvement needed.
“I think my services, counter top spin
play and defending by blocking are my
strengths”, stressed Alexis Lebrun who
is clearly comfortable in rallies. “I need
to improve my short play and backhand
top spin to start a rally.”
The Lebrun family, Stéphane, Dominique, Alexis, Margaux, Roxane, and Felix
Alexis Lebrun at the 2019 World Junior Championships
Family
Both clearly have enjoyed a sound
table tennis education and there is no
wonder, father is Stéphane Lebrun.
He is the coach at Montpellier where
Alexis and Felix practise between 20
and 25 hours per week. Notably under
his guidance they won the Nancy Evans
Cup in 2001 (Chang Yen-Su, Yang
Min, Frédéric Sonnet) and in 2003
(Bojan Tokic, Yang Min, Chang Yen-Su
and Kalin Kreanga).
They have elder sisters, Roxane 22
years old and Margaux, 20 years
of age but they are not table tennis
players; however, they do have a very
close celebrated relation. Christophe
Legout is their uncle; in 1997 he was
a member of the team that secured
silver at the World Championships in
Manchester and in same year won the
men’s singles title on the ITTF World
Tour in Lyon.
“The environment is most important
in a player’s career. The player
must be well surrounded”, said
Christophe Legout. “The family is
important; this plays a big role in the
construction of a champion.”
Most certainly Christophe Legout is
a most valuable member of the family
team; a player who not only competed
against the best but beat the best.
Vivid in the memory is his second
round win against China’s Wang Liqin
in 2008 on the ITTF World Tour in
Kuwait. At the time Wang Liqin was the
reigning world champion.
“Christophe gives them a lot of advice;
it provides a big chance for them
to progress”, said Stéphane Lebrun.
“They have three other coaches, Damien
Loiseau and two other coaches
in Montpellier, the personal coach is
Olivier Ouazana.”
Most certainly they can learn from the
example set by Christophe Legout, a
player who was very different to the
Lebrun brothers; apart from the fact
that he was a member of the traditional
French brigade being a left handed
attacking player with a notably fast
forehand, he did not enjoy great success
as a junior. In fact, very much he
proved his detractors wrong and made
the grade. The determination showed
is apparent in his nephews.
“Alexis has a lot of merit; when he
was young, he was out for two years
through injury; he plays in a totally
different way to the majority, this is his
advantage”, said Christophe Legout.
“He has more or less the same profile
as Adrien Mattenet, he is not formatted
in a centre or from a training structure;
I can see him in the French team in
two or three years’ time.”
Undoubtedly both boys are well
supported, a key factor is they have
been given space to develop in their
own way, the way that suits their
perceived strengths.
“Felix is completely different thanks
to his playing method; he will reach a
high level younger than the majority of
players but then he will for sure face a
difficult period when the others start to
get used to him and adapt”, stressed
Christophe Legout. “After that period,
he will become one of the pillars of the
French team; all being said I have to
add that I cannot be completely objective,
I am their beloved uncle!”
Different and could that be their
strength; for Felix, winner of the cadet
boys’ singles at the 2020 European
Youth Top 10, he has proved the fact.
More importantly being different, it
shows they believe in themselves; it
demonstrates strength of character
that could prove the most important
facet of all.
Christophe Legout at the 1999 World Championships
Wang Hao, Olympic Games silver medallist for
the third time in London
Wong Chun Ting assesses
Felix Lebrun
The high level player of the modern
day, using a penhold grip who equates
to Felix Lebrun, is Hong Kong’s Wong
Chun Ting; he is very comfortable in the
rallies executing top spin strokes from
both backhand and forehand. Both are
very different to China’s Xu Xin, the long
raking forehand his trademark.
Wong Chun Ting highlighted the
features of Felix Lebrun’s play
which impressed.
• There is a great deal of variation on
his first three strokes.
• The playing style is quite aggressive;
this is very much in line with current
trends in table tennis.
Words of advice from Wong Chun Ting
• He plays strongly and is very consistent.
Later Wong Chun Ting offered words
of advice.
• To play at high level as a senior,
physical training is an important factor.
• He is of a small build and must
strengthen his muscles and increase
power.
• It is important he develops his technical
skills, learns to be strong mentally
so that he can play under pressure.
• After attacking the first ball, he
needs to build on his ability to
maintain consistency and keep
the initiative.
22 23

The sun breaking through, a bright
morning on Friday 2nd June in the
small Danish town of Sakskobine, the
first day of play at the 1989 Cadet Six
Nations tournament, for the England
team it was early to rise, the aim to be
first in the dining room for breakfast;
therefore first in the hall to practise.
kopf; then I passed him on to another
coach”, added Eva Jeler. “It was fine,
I watched him progress to become
a most successful player; also, I
watched him become a good person,
that was extremely important.”
Jörg Rosskopf is the shining example;
he is just one of a generation of players
that includes the likes of Steffen
Fetzner, Peter Franz, Nicole Struse
and Elke Schall amongst others, who
Eva Jeler has guided from cadet to
senior international status.
PUTTING STONES INTO A MOSAIC
Major achievements speak for
themselves and more may well
follow but for a country in a totally
different part of the world. In January,
Eva Jeler, integral to German
success for almost four decades,
commenced work for Table Tennis
Australia. She assumes a major
coaching role alongside John Murphy
and Simon Gerada.
“Eva was in high demand throughout
the world and this provides
great confidence to us that someone
of her calibre has chosen
Australia for the next phase of her
highly successful career”, explained
a delighted Scott Houston, the
Chief Executive Officer for Table
Tennis Australia. “Above being an
outstanding coach, Eva is also a
fantastic person and she will fit in
very well with the culture we are
building. We can’t wait to welcome
Eva to Australia and to get to work
on achieving our goals.”
All present and correct as we sat
around the table, I looked through the
window and somewhat to my surprise
I saw the German team following a
physical training routine. I’d been
usurped but it was a good lesson.
It reflected the influence of Eva Jeler
who, on Friday 31st July, after 37
years of service, retired from the position
of German national coach.
Quite simply her attitude is do
everything correctly, an approach underlined
by those young players more
than 30 years ago; in whatever sphere
of life do things properly and you give
yourself the very best possible chance
of succeeding, the skill of the coach is
to transmit the theory.
In order for such a scenario to be realised,
the subject must have every trust
in the mentor; it is the same in every
situation where education is involved.
In the time honoured phrase the teacher
must be “firm but fair” and establish
parameters not to be crossed. The
educator is not present to be popular
but if respected the educator becomes
popular; Eva Jeler proves the point.
Undoubtedly in the sporting world,
table tennis is no exception, a prime
task for the coach is to enable a
young person to develop their playing
talents. However, being the coach,
advising young players goes beyond
the bounds of teaching how to stroke
a spherical object with grace, dexterity
and sublime power. Coaches can
make a major influence on a young
person in their formative years that will
stay with them deep into adulthood.
“You have it in your own hand, don’t
destroy things, make a young person a
better person, a well-rounded person,
make them better at everything;
it’s psychology, highlight fair play”,
stressed Eva Jeler. “It is like putting
stones into a mosaic.”
One mosaic, where the pieces were
most certainly arranged to produce
a most complete montage, is in the
guise the man now trusted with the
task of making sure the jigsaw fits perfectly
before the German men’s team
takes to the stage.
Jörg Rosskopf in 1997
Advice for Youssef Abdel-Aziz from Eva Jeler and Peter Gardos
Scott Houston, no mean coach
himself, can be assured the players
will be directed along a straight and
narrow path with a warm smile, the
Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth
Games the immediate goal but as in
Germany, could the long term legacy
be the greater benefit?
for five years I helped Jörg Ross- Weber
“All the time you see people learning, ITTF Coach Mentorship - Peter Gardos, Jens Rudland, Eva Jeler, Hisham Ismail, Christian Süss, Diana
24 25

Team member
The satisfaction for Eva Jeler is being
an integral member of a team that
helps a young person progress in life.
There is no hint of seeking reflected
glory, no suggestion of possession.
Make no mistake, at the other end of
scale, at World Championships and
similar, players under Eva Jeler’s
charge knew they had an ally who not
only possesses a wealth of knowledge,
is tactically astute but most importantly
is someone in whom they can have
total trust.
At high level players know each other
so well, they cannot drastically change
their style of play, nor can their opponent;
Jörg Rosskopf couldn’t suddenly
become a right-handed pen holder.
They need sitting courtside an adviser
who wants them to win!
“I think that when the player loses a
match, he or she needs your heart,
the player needs to know you care”,
stressed Eva Jeler. “If a player wins,
your brain is needed to assess the
performance; I think these factors are
really important.”
Players under the charge of Eva Jeler
would just have to look into her eyes
and see a studious air of calmness
that breeds confidence and self-belief;
there is a message of “you can do
it” without speaking. Also, when the
match is over, a balanced appraisal
follows. However, if you didn’t follow
the advice given by Eva, at the end
of the contest, you might be in for an
earwigging!
A most knowledgeable adviser at the
very highest level but one always has
the impression that coaching young
players, guiding teenagers through
their formative years is where the heart
lies. The ITTF Hopes Programme
underlines the prognosis.
“The ITTF Hopes Programme was
invented for me, I could follow it 24
hours a day; I’ve been ten years following
the programme, it’s influenced
people all around the world”, said Eva
Jeler. “The ITTF World Hopes Week
has been excellent; in my opinion it is
the best initiative ever designed by the
International Table Tennis Federation.”
Quite simply, the watchword is education
and a comprehensive education.
“It’s good to work with the coaches,
they progress, they learn; then later
they reply, they send messages,
they send videos. It’s not just the
young people who have benefitted,
the coaches set the seeds for the
young players; everything spreads like
Eva Jeler in 1971
Eva Jeler and Istvan Korpa in 1972
wildfire”, stressed Eva Jeler. “It is so
rewarding to see so many motivated
people; the young players put their
faith in you. The coaches control the
situation, they have a responsibility;
they can take reassurance from the
programme. Also, you must put your
trust in young coaches, support them;
guide them.”
Playing career
Trust, it is at the very core of the Jeler
philosophy but like everyone else who
drank the potent elixir of table tennis,
the journey started as a player.
Born on Thursday 1st October 1953
in the Slovenian capital city of Ljubljana,
in those days part of Yugoslavia,
table tennis started at the Osnovna
Sola Prule primary school when nine
years of age. Sport was high on the
nation’s agenda; Eva enjoyed the thrill
of competition.
“I tried many sports, swimming, judo,
basketball, gymnastics, I liked all ball
sports; but table tennis was for me the
most interesting”, explained Eva Jeler.
She attracted the attention of local
coaches and joined Olympia Ljubljana,
her club to the present day.
“My first coach was Tomi Terecik,
who left after half a year to become
national coach in France; after him,
Dusko Tigerman was for a year my
coach, he left to become national
coach in Holland”, reminisced Eva
Jeler. “After these two excellent
coaches, for the rest of my years as a
player, Fric Usenik had enough nerve
to lead me through puberty, losing
many matches and dealing with all
the troubles of a young player; for this
I am forever thankful.”
Eva responded to the efforts of her
coaches; perhaps the very nature of
the way in which matters were conducted
had a notable influence on
her later career. The approach was
very professional.
“They were serious, there was a good
level of discipline”, added Eva Jeler. “I
practised three hours a day; my father
supported me, he encouraged me to
try to be the best. However, I was not
allowed to neglect school.”
National team
Eventually, Eva gained a place in
the national team in what was a very
special era in Yugoslavia, legendary
names such as Istvan Korpa, Antun
Stipancic, Dragutin Surbek and Milivoj
The Yugoslav women’s team, Eva Jeler is third from right
Yugoslav team in 1971 in Tianjin, Zlatko Cordas, Miran Savnik, Milivoj Karakasevic, Elena Jeler, Antun
Stipancic
Karakasevic plied their skills.
Most notably, alongside Branka
Batinic, Dubravka Fabri and Erzsebet
Palatinus, Eva was a member of the
Yugoslav outfit that secured bronze in
the women’s team event at the 1976
Moreover, the previous year at the
1975 World Championships in Calcutta,
partnering Erzsebet Palatinus, the
duo had finished agonizingly close
to a quarter-final place. They were
beaten by Korea Republic’s Chung
Hyunsook and Sim Kyungok (19-21,
Yugoslavia at the 1974 European Championships in Novi Sad, Erzebet Korpa, Dubravka Fabri, Erzebet
Palatinus, Eva Jeler
European Championships in Prague. 21-13, 21-15, 23-21).
26 27

“I liked doubles, I liked playing in a
team”, explained Eva Jeler. “I didn’t
play well in that match in Calcutta, but
it remains a precious memory.”
The reaction is typical of the humility
always displayed; make no
mistake she was a fine player in her
own right, in 1973 she won the women’s
singles title at the Mediterranean
Championships in Piraeus.
“I was not very good against defenders,
the club where I learnt to
play was very small, there was no
space for defenders, everybody
played close to the table”, recalled
Eva Jeler. “There were no opportunities
to learn how to play against
defence; when I joined the national
team, nobody could understand why
I had not learnt to play defenders.”
However, there was one defender
against whom Eva proved a worthy
opponent, in her era arguably the
best of them all, Romania’s Maria
Alexandru. Memorably she won the
women’s doubles title a World Championships
on three occasions. She
succeeded in 1961 in Beijing partnering
Georgita Pitica; then in 1973
in Sarajevo alongside Miho Hamada
and two years later in Calcutta when
in harness with Shoko Takahashi.
Test Maria Alexandru and surely
your capabilities against those who
extol the backspin art were of a
very high standard?
“Maria Alexandru was a great player,
she loved to play, she wanted to
practise and of course I wanted to play
against her; she would approach me
and call “Jeler come”, it was always
Jeler! We would go to the training hall
and practise”, explained Eva Jeler.
“Time and again I would reach the
quarter or semi-finals and lose to Maria
but in close games; she would let
me get to 18-all or so, she knew she
could win, then she would raise her
level and always win.”
Defeats but the results put Eva in
good stead with the Yugoslav coaches.
“The coaches would congratulate me
on my improvement against defence”,
smiled Eva Jeler. “They didn’t know
that Maria had given me a few points,
so the match looked close; I never
told them!”
Losing to Maria Alexandru but it was
valuable experience; it was an element
that enabled Eva Jeler to appreciate
the qualities of a backspin player.
Eva Jeler at the 1973 Balkan Games in Sombor
A thoughtful Ebby Schöler, a delighted Eva Jeler
Filus, I have always been interested
in defenders.”
Injury
Only 22 years of age, having played
internationally for eight years, an injury
to her right knee forced retirement.
“The pain became worse and worse,
when you are right handed and try to
play forehand top spin, you put a great
deal of pressure on your right knee, it
becomes impossible to play the stroke;
I could ski but not play table tennis”,
said Eva Jeler. “Christian Süss expe-
rienced the same problem, he could
play football but not table tennis! I was
told I needed surgery and it would take
a year to recover.”
Eva took the decision not to have an
operation, she became a teacher at a
college for 16 to 18-year-old students.
She held a master’s degree in biology
and intended to take a doctorate,
but an invitation received in 1977 to
coach abroad meant higher education
was put on hold. It is still on hold but
not out of the question, in the foreseeable
future she may return to education;
it’s a challenge and that befits
her character.
“I missed table tennis, I went as a
coach to a local training camp and
met Radivoj Hudetz; I learnt a great
deal from him,” added Eva Jeler. “He
told me that the Bavarian Association
needed a coach, he organised things
and 23 years old, I went; I went to
Munich and instead of taking my doctorate,
I learnt German!”
Under the guidance of Eva Jeler,
players in Bavaria progressed;
agreed by her professor, there were
thoughts of studying for the doctorate
in Munich during holidays. However,
another turn of events meant again
the doctorate had to be resigned to
the back burner.
In 1983 Eva accepted an offer
from the German National Association
(DTTB) and alongside Charles
Roesch, who previously had worked
for the French Table Tennis Federation,
designed a talent identification
programme. Notably the innovation is
still in use today.
“We started from virtually nothing;
Charles put forward good arguments”,
reminisced Eva Jeler. “Our ideas were
accepted, we moved forward.”
At the European Youth Championships,
in 1986 in Louvain-la-Neuve,
Steffen Fetzner and Jörg Rosskopf
won the junior boys’ doubles title. The
standard was set. Amongst a host of
other successes at the prestigious
annual tournament, Torben Wosik,
Christian Süss and Patrick Franziska
all emerged junior boys’ singles
champions; the honour never came
the way of Ruwen Filus but in 2003
in Novi Sad, he won the cadet boys’
singles event.
Likewise, Timo Boll and Dimitrij
Ovtcharov were junior boys’ singles
winners and alongside Jörg Rosskopf,
progressed to the greatest heights,
all eventually secured gold in the
Men’s World Cup. Jörg Rosskopf won
in 1998, Timo Boll in 2002 and 2005,
Dimitrij Ovtcharov in 2017.
Meanwhile, Nicole Struse and Wu
Jiaduo each won the women’s singles
title at the European Championships;
Nicole Struse in 1996, Wu Jiaduo
in 2009. Furthermore, at the World
Junior Championships in 2006 Amelie
Solja secured silver, in 2012 it was
bronze for younger sister Petrissa.
The facts speak for themselves, they underline
the high quality of Eva Jeler, their
success is her reward, well merited.
A wealth of knowledge, Ebby Schöler, Eva Jeler, Hans-Wilhelm Gäb, Charles Roesch
Olympia Ljubljana Club, far right is the coach Franc Usenik-Fric, Eva Jeler is fourth from right
“I was fine as a coach for defenders
but not as a player”, added Eva Jeler.
2012 - 2020 DTTB head coach for all youth
“I helped Jie Schöpp and Ruwen
The message is clear from Eva Jeler, you can win
teams, national coach for the cadet boys’ team
28 29
Career
1953 Born in Ljubljana Slovenia
1972 Graduated from high school
1977 Master’s degree in biology
1968 - 1977 Member of the Yugoslav national
team
1977 - 1983 Regional coach in Bavaria
1983 - 1989 DTTB national coach
1989 - 1996 DTTB head coach
1997 - 2004 DTTB national coach for cadet
boys and coach of DTTB boarding school in
Heidelberg
2005 - 2011 DTTB national coach for junior
girls and head coach for all youth teams
2009 - 2011 Head coach for all women teams

Miwa Harimoto, marathon effort
Gaining valuable rest between matches
We looked forward to an
exciting year, the Olympic
Games and World Championships
being very
much at the forefront of our thoughts
as the clock struck midnight and 2020
was born; it was not to happen, the
global pandemic curtailed international
sport in a manner never previously
realized in peacetime.
Equally when the year finished,
in years gone by, we reflected on
champions being anointed, outstanding
performances, shock wins;
owing to the lack of competition
there was a paucity of such happenings
to hit the headlines.
However, if one player attracted the
attention before the curtain closed, it
was Japan’s Miwa Harimoto. Only 11
years old at the time, competing on the
ITTF World Junior Circuit in the Czech
Republic and Sweden, followed by the
Safir International, in a 12 day period
commencing on Wednesday 12th February
and concluding on Sunday 23rd
February, she played in 10 events, an
intense schedule, one to which she
responded and responded in style.
In every event she progressed to the
quarter-final stage or better, once a
semi-finalist, once the runner up but
most pertinently six times the winner!
Overall, she played 58 matches,
winning on 55 occasions. The only
defeats were a quarter-final junior
girls’ doubles reverse in partnership
with Sachi Aoki in the Czech Republic
when losing to Russia’s Anastasiia
Beresneva and Vasilisa Danilova; later
in Sweden, she was beaten by Prithika
Pavade of France in the junior girls’
singles penultimate round and in the
final of the women’s singles by compatriot
Aoi Kurono.
“We arrived two days before the tournaments
started, I didn’t feel jet-lag
as I had slept on the flight”, explained
Miwa Harimoto. “I was nervous before
the tournaments started but I was
also confident because I had trained a
great deal.”
Meanwhile, in the junior girls’ team
competition, joining forces with Sachi
Aoki, the player with whom she won
cadet girls’ doubles gold, and Norway’s
Martine Toftaker, a quarter-final
exit was the order of proceedings
against Romania. However, Miwa
Harimoto remained unbeaten; overall
in the Czech Republic, in singles
matches, the record read played 20
matches, won 20 matches!
“I played in the junior team event,
not cadet because I saw it as a
challenge; winning matches against
junior players helped my confidence.
Arina Slautina played very tenaciously,
she was powerful”, added Miwa
Harimoto. “Earlier, in a joint training
camp with the French team I had lost
to Charlotte Lutz, in the final I tried to
be brave.”
Hectic but successful, overall, 29
matches completed in a five day period.
“I was so tired; I went to sleep
in a few tenths of a second!” smiled
Miwa Harimoto.
2020 ITTF World Junior Circuit
Premium, Czech Junior & Cadet Open
Hodonin Wed 12th – Sun 16th February
Junior Girls’ Singles
Matches: Played 9, Won 9, Lost 0
Games: Played 34, Won 33, Lost 1
Points: Played 587, Won 374, Lost 213
Junior Girls’ Doubles
(partner: Sachi Aoki)
Matches: Played 4, Won 3, Lost 1
Games: Played 14, Won 10, Lost 4
Points: Played 253, Won 146, Lost 107
Cadet Girls’ Singles
Matches: Played 5, Won 5, Lost 0
Games: Played 16, Won 15, Lost 1
Points: Played 285, Won 174, Lost 111
Cadet Girls’ Doubles
(partner Sachi Aoki)
Matches: Played 5, Won 5, Lost 0
Games: Played 16, Won 15, Lost 1
Points: Played 278, Won 177, Lost 101
Sweden next stop
Tired but motivated, in Sweden again
she enjoyed success partnering Sachi
Aoki; they won the junior girls’ doubles
event beating Russia’s Liubov Tentser
and Vlada Voronina in the final, a most
notable feat, at the time Sachi Aoki
was only 12 years old.
“Sachi and myself get along well with
each other”, explained Miwa Harimoto.
“We psych each other up.”
The top step of the podium in the
junior girls’ doubles, it was the same
in the cadet girls’ singles where she
beat Anna Hursey of Wales in the final,
a contest in which she needed four
games to secure victory.
“I was more nervous than usual as we
played for medals”, said Miwa Harimoto.
“It was difficult because she is older
than me and she had much power.”
Hard fought against Anna Hursey, it
was even harder in the under 21 women’s
singles final. Miwa Harimoto was
Junior Girls’ Doubles
(partner Sachi Aoki)
Matches: Played 5, Won 5, Lost 0
Games: Played 19, Won 15, Lost 4
Points: Played 353, Won 209, Lost 144
2020 Safir International
Örebro Fri 21st – Sun 23rd February
Cadet Girls’ Singles
Matches: Played 5, Won 5, Lost 0
Games: Played 18, Won 15, Lost 3
Points: Played 289, Won 188, Lost 101
Women’s Singles
Matches: Played 9, Won 8, Lost 1
Games: Played 30, Won 25, Lost 5
Points: Played 505, Won 309, Lost 196
Under 21 Women’s Singles
Matches: Played 6, Won 6, Lost 0
Games: Played 22, Won 18, Lost 4
Points: Played 380, Won 232, Lost 148
Total – Singles Matches
(including team)
required to save one match point in
the deciding fifth game against Prithika
Pavade of France to seal the title, a
player who was no stranger. It was the
third time they had faced each other.
Additional to the defeat at the semi-final
stage of the junior girls’ singles
event, later, in the same round of the
women’s singles, they had met, Miwa
extracting revenge before in the final
losing to Aoi Kurono.
“It was very difficult against Prithika,
she is strong in every aspect of her
play, after losing to her I had to change
my tactics; in the women’s singles
final I just ran out of energy” said Miwa
Harimoto. “Looking back, I learnt to
play tenaciously and persevere; I tried
to sleep and eat as much as possible
between matches. I slept well on the
flight home!”
Runners up spot in the women’s
singles event, it meant Miwa Harimoto
matched her elder brother Tomokazu.
Likewise, in 2015, when 11 years old,
he reached the men’s singles elite
class final; at the quarter-final stage he
beat Egypt’s Omar Assar, before overcoming
Sweden’s Jens Lundqvist to
reach the title decider, where China’s
Xu Hui ended progress.
Sendai City
Undoubtedly a most valuable experience
but for the young lady from
Sendai City in Miyagi Prefecture, an
area of Japan which suffered a devastating
earthquake and tsunami in
2011, she is not without experience.
She has been playing for nearly a
decade! Similar, to Tomokazu, she
started to play table tennis when only
two years old; until nine years of age
being coached by her parents, now by
Sue Xue.
A pupil at Sendai City Higashi Miyagino
Elementary School; just as in the
Czech Republic and Sweden it was
a busy schedule, it is the same when
home in Japan.
“At home when I’m not travelling I
practise six days a week, four and a
half hours on weekdays, six and half
at weekends”, said Miwa Harimoto.
“My school gives me time off for tournaments
but not for practice.”
Any nerves were quickly dispelled,
Junior Girls’ Team (partners Sachi Aoki, Matches: Played 44, Won 42, Lost 2
the eight hour time difference between
Martine Toftaker)
Games: Played 162, Won 138, Lost 24
Japan and the Czech Republic posing
Matches: Played 6, Won 6, Lost 0
Points: Played 2802, Won 1721, Lost 1081
Games: Played 20, Won 18, Lost 2
no great problems. She won the junior
Points: Played 341, Won 216, Lost 125
girls’ singles title beating Russia’s
Total – Doubles Matches
Arina Slautina in the final, before in
(partner Sachi Aoki)
Time away from school and make no
2020 ITTF World Junior Circuit Swedish
Junior & Cadet Open
Matches: Played 14, Won 13, Lost 1
the cadet girls’ singles overcoming
mistake, the time in the Czech Republic
and Sweden was well spent. Win
Charlotte Lutz of France to seal the
Örebro Wed 19th – Thu 20th February
Games: Played 49, Won 40, Lost 9
title. Most significantly, in each event
or lose the visit was an education no
Points: Played 884, Won 532, Lost 352
she surrendered just one game! In
Junior Girls’ Singles
classroom can provide but was Miwa
Matches: Played 4, Won 3, Lost 1
the former in the second round when
Harimoto the student? Was she not
Games: Played 22, Won 14, Lost 8
Overall Total (Singles, Team, Doubles)
facing Hungary’s Dorottya Tolgyes, in
Matches: Played 58, Won 55, Lost 3 the tutor?
Points: Played 415, Won 228, Lost 187
Games: Played 211, Won 178, Lost 33
the latter in opposition to Anna Hursey
Junior girls’ singles winner in Hodonin
She taught everyone a lesson in how
Points: Played 3686, Won 2253, Lost 1433
of Wales in the quarter-finals.
to play table tennis!
30 31

Golden opportunity
for green & gold
Silver for Samuel von Einem at the Rio 2016 Paralympic
Games; since the celebrated quadrennial event was first
officially staged in 1960 in Rome, it was Australia’s first ever
medal in the table tennis events for 32 years and only their
fifth overall.
In 1984 Terry Biggs claimed men’s
singles gold when the tournament was
held in New York. Earlier, in the inaugural
event, Bill Mather-Brown and Bruno
Moretti had clinched men’s doubles
silver. Meanwhile, in 1964 in Tokyo,
Daphne Ceeney and Marion O’Brien,
secured women’s doubles gold, Allan
McLucas emerged a men’s singles
bronze medallist.
Competing in men’s class 11, the name
of Samuel von Einem appears on the
Tokyo 2020 entry list as do those of Ma
Lin, Lei Lina and Yang Qian. Representing
China, they are all players with
Paralympic Games gold medals in their
lockers; one for Yang Qian, four for Ma
Lin, five for Lei Lina.
Resident in Melbourne, they arrived in
Australia in 2017. They gained citizenship,
permanent residency and were
registered by Table Tennis Australia in
early 2018; for players over 21 years
old, providing they had represented no
other national association, the period
was three years before being eligible to
represent a different national association.
Later in 2018, after their registration
had been completed, the time requirement
was extended to nine years.
Thus, in September 2019, three years
after the conclusion of the Rio 2016
Paralympic Games, they became
eligible to play for Australia in Tokyo,
providing they also gained their Australian
citizenship prior to the conclusion
of the qualification period; this they
successfully completed in January 2020.
In addition, in order to qualify, they were
required to secure sufficient tournament
credit points during the 15th month
period Tuesday 1st January 2019 to
Tuesday 31st March 2020.
,
in Tokyo can Australia enjoy their most successful Games
ever? Can they double their current tally? Can they depart the
Japanese capital city as one of the leading medal winners?
Back Row: Ross Pinder (staff), Sam von Einem, Nathan Pellissier, Alois Rosario (Head Coach), Ma
Lin, Maggie Meng (Assistant Coach). Front Row: Miao Miao (Assistant Coach), Lei Lina, Melissa
Tapper, Yang Qian
Amine Kalem in Slovenia, the player
who at the same stage had ended his
progress at the Rio 2016 Paralympic
Games, Ma Lin emerged victorious in
Japan and Spain.
Adjusted
New colours, the green and gold, all
have adjusted rapidly to life in Australia.
Lei Lina now speaks English fluently, Ma
Lin and Yang Qian are learning quickly;
in addition to the lifestyle, improving their
language skills was one of the major
reasons why the trio relocated to the
southern hemisphere country.
“My wife and I decided to move to Australia
a few years ago for the lifestyle,
we liked the idea of our son growing
up close to nature, I feel very welcome
in Australia and my family does too”,
explained Ma Lin. “Although we can’t
speak much English, we like it here a lot.
Our son is five years old now and starts
school; aside from the language barrier,
I think all of us are adapting really well.
Back in China, we were playing in competitions
and travelling to tournaments
all the time, so we are used to being in
different environments. I like the lifestyle
of travelling and living overseas.”
They are dapting to a different lifestyle
and of course adapting to different situations
when table tennis training sessions
are the order of the day.
Each organises their time between
practising at the Croydon Table Tennis
Association, the closest club to where
they all live, and at Essendon, an
Australian Rules Football Club of which
they may well become supporters. It
is where Paralympics Australia has a
training base.
Notably, Melbourne has had one of
the strictest Covid-19 lockdowns in
the world. However, all Tokyo qualified
athletes were granted permission to
visit the Essendon training venue once
a week and the Victorian Institute of
Sport where they do their strength and
conditioning training.
Of course, yes, I feel welcome in Australia. Table Tennis Australia has given
us a lot of support, especially the Para National Programme Manager,
Sue Stevenson and Para Head Coach, Alois Rosario”, stressed Lei Lina.
“Even outside of table tennis, everyone is patient with us as we learn
English and grow accustomed to our new lifestyle.”
A different situation but like all good
players, Ma Lin is adapting, there are
no complaints. Significantly, there is
agreement with Ma Lin that the physical
aspect of the Australian system is most
beneficial.
“The big difference around the coaching
model is that it is based on individual
themes each session, rather than everyone
doing the same thing”, said Lei Lina.
“Alois focuses on my weaknesses to get
me thinking during a session, which is a
different approach. I also do more gym
work here; the strength and conditioning
programme is very professional, I’m
improving in this area.”
Positive words from Lei Lina, it is
no different for Yang Qian, all three
being open to new ideas, concepts
and methods.
“The method is different here, but each
has their own benefit. In China, you train
a lot and sometimes you don’t think
about what you’re doing because you
play so much, the way you play becomes
a habit”, explained Yang Qian. “In
Australia, we’re forced to think a lot, so it
becomes more efficient. In Australia, we
also have a holistic programme which
includes sports psychology, nutrition and
strength conditioning in the gym; that is
different to China. Defence has always
been my strong point but the Australian
methods of coaching are helping my attacking
play, so I’m working on evening
that up.
Major boost
Unquestionably, all are motivated to
succeed in their new colours; equally
Table Tennis Australia is delighted to
welcome players of such quality, it is a
major boost.
“I’ve really enjoyed coaching Ma Lin,
Lei Lina and Yang Qian over the last few
years; it’s a pleasure to welcome them
to the Australian team. Each of them
brings a wealth of experience to our
team and knowledge of how to compete
at the highest level of Paralympic sport”,
stressed Alois Rosario. “It’s the mindset
and professionalism that they bring
to the squad that is most impressive.
They train hard on and off the table and
they’ve each got a positive attitude. It is
great for everyone to see first-hand what
it takes to reach the top.”
class 4 athlete who has qualified for
Tokyo, was equally pleased to welcome
her new colleagues.
“We are incredibly fortunate to have
such great champions of the game
in our squad”, she said. “Being
able to watch and learn from these
accomplished and experienced athletes
motivates us all and provides
incredible opportunities for us to
learn and improve.”
Ready for Tokyo, medal contenders
but all face tough opponents. Lei
Lina will be seeking to climb one step
higher than in Rio de Janeiro when she
was the silver medallist; for Ma Lin, in
addition to Mohamed Amine Kalem,
Belgium’s Laurens Devos and Great
Britain’s Josh Stacey are names of
which he is well aware.
Meanwhile, for Yang Qian, she faces
the same daunting challenge as every
player in class 10, Poland’s Natalia
Partyka, gold medallist at every Games
since 2004 in Athens; arguably in
the sport of table tennis, the greatest
Paralympian of all.
“Natalia Partyka is absolutely my main
rival. She’s a brilliant athlete and has so
many years of experience at Paralympic
level”, explained Yang Qian. “Bruna
Alexandre is another strong competitor
in my class, also with a history of success.
Melissa Tapper is also one of the
best and while she is technically a rival,
I see her as a team mate nowadays.”
The introduction of Yang Qian is clearly
a bonus for Melissa Tapper, gold medallist
on home soil at the Gold Coast
2018 Commonwealth Games. In Rio de
Janeiro, it was agonising defeat in the
women’s team class 6-10 bronze medal
match for Melissa Tapper when partnering
Andrea McDonnell. Now in Tokyo,
alongside Yang Qian in women’s team
class 9-10, could life be very different?
Not only could there be medals for
Ma Lin gold in men’s team class 9-10 in
Rio de Janeiro
Ma Lin, Lei Lina and Yang Qian, could
their presence be the source of motivation,
an injection of self-belief for their
colleagues; in Tokyo could Advance
Australia Fair ring loud and clear?
Paralympic Games
It proved no great problem. In 2019,
“The Australian method of training here
Lei Lina
competing in women’s singles class 10
is very different to China; we train less
2004 Athens WS Class 9 Silver
2008 Beijing WS Class 9 Gold WT Class 6-10 Gold
in Slovenia and Japan, later in 2020 in
here and unfortunately, I don’t have anyone
else of my standard in my class to
2016 Rio de Janeiro WS Class 9 Gold WT Class 6-10 Silver
2012 London WS Class 9 Gold WT Class 6-10 Gold
class 9-10 in Spain, Yang Qian struck
gold on each occasion. Likewise, in
train with”, explained Ma Lin. “In China, I
women’s singles class 9 it was success
did six days a week on the table, where
Yang Qian
for Lei Lina in Slovenia and Japan, prior
in Australia I do three to five sessions
2012 London WS Class 10 Silver WT Class 6-10 Gold
2016 Rio de Janeiro WS Class 10 Silver WT Class 6-10 Silver
to a quarter-final exit when facing Chinese
per week, but it’s focused on quality,
Taipei’s Tian Shiau-Wen, a class
rather than quantity. At the moment, I
Ma Lin
10 player, in Spain. Similarly, in men’s
would say that I have maintained my
2008 Beijing MS Class 9 Silver MT Class 9-10 Gold
singles class 9, after suffering a quarter-final
The view was echoed by his col-
skill set; doing strength and conditioning
Appreciation from the head coach; the 2012 London MS Class 9 Gold MT Class 9-10 Gold
defeat against Italy’s Mohamed leagues, all are of one voice.
five times a week has helped me a lot.”
reaction from Danni Di Toro, a women’s 2016 Rio de Janeiro MT Class 9-10 Gold
32 33
Alois Rosario
Yang Qian and Lei Lina at the 2020 Spanish
Para Open

WANG CHUQIN
COMES OF AGE
Gold medallist at the Buenos Aires
2018 Youth Olympic Games, more
recently in December unbeaten in
the 2020 Chinese Super League;
sandwiched in between world titles,
all achieved before his 21st birthday,
the results reflect the fact that Wang
Chuqin has come of age.
Success followed by success in the
past two years, it has been a period
of learning from experience, some
lessons harder than others.
Born on Thursday 11th May 2000,
Wang Chuqin is from Jilin, located
in north east of China, an area that
is no stranger to realizing players of
high pedigree. Wang Hao, the 2009
World champion and three times men’s
singles silver medallist at the Olympic
Games, is from the province.
“I started to play when I was a child,
seven years old, I was not fit, my
parents wanted me to take some
exercise”, explained Wang Chuqin. “A
friend of my father was a coach at a
local club.”
Ability was evident, in 2014 he joined
the national team; only 14 years old
he was on duty at the Wisdom World
Junior Championships in Shanghai, a
quarter-final boys’ singles exit at the
hands of colleague Liu Dingshuo being
the outcome. One year later in 2015
when the tournament was staged in La
Roche-sur-Yon and in 2017 in Riva del
Garda, he departed proceedings one
round later, losing again to a compatriot,
on both occasions to Xu Fei.
The world junior title proved elusive
but undoubtedly with an eye on Buenos
Aires, he was selected for Liebherr
2018 World Team Championships
in Halmstad; he played just match, that
being in the opening fixture against
Russia when beating Vildan Gadiev in
straight games.
Just one match but although the Youth
Olympic Games has its own special
aura, when Wang Chuqin arrived in the
Argentine capital city of Buenos Aires,
he was no stranger to the big occasion.
Only this time, with each National
Olympic Committee permitted to field
a maximum one boy and one girl, the
pressure was firmly on his shoulders.
Buenos Aires
The men’s singles to start proceedings,
safely through to the main draw,
in the opening round he faced Vladimir
Sidorenko, winner of the cadet boys’
singles title at the European Youth
Championships in both 2016 and
2017. The Russian posed problems.
“I was down two-nil; I was thinking a
lot, I thought if I lost the match, I would
retire from the sport”, reflected Wang
Chuqin. “I relaxed and won the match;
it was like claiming my life back!”
A scare, in a less dramatic manner,
he beat Sweden’s Truls Moregard
and Kanak Jha of the United States
to reach the final where he recovered
from an opening game deficit to overcome
Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto and
reserve the top step of the podium.
“The night before the singles final, I
didn’t sleep well, I went to talk to my
coach, Chen Zhenjiang, who helped
me and guided me; after the chat, I
felt more relaxed with less pressure”,
sighed Wang Chuqin. “After winning
the final, it was like a dream; for me, it
was a match I could not afford to lose.
Thinking about it now, I can still feel
the thrill of the occasion.”
in Buenos Aires, he partnered Sun
Yingsha to mixed team success in a
two-one win in opposition to Tomokazu
Harimoto and Miu Hirano; a contest in
which Wang Chuqin was the player to
experience the defeat. He lost to his
Japanese contemporary.
“Tomokazu changed some of his
tactics and strategies that were not
within my expectation, I wasn’t able
to handle and adapt to the changes,
I didn’t play well”, said Wang Chuqin
after the reverse.
European ventures
Olympic success, six months later it
was similar at the Liebherr 2019 World
Championships in Budapest, the top
step of the men’s doubles podium but
he did have a rather strong partner, a
certain Ma Long.
In the final they beat the combination
of Romania’s Ovidiu Ionescu and
Spain’s Alvaro Robles; perhaps a win
as expected but just under one year
earlier the European duo had experienced
success against Ma Long. At
the semi-final stage of the 2018 Kaisa
China Open, sensationally they had
ousted Ma Long when partnering Xu
Xin, regarded the best doubles player
in the world, seems Wang Chuqin is
not bad at the art!
Victory in Budapest, later in the year
in early November in Stockholm,
there was a further triumph when he
returned to Europe. At the Swedish
Open, in a draw that witnessed four
of the top five world ranked men on
duty – Xu Xin, Fan Zhendong, Lin
Gaoyuan, Tomokazu Harimoto – Wang
Chuqin won the men’s singles event,
his first on the ITTF World Tour.
At the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games Wang Chuqin beat Tomokazu Harimoto in the men’s
singles final but lost in the mixed team gold medal contest
The moment of victory in the men’s singles event at the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games
“To tell the truth, I dared not think
about the Swedish Open before the
tournament started; apart from “Big
Brother”, Ma Long, all the top players
in the Chinese team took part, as well
as many strong foreign players”, explained
Wang Chuqin. “Among them,
I felt very humble, particularly, I had
to play in the qualification; actually, as
the tournament progressed, I played
better and better and felt at home in
the venue.”
It was a quite stunning performance;
including qualification, he played eight
matches and surrendered just two
games, those being in opening round
of the main draw when confronting the
host nation’s Kristian Karlsson. Following
success against the Swede in a
most imposing manner he accounted
for Tomokazu Harimoto, Zhao Zihao,
Liang Jingkun and Lin Gaoyuan to
secure the title.
“During the final, I did not think too
much, other than wanting to enjoy
the match and cherish the rare opportunity”,
explained Wang Chuqin.
“After winning, my biggest feeling
was that I had moved up another
step of the ladder; at that moment, I
wanted to run to the stand and thank
my coach, Liu Guozheng. Every
breakthrough is difficult, the moment
that the breakthrough was made, I
was really happy.”
Delight to despair
Elation, one week later it was sheer
despair. At the 2019 ITTF World Tour
Platinum bet-at-home.com Austrian
Open in Linz, in the concluding preliminary
round men’s singles match
against Zhao Zihao. Wang Chuqin
lost the first three games, he recovered,
levelled but lost the deciding
game (12-10, 11-7, 11-6, 6-11, 5-11,
6-11, 11-9).
Disappointed, in the heat of the
moment at the end of the third game,
he threw his racket on the table, he
was suspended by the Chinese Table
Tennis Association for three months.
One can understand the frustration
but of course the actions cannot be
condoned. The previous week he had
won the men’s singles title in Stockholm
and had beaten Zhao Zihao
in straight games; not being able to
replicate the form was hard to stomach
and remember at the time he
was only 19 years old. In our teenage
years we have all acted impetuously
and regretted our actions.
“The main thing was to gather my
Proud moment at Buenos Aires 2018
Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha, mixed team winners in Buenos Aires
thoughts. I realised the seriousness
Gold and there was more to follow Youth Olympic Games
and cost of my impulsive action and I
34
35 35

have learnt to control myself if similar
situations arise again. I was somewhat
grateful for the three-month ban
as it allowed me to understand and
improve as a person”, reflected Wang
Chuqin. “Maybe sometimes I give people
the impression that I act crazily,
but I can say that I am not usually like
that; I am not trying to defend myself
but behaving badly had a big effect on
the team, I felt ashamed and tried very
hard to return to the team.”
The actions were out of character,
watch him play, he has a stoic personality,
reliable and steadfast, not
prone to excessive celebrations or
gestures, he is aware of the opportunities
that have been afforded, the
reaction was unexpected.
“It happened, the most important
thing was to try my best to amend
and allow people to see my change”,
added Wang Chuqin. “In fact, this
incident gave me some momentum to
move forward so as to focus more on
table tennis.”
Return to action
An enforced break owing to the
pandemic, Wang Chuqin returned
to international action the stronger
for the experience; he returned in a
most emphatic manner. At the inaugural
World Table Tennis tournament
in Macao, during the last week of
November, he beat Wong Chun Ting,
Hugo Calderano and Mattias Falck
before in the final losing to Ma Long.
Now the question posed would
there be a reaction similar to that
experienced on the ITTF World Tour
just over one year earlier, when he
had won in Sweden but had not
advanced beyond the qualification
stage in Austria.
The performance in the Chinese Super
League staged in Guangzhou was
simply superb; he had clearly learnt
from a bitter experience. Lining up
alongside Ma Long, Fang Bo and Yan
An, on duty for Shandong Luneng, he
proved the backbone on his team’s
title winning success.
At the World Junior Championships in both 2015 and 2017 Wang Chuqin was beaten by Xue Fei
Wang Chuqin remained unbeaten in the 2020 China Super League
Wang Chuqin responded and responded
in a most assured manner.
Against Shenzhen Bao’an Ming Jinhai,
Ma Long lost to Yuan Licen; in the
fourth match of the engagement Wang
Chuqin put the young pretender firmly
in his place. He secured a straight
games win to seal a 3-1 team success.
Later, also in the group stage,
facing Shandong Weiqiao, Ma Long
was beaten by Lin Yun-Ju, immediately
following Fang Bo suffered when
opposing Zhou Qihao. It was the point
of no return, the pressure was firmly
on the shoulders of Wang Chuqin. He
needed to beat Lin Yun-Ju to keep his
team’s hopes alive. He prevailed in the
only match of the tournament when he
needed five games to secure victory.
Ma Long duly accounted for Yu Ziyang
to complete matters.
Shandong Luneng progressed to win
the title beating Shandong Weiqiao
3-1 in the final, after having accounted
for the Shanghai Real Estate trio
of Xu Xin, Xu Chenhao and Zhao
Zihao in the penultimate round. It was
an engagement in which Wang Chuqin
gave a breathtaking performance.
After losing the opening game against
Xu Xin, he afforded his more experienced
adversary just seven points in
the next three!
Notably, earlier in the third series of
group fixtures against Shantou Migrun
he had accounted for Lin Gaoyuan,
before in the seventh series in opposition
to Shanghai Real Estate overcoming
Zhao Zihao.
“In the past two years since the Youth
Olympic Games I have improved a
great deal; now I win more points with
my backhand”, explained Wang Chuqin;
the backhand notably safe and
sure especially against Xu Xin, nullifying
the powerful forehand for which the
pen-hold grip star is noted.
mature Wang Chuqin was on duty.
“Coming back from Macao, I
consciously stayed calm during
training. Suddenly, I felt in a good
rhythm and comfortable during
training,” concluded Wang Chuqin.
“Afterwards in the Super League,
I didn’t have my usual fluctuations
in play, they were reduced a lot; it
allowed me to have good results.
In Macao, Wang Chuqin was beaten by Ma Long in the final
It demonstrated the analysis of my
shortcomings and ways to solve
them was relatively correct.”
Overall, for Wang Chuqin in the
2020 Chinese Super League it was
10 doubles matches, 10 wins, nine
singles, nine wins, in such elite company
outstanding. A mature player,
a complete player was in evidence,
one who had come of age.
“I think the reason I played well in the
Super League was because I have
had a lot of failures in finals before,
especially the loss to Ma Long in the
World Table Tennis event in Macao. I
thought a lot after that and searched
for my shortcomings. I concluded that
A series of nine fixtures played on a
my loss was mainly due to mental and
league basis, followed by a semi-final
psychological problems”, explained
and final. Shandong Luneng remained
Wang Chuqin. “Every time I wanted
unbeaten throughout, so did Wang
to win, I became impatient and edgy,
Chuqin, the only player in the nine day
unable to play properly and making
tournament, male or female, with an
unnecessary mistakes; this happened
unblemished record. On each occasion
he was on duty in the first match
more than once. I used to think that
the problem was due to my techniques,
thinking I should improve my
of the fixture, the doubles, always with
Fang Bo, always victorious. However,
the most significant fact was his
techniques. In fact, my major problem
was mental.”
mental fortitude, when colleague, Ma
Ma Long and Wang Chuqin proudly hold the Iran Cup
The men’s singles winner at the ITTF World Tour 2019 Swedish Open
Long, the ace in the pack, faltered,
In the Chinese Super League, a very
36
37

ITTF WORLD TOUR
25 YEARS
New Era
Located some 70 miles north of London,
a market town that most bypass
on the road from Birmingham to Cambridge;
now 25 years ago, on Wednesday
3rd April 1996, Arena Sport in
Kettering was journey’s end, the first
day of the 61st English Open.
Moreover, it was the first day of the
first ever tournament on the ITTF Pro
Tour, in more recent times named the
ITTF World Tour.
China dominated, Kong Linghui won
the men’s singles, Yang Ying emerged
the women’s singles champion and
partnered Wang Hui to women’s doubles
success. Meanwhile, in the under
21 events, it was gold for Japan, the
men’s singles was won by Ryo Yuzawa,
the women’s by Keiko Okazaki.
Asia to the fore but there were
European performances that caught
the eye. At the quarter-final stage of
the women’s singles event, Russia’s
Elena Timina beat China’s Li Ju, four
years later at the Sydney 2000 Olympic
Games, Li Ju partnered Wang Nan
to women’s doubles gold, before losing
to her colleague in the women’s
singles final.
“It was the tournament when I made
an impression on the Russian Federation
coaches by winning against Li Ju
in style”, reflected Elena Timina. “I was
already 27 years old then, for Russian
standards I was getting old and the
Federation was talking about changing
the generation; the win meant I was
declared fit enough to continue to play
for Russian team!”
One round later, Chinese Taipei’s
Chen Jing ended Russian progress.
Raised the roof
The efforts of Elena Timina caused
a stir; those of Austria’s Karl Jindrak
and Werner Schlager, both 23 years
old at the time, raised the roof. Guided
by Ferenc Karsai, contrary to all
expectations they emerged the men’s
doubles champions.
Yang Ying won the women’s singles title at the
first ever ITTF Pro Tour tournament
Kong Linghui at Perrier 1995 Men’s World Cup,
the photo was used to promote the first year of
the ITTF Pro Tour. He won in England and at the
Grand Finals
After accounting for colleague Kostadin
Lengerov who partnered Slovenia’s
Robert Smrekar; one round
later, the quarter-finals, they overcame
Germany’s Steffen Fetzner and Jörg Karl Jindrak and Werner Schlager after sensationally winning the men’s doubles title at the 1996
English Open
The win recorded by Elena Timina in Kettering
contributed to her continuing as a member of
the Russian team
Rosskopf, the 1989 world champions,
before ending Chinese hopes. At the
semi-final stage they ousted Kong
Linghui and Ma Wenge, the top
seeds, prior to securing the title
at the final expense of Lu Lin and
Wang Tao, the reigning Olympic
and World champions!
“Yeah, Kettering was our first big
international victory, always nice to
remember; the first match was against
our teammate Kostadin Lengerov, we
lost the first game”, reminisced Werner
Schlager. “It was our first big international
victory but even before the
start of the Pro Tour in 1996, we’d had
some good results; in Kettering our
performance was really outstanding
beating world champions and top Chinese
pairs consisting of Olympic and
World champions. We were young,
very motivated and clearly in good
shape. I do remember that we celebrated
the victory quite intensively!”
Similarly, the win remains strong in
the mind of Karl Jindark.
“The whole journey was remarkable,
we were one-nil down and 20-15
down against Kostadin Lengerov and
Robert Smrekar; after that match we
were super happy to make such a
comeback”, reflected Karl Jindrak.
“We made a joke during dinner; now if
we can win that match defending five
match balls, we can win the whole
tournament. We did! Werner, Ferenc
and myself enjoyed one or two beers
at the hotel bar. After that win we
were at number one on the doubles
ranking for quite a long time; the win
was a massive boost.”
Also, Karl Jindrak recalls in particular,
one point in the final against Lu Lin
and Wang Tao.
“Lu Lin blocked the ball with his penholder
style deep into my forehand;
Wang Tao expected a cross court
forehand topspin, I played direct to his
stomach, I don’t remember if that was
the match point or not, but I still remember
the look on the face of Wang
Tao,” added Karl Jindrak. “Also, the
Eurosport television commentator was
Skylet Andrew, a former international
player and now I think a football agent;
he was super excited at our victory
interview, even more excited than
Werner and me. He didn’t stop talking
and he didn’t even ask us questions,
he was talking and talking!”
Skylet Andrew is a rather good conversationalist
and has proved extremely
successful, he is the managing
director of Sports and Entertainment;
he keeps an interest in table tennis, on
his books is Anna Hursey from Wales.
It was a portent of things to come,
it was the first of ten such titles
for the Austrians. Later in 2005 in
Aarhus they were crowned European
champions, two years prior, Werner
Schlager having sensationally won
the men’s singles at the Liebherr
2003 World Championships.
A sign for the future and there was
another. Owing to absentees, making
sure the opening round of the men’s
singles was full, no byes, following a
quick telephone call to Colin Clemett,
the doyen of officialdom, Richard Scruton,
the referee, announced that the
“lucky loser” principle would be introduced,
names drawn at random from
those who finished in group second
positions. Universally, the policy was
immediately accepted and adopted in
the months and years to come.
Six days of action over the Easter
weekend concluded, the tournament
was declared a success, the prominent
entry of Asian players, not witnessed
in the most recent editions of the English
Open, was a boost, the ITTF Pro
Tour was here to stay.
Efforts vindicated
Successful and, in particular, successful
as a result of the intense
year-long efforts of Adham Sharara
and Anders Thunström.
“When I was elected as Vice President
in 1995, I found out that Anders
was leaving the ITTF and had
a contract with the Japanese Table
Tennis Association as a coaching
consultant”, explained Adham Sharara.
“I convinced him to come back to the
ITTF after his initial three months pilot
project was over in Japan. He accepted
and we prepared a strategy to start
a Pro Tour with a sponsor and television
coverage.”
At that time, the coaching skills of Anders
Thunström were in high demand;
most notably in 1992 he had guided
Jan-Ove Waldner to men’s singles
gold at the Barcelona Olympic Games.
“While Anders was still in Japan, we
arranged meetings with IMG, and then
we went to Hong Kong to meet with
Sky television. Both meetings were
successful. I had prepared a detailed
chart to show the Pro Tour concept.
IMG found the title sponsor for the Finals
in Taiwan”, explained Adham Sharara.
“However, the ITTF President Mr.
Xu Yinsheng could not accept the first
Finals to be in Taiwan, but that was
the condition of the sponsor and IMG.
So, Mr. Xu offered Tianjin as host and
Dawei as the sponsor for the Finals.
We also signed the rights contract with
Sky for six years and announced it in
Atlanta during the Olympic Games. It
was the largest television deal for the
ITTF until now.”
A total of 10 tournaments in the inaugural
year culminating with the Grand
Finals; a tournament that witnessed a
clean sweep for China. Deng Yaping
won the women’s singles and women’s
doubles with Yang Ying; Kong Linghui
reserved the top step of the men’s singles
podium, Wang Liqin and Yan Sen
took our breath away to be anointed
men’s doubles champions.
They beat Jörg Rosskopf and Vladimir
Samsonov in the final. “What doubles!”
were the words of Zlatko Cordas
sitting courtside guiding the European
duo, well aware that a very special
pairing, later to become Olympic and
World champions had appeared on the
scene. It was to be his swansong in
the role of coach; in 1997 he became
the competition manager for the ITTF
Pro Tour.
Resurrection
In one year there had been a veritable
revolution, open international tournaments
had been resurrected.
“Before 1996 there were many
small prize-money events for the top
players, the World All-Stars Circuit
in particular; this was killing open
international events. International
open events were failing, poor participation,
low level of organisation
and basically falling apart”, stressed
Adham Sharara. “The idea was to
38 39

start a new redesigned Professional
Tour, “Pro-Tour”, with prize money
and good playing conditions.”
True to his character, Adham Sharara
presented in detail his proposals to
his colleagues within the International
Table Tennis Federation. Moreover, he
was well aware of rapidly progressing
methods of communication; in that
era the fax machine was the zenith of
messaging, for most the internet was
science fiction.
“At the time I was the Deputy President
and proposed to the Executive
Committee that we go ahead with a
new concept of a Pro Tour. We had
several categories, and the prize
money grew from $300,000 per year
to $3,000,000 per year”, added Adham
Sharara. “There was also a need to
include Tour events in all continents,
this is how at that time we started with
such tournaments as the Australian
Open, Brazil Open and Egypt Open;
we needed to reactivate national
associations and have a meaningful
competition system for all members.
We started with the 10 events, and
with $30,000 in prize money, slowly
the Tour grew.”
Television coverage, all continents
represented, increased prize money,
sustainable sponsorship plus raising
the image of the sport were the key
factors in the marketing strategy.
Title change
Consistently monitoring progress; following
detailed analysis, in 2012 there
was a change, rebranding; the ITTF
Pro Tour became the ITTF World Tour.
“We included several levels, and we
wanted to spread it all over the World,
even in small associations”, explained
Adham Sharara. “It was a marketing
move, and we had a real “World” tour
that year with 15 events and 82 associations
entering players.”
Notably in 2012, a total of 786 men
and 511 women competed, young
aspiring players seizing the opportunity;
of those numbers 329 men and 266
women were under 20 years of age.
Imposing numbers, the introduction
of the concept in 1996 had proved a
milestone, a watershed.
“It was a very important turning
point in the development of our sport
internationally. It brought non table
tennis sponsors such as Dawei and
Volkswagen. It also generated a lot
of television coverage”, concluded
Adham Sharara. “It became the “go
to” programme to start players com-
1996 English Open, Wed 3rd - Mon 8th April, Kettering
Men’s Singles
Quarter-Finals
Jean-Michel Saive (BEL) bt Lu Lin (CHN) 21-10, 6-21, 19-21, 21-14, 21-13
Wang Tao (CHN) bt Werner Schlager (AUT) 25-27, 21-15, 21-18, 24-22
Jörg Rosskopf (GER) bt Ma Wenge (CHN) 21-16, 22-20, 12-21, 21-15
Kong Linghui (CHN) bt Petr Korbel (CZE) 15-21, 18-21, 21-17, 21-12, 21-13
Semi-Finals
Wang Tao (CHN) bt Jean-Michel Saive (BEL) 21-13, 21-13, 21-12
Kong Linghui (CHN) bt Jörg Rosskopf (GER) 21-15, 21-16, 21-11
Final
Kong Linghui (CHN) bt Wang Tao (CHN) 12-21, 14-21, 21-14, 21-14, 21-14
Men’s Doubles
Quarter-Finals
Kong Linghui / Ma Wenge (CHN) bt Valentino Piacentini / Yang Min (ITA) 21-8, 21-8
Karl Jindrak / Werner Schlager (AUT) bt Steffen Fetzner / Jörg Rosskopf (GER) 21-18, 23-21
Lu Lin / Wang Tao (CHN) bt Petr Korbel / Josef Plachy (CZE) 21-17, 19-21, 21-14
Jean-Michel Saive / Philippe Saive (BEL) bt Evgueni Fadeev / Sergei Noskov (RUS) 21-15, 21-17
Semi-Finals
Karl Jindrak / Werner Schlager (AUT) bt Kong Linghui / Ma Wenge (CHN) 19-21, 21-16, 21-19
Lu Lin / Wang Tao (CHN) bt Jean-Michel Saive / Philippe Saive (BEL) 21-16, 21-12
Final
Karl Jindrak / Werner Schlager (AUT) bt Lu Lin / Wang Tao (CHN) 21-17, 22-20
Women’s Singles
Quarter-Finals
Chen Jing (TPE) bt Wu Na (CHN) 14-21, 21-16, 21-13, 21-19
Elena Timina (RUS) bt Li Ju (CHN) 19-21, 21-16, 22-20, 21-17
Yang Ying (CHN) bt Bettine Vriesekoop (NED) 21-16, 21-17, 14-21, 21-17
Chai Po Wa (HKG) bt Wang Hui (CHN) 25-23, 21-13, 9-21, 21-11
Semi-Finals
Chen Jing (TPE) bt Elena Timina (RUS) 21-18, 21-15, 21-19
Yang Ying (CHN) bt Chai Po Wa (HKG) 21-19, 21-12, 19-21, 21-19
Final
Yang Ying (CHN) bt Chen Jing (TPE) 21-14, 11-21, 21-16, 21-18
Women’s Doubles
Quarter-Finals
Wang Hui / Yang Ying (CHN) bt Svetlana Bachtina / Galina Melnik (RUS) 21-13, 21-8
Rita Matsuoka / Keiko Okazaki (JPN) bt Jing Jun Hong / Xu Jing (SGP/TPE) 20-22, 21-19, 26-24
Li Ju / Wu Na (CHN) bt Irina Palina / Elena Timina (RUS) 21-17, 8-21, 21-13
Chen Chiu-Tan / Chen Jing (TPE) bt Ni Xia Lian / Peggy Regenwetter (LUX) 23-21, 21-17
Semi-Finals
Wang Hui / Yang Ying (CHN) bt Rita Matsuoka / Keiko Okazaki (JPN) 21-9, 21-12
Li Ju / Wu Na (CHN) bt Chen Chiu-Tan / Chen Jing (TPE) 21-11, 21-12
Final
Wang Hui / Yang Ying (CHN) bt Li Ju / Wu Na (CHN) 16-21, 22-20, 24-22
Under 21 Men’s Singles
Quarter-Finals
Fredrik Hakansson (SWE) bt Marten Stenberg (SWE) 21-13, 21-17
Alex Perry (ENG) bt Jens Lundqvist (SWE) 21-15, 23-21
Martin Monrad (DEN) bt Mattias Stenberg (SWE) 21-16, 21-19
Ryo Yuzawa (JPN) bt Magnus Molin (SWE) 21-16, 19-21, 21-12
Semi-Finals
Fredrik Hakansson (SWE) bt Alex Perry (ENG) 21-23, 21-13, 21-16
Ryo Yuzawa (JPN) bt Martin Monrad (DEN) 18-21, 21-17, 21-13
Final
Ryo Yuzawa (JPN) bt Fredrik Hakansson (SWE) 21-14, 13-21, 21-15
Under 21 Women’s Singles
Women’s Doubles
Quarter-Finals
Park Haejung / Ryu Jihae (KOR) bt Wang Chen /
Wu Na (CHN) 19-21, 21-14, 21-10, 20-22, 21-19
Kim Mookyo / Park Kyungae (KOR) bt Lin Ling / Xie
Jing (CHN) 21-16, 23-21, 8-21, 20-22, 21-19
Cheng Hongxia / Wang Hui (CHN) bt Csilla Batorfi /
Krisztina Toth (HUN) 21-14, 21-17, 7-21, 21-14
Deng Yaping / Yang Ying (CHN) bt Li Ju / Wang
Nan (CHN) 21-18, 21-12, 21-15
40 41
Quarter-Finals
Keiko Okazaki (JPN) bt Kibibi Moseley (BAR) 21-14, 22-20
Veronica Augustsson (SWE) bt Gemma Schwartz (ENG) 21-18, 21-17
Nicola Deaton (ENG) bt Yuki Takakusa (JPN) 21-5, 21-19
Ruta Garkauskaite (LTU) by Petra Cada (CAN) 21-18, 21-16
Semi-Finals
Keiko Okazaki (JPN) bt Veronica Augustsson (SWE) 21-3, 21-16
Ruta Garkauskaite (LTU) bt Nicola Deaton (ENG) 21-7, 21-12
Final
Keiko Okazaki (JPN) bt Ruta Garkauskaite (LTU) 21-19, 21-12
1996 ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals, Thu 12th – Sun 15th Dec, Tianjin
Men’s Singles
Round One
Xiong Ke (CHN) bt Jan-Ove Waldner (SWE) 15-21, 16-21, 21-14, 21-19, 21-11
Vasile Florea (ROU) bt Ma Wenge (CHN) 21-11, 19-21, 15-21, 21-17, 21-18
Johnny Huang (CAN) bt Hugo Hoyama (BRA) 21-17, 21-13, 18-21, 21-11
Vladimir Samsonov (BLR) bt Feng Zhe (CHN) 21-9, 21-13, 21-13
Jörg Rosskopf (GER) bt Liu Song (ARG) 21-19, 21-11, 21-15
Carl Prean (ENG) bt Steffen Fetzner (GER) 21-19, 21-13, 21-15
Werner Schlager (AUT) bt Thomas von Scheele (SWE) 14-21, 21-19, 21-11, 21-18
Kong Linghui (CHN) bt Olivier Marmurek (FRA) 21-14, 21-18, 18-21, 21-18
Quarter-Finals
Vasile Florea (ROU) bt Xiong Ke (CHN) 15-21, 21-14, 21-17, 21-10
Vladimir Samsonov (BLR) bt Johnny Huang (CAN) 21-16, 21-16, 21-13
Jörg Rosskopf (GER) bt Carl Prean (ENG) 16-21, 21-15, 21-13, 21-17
Kong Linghui (CHN) bt Werner Schlager (AUT) 21-17, 21-5, 21-10
Semi-Finals
Vladimir Samsonov (BLR) bt Vasile Florea (ROU) 21-16, 21-12, 12-21, 21-12
Kong Linghui (CHN) bt Jörg Rosskopf (GER) 21-15, 21-12, 21-14
Final
Kong Linghui (CHN) bt Vladimir Samsonov (BLR) 21-13, 14-21, 21-18, 21-18
Women’s Singles
Round One
Deng Yaping (CHN) bt Park Haejung (KOR) 21-15, 21-15, 21-18
Csilla Batorfi (HUN) bt Bettine Vriesekoop (NED) 16-21, 21-15, 18-21, 21-11, 21-12
Chao Po Wa (HKG) bt Lee Eunsil (KOR) 21-14, 24-22, 21-15
Wang Chen (CHN) bt Kim Mookyo (KOR) 21-18, 16-21, 21-12, 23-21
Li Ju (CHN) bt Anne Boileau (FRA) 21-15, 21-14, 21-11
Wang Hui (CHN) bt Jing Jun Hong (SGP) 14-21, 19-21, 21-15, 21-14, 21-15
Wang Nan (CHN) bt Ryu Jihae (KOR) 15-21, 21-19, 21-17, 21-19
Yang Ying (CHN) bt Ni Xia Lian (LUX) 21-15, 21-16, 21-13
Quarter-Finals
Deng Yaping (CHN) bt Csilla Batorfi (HUN) 21-12, 21-14, 21-13
Wang Chen (CHN) bt Chao Po Wa (HKG) 21-14, 14-21, 21-18, 22-20
Li Ju (CHN) bt Wang Hui (CHN) 21-15, 21-9, 21-17
Yang Ying (CHN) bt Wang Nan (CHN) 21-9, 21-13, 21-18
Semi-Finals
Deng Yaping (CHN) bt Wang Chen (CHN) 21-15, 21-16, 21-12
Li Ju (CHN) bt Yang Ying (CHN) 13-21, 21-14, 21-12, 21-17
Final
Deng Yaping (CHN) bt Li Ju (CHN) 21-17, 21-17, 25-23
peting at international level, Challenge
events; as well it was a good source of
income for the top players. The quality
and presentation of the events improved
gradually every year.”
The Bank of Communications ITTF Finals
in Zhengzhou which brought 2020
to a conclusion, endorsed the validity
of the decisions made a quarter of a
century earlier. Not strictly within the
qualification formula of the ITTF World
Tour owing to the pandemic halting the
schedule in March but following established
principles, the very best players
on planet earth, displayed their skills.
Moreover, whether it had been the
tournaments earlier in the year in
Hungary, Germany and Qatar or the
Finals, the top players were anxious to
compete. Times had changed, times
had changed for the better, the goals
set by those who pioneered the concept
had been achieved, international
tournaments stronger than ever!
Men’s Doubles
Quarter-Finals
Lu Lin / Wang Tao (CHN) bt Thomas von
Scheele/ Jan-Ove Waldner (SWE) 21-19, 21-8,
15-21, 21-16
Jörg Rosskopf /Vladimir Samsonov (GER/BLR) bt
Kong Linghui / Liu Guoliang (CHN) 21-15, 21-16,
17-21, 21-18
Slobodan Grujic / Aleksandar Karakasevic (YUG)
bt Patrick Chila / Christophe Legout (FRA) 17-21,
21-18, 21-13, 21-14
Wang Liqin / Yan Sen (CHN) bt Karl Jindrak /
Werner Schlager (AUT) 21-13, 21-23, 21-15, 21-9
Semi-Finals
Jörg Rosskopf /Vladimir Samsonov (GER/BLR)
bt Lu Lin / Wang Tao (CHN) 22-20, 21-17, 12-21,
21-14
Wang Liqin / Yan Sen (CHN) bt Slobodan Grujic
/ Aleksandar Karakasevic (YUG) 21-11, 21-18,
21-14
Final
Wang Liqin / Yan Sen (CHN) bt Jörg Rosskopf /
Vladimir Samsonov (BLR) 21-12, 21-10, 21-14
Semi-Finals
Park Haejung / Ryu Jihae (KOR) bt Kim Mookyo /
Park Kyungae (KOR) 21-10, 21-13, 21-12
Deng Yaping / Yang Ying (CHN) bt Cheng Hongxia
/ Wang Hui (CHN) 21-16, 21-13, 21-6
Final
Deng Yaping / Yang Ying (CHN) bt Park Haejung /
Ryu Jihae (KOR) 17-21, 21-16, 21-12, 21-12

ITTF WORLD TOUR
25 YEARS
Under 21 Men’s Singles
1. (6) Seo Hyundeok (KOR)
2. (5) Cho Eonrae (KOR)
Jeoung Youngsik (KOR)
Leading names
Number of titles won in brackets
Under 21 Women’s Singles
1. (10) Kasumi Ishikawa (JPN)
2. (9) Yang Haeun (KOR)
Yu Mengyu (SGP)
4. (8) Hitomi Sato (JPN)
Men’s Singles
1. (28) Ma Long (CHN)
2. (27) Vladimir Samsonov (BLR)
3. (21) Wang Liqin (CHN)
4. (20) Ma Lin (CHN)
5. (19) Timo Boll (GER)
Women’s Singles
1. (29) Zhang Yining (CHN)
2. (16) Wang Nan (CHN)
3. (15) Chen Meng (CHN)
4. (14) Ding Ning (CHN)
5. (13) Liu Shiwen (CHN)
Men’s Doubles (Pairs)
1. (11) Ko Lai Chak / Li Ching (HKG)
Chen Qi / Ma Lin (CHN)
3. (10) Karl Jindrak / Werner Schlager (AUT)
Kong Linghui / Liu Guoliang (CHN)
Ma Long / Xu Xin (CHN)
Wang Liqin / Yan Sen (CHN)
Men’s Doubles (Individual)
1. (39) Ma Lin (CHN)
2. (30) Xu Xin (CHN)
3. (26) Wang Hao (CHN)
4. (25) Wang Liqin (CHN)
5. (23) Ma Long (CHN)
Women’s Doubles (Pairs)
1. (11) Ding Ning / Liu Shiwen (CHN)
Guo Yue / Li Xiaoxia (CHN)
3. (10) Tie Yana / Zhang Rui (HKG)
4. (9) Guo Yue / Niu Jianfeng (CHN)
Wang Nan / Zhang Yining (CHN)
Women’s Doubles (Individual)
1. (35) Guo Yue (CHN)
2. (22) Ding Ning (CHN)
3. (21) Li Xiaoxia (CHN)
Zhang Yining (CHN)
5. (19) Liu Shiwen (CHN)
GRAND FINALS
Men’s Singles
1. (6) Ma Long (CHN)
2. (3) Wang Liqin (CHN)
3. (2) Fan Zhendong (CHN)
Ma Lin (CHN)
Jun Mizutani (JPN)
Wang Hao (CHN)
Xu Xin (CHN)
Women’s Singles
1. (4) Chen Meng (CHN)
Zhang Yining (CHN)
3. (3) Liu Shiwen (CHN)
4. (2) Guo Yan (CHN)
Wang Nan (CHN)
Men’s Doubles (Pairs)
1. (3) Wang Liqin / Yan Sen (CHN)
2. (2) Timo Boll / Christian Süss (GER)
Kong Linghui / Ma Lin (CHN)
Gao Ning / Li Hu (SGP)
Chen Qi / Ma Lin (CHN)
Masataka Morizono / Yuya Oshima
(JPN)
Men’s Doubles (Individual)
1. (5) Ma Lin (CHN)
2. (4) Wang Liqin (CHN)
3. (3) Chen Qi (CHN)
Gao Ning (SGP)
Kong Linghui (CHN)
Yan Sen (CHN)
Women’s Doubles (Pairs)
1. (3) Li Ju / Wang Nan (CHN)
2. (2) Guo Yue / Li Xiaoxia (CHN)
Wang Nan / Zhang Yining (CHN)
Women’s Doubles
(Individual)
Ma Long, a record 34 men’s singles titles, 28 on
Tour, six at Grand Finals
Guo Yue won 36 women’s doubles titles on
Tour, three at the Grand Finals
Zhang Yining, a total of 33 women’s singles
titles, 29 on Tour, four at the Grand Finals
On the Tour, Ding Ning won 14 women’s singles
titles, 11 women’s doubles partnering
Liu Shiwen
Wang Nan won seven titles at the Grand Finals,
twice women’s singles, five times women’s
doubles
Liu Shiwen and Xu Xin, the most successful mixed doubles pair
Yan Sen and Wang Liqin won 10 times on Tour
and a record three times at the Grand Finals
Mixed Doubles (Pairs)
1. (5) Xu Xin / Liu Shiwen (CHN)
2. (3) Wong Chun Ting / Doo Hoi Kem (HKG)
3. (2) Lin Yun-Ju / Cheng I-Ching (TPE)
Jun Mizutani / Mima Ito (JPN)
1. (5) Wang Nan (CHN)
2. (3) Ding Ning (CHN)
Guo Yue (CHN)
Li Ju (CHN)
Li Xiaoxia (CHN)
Mixed Doubles Men
(Individual)
1. (7) Xu Xin (CHN)
2. (3) Wong Chun Ting (HKG)
3. (2) Lin Yun-Ju (TPE)
Jun Mizutani (JPN)
Mixed Doubles Women
(Individual)
1. (5) Liu Shiwen (CHN)
2. (3) Doo Hoi Kem (HKG)
3. (2) Chen Xingtong (CHN)
Cheng I-Ching (TPE)
Mima Ito (JPN)
Mixed Doubles
1. (1) Xu Xin / LIU Shiwen (CHN)
Wong Chun Ting / Doo Hoi Kem (HKG)
Only held in 2018 & 2019
Under 21 Men’s Singles
No player has won on more than one occasion
Under 21 Women’s Singles
1. (2) Yuka Ishigaki (JPN)
Kasumi Ishikawa (JPN)
Lin Ye (SGP)
Kasumi Ishikawa, the most successful in under
Bronze medallists at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, Ko Lai Chak and Li Ching secured 11 men’s Seo Hyundeok, winner of the most number of
21 women’s singles events
doubles titles
under 21 men’s singles titles
42 43

ITTF WORLD TOUR
25 YEARS
Destinations
• Kettering hosted the first ever ITTF
World Tour tournament in April 1996.
• China has been the home on the most
occasions, in total 33 ITTF World Tour
tournaments plus 13 Grand Finals.
• China and Japan are the only countries
that prior to 2020 had organised an ITTF
World Tour tournament each year; they
were scheduled to host in 2020 but owing
the pandemic had to cancel.
• 42 national associations hosted ITTF
World Tournaments.
• Kazakhstan, Macao, Portugal and
Thailand held the Grand Finals but never
an ITTF World Tour tournament.
• 125 cities have staged ITTF World
Tour tournaments.
• 12 cities have hosted the Grand Finals.
• Beijing, Hong Kong, Macao, Zhengzhou
have all hosted the Grand Finals twice.
• Doha is the most popular city, the
venue for 22 ITTF World Tour tournaments
and once the Grand Finals.
• In 1997 Doha staged the men’s events,
Beirut the women’s; the only occasion
when two cities have played host for what
in essence was the same tournament.
• In 2017 the Challenge Series officially
split from the World Tour, bringing the Tour
down to 12 events plus the Grand Finals.
• The Qatar Open, the last to be staged
in 2020 before the pandemic, marked
351 ITTF World Tour tournaments.
Entries
• In 2006, the Croatian Open witnessed the
most entries, 403; one year later in 2007,
the most matches, 863 in total.
• Over 6,500 players have competed since
1996, almost six per cent being from Japan.
• If you stacked all the tournaments one
after the other, it would take 1,747 days
(roughly 4.8 years) to complete.
• At Tour tournaments over 125,000
matches; 565,000 games and more than
11,000,000 points were completed.
• Men’s and women’s singles comprise
65 per cent of the matches played, under
21 men’s singles and under 21 women’s
singles 20 per cent; the remainder principally
doubles.
• Team events were held on very few occasions.
In 1997 in Qatar and Australia, 1998
in Qatar; 2008 in Austria, Belarus, China,
Germany and Japan, in 2012 in Sweden.
• In 2018 mixed doubles events were introduced,
under 21 events phased out.
• 141 associations have been represented
on the Tour.
• 50 associations have won gold in one
event or more. The most successful is
China with 1,088 titles, of which 382 are
men’s and women’s singles; two out of
every five finals have been won by Chinese
players.
Matches
• Most points in a match in World Tour
history: 214. In 1996 in women’s singles
round two at the China Open, Lee Eunsil
beat Wang Drechou-Xiaoming (18-21, 21-
19, 19-21, 29-27, 21-18).
• Most points in the modern era (11 points
per game): 180. In the group stage of the
men’s singles event at the 2014 Croatia
Open, Alexander Chen overcame Simon
Berglund (6-11, 14-12, 11-8, 10-12, 20-18,
11-13, 18-16).
• There have been over 600 comebacks
from 0-3 down in games. Memorably at
the 2002 Polish Open, in the penultimate
round and final of the women’s singles,
Guo Yan experienced the scenario in both
rounds. At the semi-final stage she recovered
to beat Guo Yue (9-11, 7-11, 12-14,
11-4, 11-7, 11-9, 13-11), before in the final
losing to Zhang Yining (16-18, 10-12, 2-11,
11-6, 11-7, 11-9, 12-10).
• Manika Batra is the player to note when
the pressure mounts, on Tour in singles
matches she won 14 out of 17 matches
when extended to seven games, an 82 per
cent success rate. She heads the order,
she is ahead of Chen Meng who has won
21 out of 26 such matches, a conversion
rate of 81 per cent.
• Conversely Michael Maze won only five
out of 19, that’s 21 per cent; of those defeats,
2003 in Sweden and Denmark were
against Hao Shuai. Two years later at the
Volkswagen 2005 World Championships
in Shanghai, at the quarter-final stage Michael
Maze beat Hao Shuai in one of the
most remarkable matches ever known.
• Men’s singles - Chuang Chih-Yuan in
2002 in Qatar in the sixth game of his
semi-final win against Ma Lin; later in 2013
in Poland in the third game of his opening
round success facing Ma Te. In 2019 in
Hungary Ricardo Walther in the second
game, when losing to Yu Ziyang in the final
preliminary round.
• Women’s singles - in 2008 in the group
phase at the China Open, Dang Yeseo
won the third game against Mu Zi but lost
the match; in 2020 in Qatar, Mima Ito in
the third game of her semi-final success
against Ding Ning.
Appearancess
• Vladimir Samsonov is the only player to
have competed in each of the 25 years
since the Tour began; his first appearance
was at the 1996 Italian Open, his most
recent the 2020 Qatar Open. Overall, he
played 124 tournaments; including men’s
doubles and men’s team he competed in
534 matches, winning 403, losing 131.
• Taking all events into consideration,
Ma Lin is the player to win the most
matches on Tour; over an 18 year period
he competed in 829 matches, winning
676 and losing 153. He has appeared in
more finals than any other player, a total
of 112.
• Chuang Chih-Yuan is the player to have
made the most appearances on Tour; in
23 years he played in 193 tournaments,
participated in 852 matches, winning 527,
losing 325. He lost more matches than
any other player but has more wins than
any player not from China; he is fourth on
the list behind Ma Lin (676), Wang Liqin
(594), Ma Long (558).
• Liu Jia is the female player with the most
appearances; commencing with the 1997
Polish Open, she played in 137 tournaments,
completing 551 matches, winning
326 and losing 225.
• Yu Mengyu is the female player to have
been involved in the highest number of
matches; in total 697 contests, 417 wins
and 280 defeats.
• Kasumi Ishikawa heads the women’s
list in terms of wins; on Tour she won 461
matches, lost 216. Next is Liu Shiwen
(441), Guo Yue (439) and Ding Ning (428).
Most successfulsful
• Ma Long holds the record number of 28
men’s singles titles on the ITTF World Tour
and six at the Grand Finals. He never lost
a singles match from a 3-0 lead.
times at the Grand Finals.
• Ma Lin holds the record of 66 titles. On
the ITTF World Tour he won 20 men’s
singles and 39 men’s doubles events; at
the Grand Finals he clinched the men’s
singles title twice and the men’s doubles
five times. No player has won more men’s
doubles titles on Tour or at the Grand
Finals than Ma Lin.
• Chen Qi and Ma Lin alongside Wang
Liqin and Yan Sen are the most successful
men’s doubles pairings. Chen Qi and Ma
Lin won 11 titles on the ITTF World Tour
and two at the Grand Finals. Wang Liqin
and Yan Sen won 10 times on Tour and on
three occasions at the Grand Finals. Ko
Lai Chak and Li Ching also won 11 times
the Tour but never at the Grand Finals.
• Guo Yue and Li Xiaoxia are the most
successful women’s doubles pairing; they
won 11 times on the Tour and twice at the
Grand Finals. Ding Ning and Liu Shiwen
also won 11 times on Tour but only once at
the Grand Finals.
• Guo Yue is the most successful in women’s
doubles events; a total of 35 titles on
the Tour and three at the Grand Finals.
• Xu Xin and Liu Shiwen won five Tour
mixed doubles titles and once at the Grand
Finals; they are the most successful of all.
• Seo Hyundeok won a record six Tour
under 21 men’s singles titles but never the
Grand Finals; he came close in 2010 in
Seoul, losing to Lin Gaoyuan in the final.
• Kasumi Ishikawa is the most successful
in under 21 women’s singles events; on
Tour she won 10 times in addition to twice
at the Grand Finals.
Performancess of note
• Deng Yaping played some 50 matches in
1996 and 1997, she lost just one singles
and two doubles matches; a win rate of 95
per cent; an achievement no player can
match. She is only player to have competed
in the Grand Finals and never lost a match;
she played in the inaugural edition in
Tianjin. She won the women’s singles and
women’s doubles partnering Yang Ying.
• In 2002 Chuang Chih-Yuan won the men’s
singles title at the Grand Finals in Stockholm;
he is the only player to win the title without
ever previously having won on the Tour.
• Chuang Chih-Yuan and Chen Chien-An
won the men’s doubles title at the Liebherr
2013 World Championships but as
a pair they never reached an ITTF World
four women’s singles titles won by Zhang
Yining at the Grand Finals when she succeeded
in Zhengzhou in November 2020;
most notably it was four in succession.
• Masato Shiono, world ranked no.188,
paid his own fee to enter the 2013 Japan
Open; he caused a major upset by winning
the men’s singles event. Later in the year
he won in the Czech Republic and gained
selection for national team at the Zen-Noh
2014 World Championships.
• Nima Alamian and Noshad Alamiyan are
the only siblings to win a doubles title; they
won in 2015 in Belgium.
• Gao Jun of the United States and Spain’s
Shen Yanfei form the only pair not representing
the same association to have won
a doubles title at the Grand Finals; they
won in 2005 in Fuzhou.
• Wong Chun Ting and Doo Hoi Kem, three
times Tour winners and once at the Grand
Finals, are the only pair to beat Xu Xin and
Liu Shiwen. They succeeded in the final in
2019 in Busan.
• At the 2018 Platinum Kaisa China Open,
Ovidiu Ionescu and Alvaro Robles needed
partners. They played together for the first
time; they beat Ma Long and Xu Xin in the
semi-finals before losing to Fan Zhendong
and Lin Gaoyuan.
• In July 2018, Jang Woojin won the men’s
singles, men’s doubles (Lim Jonghoon)
and mixed doubles (Cha Hyo Sim) to become
the first player to win all three titles
at the same tournament.
• Four men have a full house of Tour titles
(men’s singles, men’s doubles, mixed doubles,
under 21 men’s singles): Jang Woojin,
Lin Gaoyuan, Lin Yun-Ju, Jun Mizutani.
• Three women have a full house of Tour
titles (women’s singles, women’s doubles,
mixed doubles, under 21 women’s singles):
Hina Hayata, Mima Ito, Jeon Jihee.
• In 2015, the busiest year of the World • In games actually played, there have • Zhang Yining won 29 women’s singles
Tour final.
Tour, there were as many as 22 tournaments,
been five 11-0 score lines against Chi-
titles on the ITTF World Tour, more than
several held simultaneously. nese players!
any other player; additionally, she won four
• Chen Meng equalled the number of
44 45
Age factor
• Buddy Reid is the oldest player to compete
on the Tour; in 2016 when 75 years
old, he played on home soil at the Australian
Open in Melbourne; one month earlier
he had won the 75-79 years men’s singles
event at the World Veteran Championships
in Alicante.
• In March 2014 Mima Ito and Miu Hirano,
won the women’s doubles title in Magdeburg.
At the time Mima Ito was 13 years
and 160 days old, Miu Hirano was 13 years
and 350 days old, a combined age of 27
years 145 days. They became the youngest
ever Tour winners and gained a place in
the Guinness Book of Records.
• The win in Magdeburg meant Mima Ito
passed the previous record set by Guo Yue
to become the youngest ever winner in any
event on the Tour or at the Grand Finals.
Guo Yue was 13 years and 224 days old
when she won the women’s doubles in
2002 in Austria partnering Fan Ying.
• Also, Mima Ito exceeded the women’s singles
record of Guo Yue who succeeded in
2003 in Kobe when 15 years and 66 days
old. In 2015 Mima Ito was 14 years and 152
days old when she won in Bremen.
• Tomokazu Harimoto became the youngest
men’s singles winner on the Tour when
he succeeded in 2017 in the Czech Republic;
he was 14 years and 61 days old.
Later in 2018, he became the youngest
men’s singles winner at the Grand Finals,
when he won in Incheon; he was 15 years
and 172 days old.
Hosts for ITTF tournaments
over 25 years
Argentina (2)
Australia (10)
Austria (14)
Belarus (7)
Belgium (4)
Brazil (16)
Bulgaria (5)
Chile (10)
China (33)
Chinese Taipei (3)
Croatia (15)
Czech Republic (8)
Denmark (6)
DPR Korea (2)
Egypt (5)
England (6)
France (5)
Germany (21)
Greece (1)
Hong Kong (2)
Hungary (9)
India (4)
Italy (3)
Japan (24)
Korea Republic (19)
Kuwait (10)
Lebanon (1)
Malaysia (3)
Morocco (5)
Netherlands (2)
Nigeria (3)
Philippines (2)
Poland (13)
Qatar (22)
Russia (7)
Serbia (4)
Singapore (3)
Slovenia (9)
Spain (5)
Sweden (18)
United Arab Emirates (2)
United States of America (9)

Setbacks
Disappointments, every player
endures defeats and setbacks but
when the goal is the Olympic Games,
your burning ambition, not once but
twice you just miss out, at last you
gain selection then a global pandemic
means postponement, to say the least it
is frustrating!
It is the scenario for Brazil’s Jessica
Yamada, a scenario that has not
quelled her interest in the sport of table
tennis but has seemingly had the complete
opposite effect.
Not only does the now 31-year-old
practise diligently in order to compete
at high level; alongside partner, Cazuo
Matsumoto, they have opened a
state-of-the-art table tennis club in São
Paulo. Named “Match Point”, the club
provides opportunities for all.
A promising junior career, notably
when only 13 years old travelling alone
to practise at the Butterfly Dohjo in
Tokyo as well as later attending the
Shandong Luneng Training School in
China, Jessica Yamada enjoyed success
on the ITTF World Junior Circuit.
In 2007 she won in Venezuela,
before in the same year in Ecuador
securing gold at the South American
Junior Championships.
Ever more established in the national
team, in 2012 in Rio de Janeiro, consecutive
tournaments were staged; the Latin
American Qualification for the London
Olympic Games followed by the Latin
American Championships. In the latter
she won the women’s singles event
but, in the former, fell short and was not
selected for the women’s team. It was
a bittersweet feeling, the continental
champion but no place in England’s
capital city.
“It was the greatest disappointment
of my life, so hard to take; I’d played
in World Championships and I really
thought I would make it”, reflected Jessica
Yamada. “I didn’t watch the London
Games on television, I didn’t want anything
to do with the tournament.”
It was the lowest point of her career; the
option was to give up or lay the past to
rest and look forward. There was a ray
of light.
“I was so sad, Jean-René Mounié,
Hugo Calderano’s coach found me a
club in France” continued Jessica Yamada.
“I gave it some thought and decided
to go; then try for Rio 2016.”
European experience
The club was Mayenne, whom she
represented from 2012 to 2015; the
first two seasons in Pro B, the third
in Pro A. Three years at Mayenne, in
2015 she moved to represent Saint
Pierre les Elbeuf. Similarly, it was two
seasons in Pro B, followed by one in
Pro A.
“Life was not easy, I was alone, in
Pro B I had some good results, the
experience was good for my table
tennis, but I missed my family”, added
Jessica Yamada.
Playing in France was a source of motivation
but on the international stage
there was a further disappointment. At
the Zen-Noh 2014 World Team Championships
in Tokyo, Jessica Yamada
was a member of the team which
gained promotion to the Championship
Division. However, she was not selected
for the Perfect 2016 World Team
Championships in Kuala Lumpur.
“I was very disappointed not to have
the chance to play in the top division,
I moved to live with Cazuo in
Poland where he was playing, first
in Gdansk, then in Torun”, explained
Jessica Yamada.
Desperate disappointment for Bruna Takahashi, Jessica Yamada and Caroline Kumahara at the Lima
2019 Pan American Games
Caroline Kumahara and Jessica Yamada have formed a successful women’s doubles partnership
Very much club level was the priority, in
2017, she represented Ponta do Pargo
in Portugal, before from 2018 to 2020
competing for BTK Storfors in Sweden,
a silver medal finish being the outcome
in the first season but owing to the
pandemic the second season was not
completed.
Playing in Europe was most certainly a
valuable experience; moreover, Jessica
Yamada enjoyed success. Notably
she recorded wins against Romania’s
Daniela Monteiro Dodean, Camelia
Postoaca and Irina Ciobanu as well as
in opposition to Luxembourg’s Ni Xia
Lian, Russia’s Maria Dolgikh and Carole
Grundisch of France.
However, on the international stage,
arguably the Rio 2016 Olympic Games
did not come at the right time.
“At the time when qualification came for
the Rio 2016 Olympic Games I was not
at my best, so I didn’t really expect to be
selected”, explained Jessica Yamada.
“There was not the same disappointment
and sadness as four years earlier.”
Return to international scene
A two-year period away from the national
team, at the Lima 2019 Pan American
Games, it was back to international
duty, but it was again disappointment. A
3-2 penultimate round win was posted
against the United States trio comprising
Amy Wang, Wu Yue and Lily Zhang, the
top seeds, before defeat by the same
margin, defeat was experienced in opposition
to Puerto Rico.
Against the United States, Bruna
Takahashi beat both Amy Wang and Lily
Zhang, the one further win for the Brazilians
being secured by Jessica Yamada
who also accounted for Amy Wang.
Facing Puerto Rico, Jessica Yamada
experienced defeat in the doubles
partnering Caroline Kumahara against
Melanie Diaz and Daniely Rios, before
later losing to Adriana Diaz. Caroline
Kumahara accounted for Daniely Rios
but Bruna Takahashi, after somewhat
surprisingly beating Adriana Diaz, equally
surprisingly in the concluding match of
the fixture, lost to Melanie Diaz.
“The title was destined for Puerto Rico,
it was Melanie’s tournament; it was the
first time when Caroline and myself had
played doubles together”, explained Jessica
Yamada. “After beating the United
States in the semi-finals, we thought we
could win; it was sad that we lost but it
happens.”
Runners up spot in Lima in August but
when Jessica Yamada and colleagues
Division Two winners at the 2014 World Team Championships, Hugo Hoyama, Ligia Silvia, Jessica Yamada, Gui Lin,
returned to the Peruvian capital city in
Caroline Kumahara
October for the Latin American Tokyo
46 47

2020 Olympic Games qualification
tournament, it was better news; in fact,
they never surrendered a single individual
match, in the final avenging the Pan
American defeat against Puerto Rico.
“The Pan American Games result
really hurt but we were together, we
worked together, we had a really good
team spirit”, said Jessica Yamada.
“Before the Olympic Games qualification
tournament, we worked so hard,
Caroline and myself practised doubles
every day.”
Defeat at the Pan American Games
but with Tokyo in mind, was it a blessing
in disguise?
“If we had won at the Pan American
Games, it may have had the opposite
effect and we would have been too
relaxed; the defeat meant inside we
were roaring like lions!” smiled Jessica Happy times at BTK Storfors, Paulina Vega, Sara Ramirez, Anders Hulth, Katerina Toliou, Tomas
Bergquist, Jessica Yamada
Yamada. “They needed Adriana to win
two but after Caroline and myself won
the doubles and Bruna beat Adriana,
just as we went up as a team, they went down.”
At last, for Jessica Yamada, on Sunday 27th
October, just four days before her 30th birthday,
a place in the Olympic Games was reserved; the
dream had come true.
“After the match we were all so emotional, I was
the only member of the team who had not played
in an Olympic Games; Caroline and Bruna had
played in Rio, for me after all the years and all
the practice I had achieved my biggest goal, my
dream had been realised”, stressed Jessica Yamada.
“I’m not so young anymore, I’m not sure I’ll
ever get another chance.”
The goal was achieved but now, owing to the
pandemic, Jessica Yamada must wait.
“I was so excited when we qualified and it was not
easy to accept that the Games would be postponed”,
said Jessica Yamada. “However, you must
remain positive, world health is more important; I
appreciate the situation but make no mistake I’m
still so excited to be going to Tokyo.”
Match Point
Now it is a matter of
organising her time;
she will spend time in
Europe in Oporto and
Köping, both towns
having high level training
centres, as well as in
São Paulo where practise
will be combined
with running the Match
Point Table Tennis Club.
“When Cazuo and me
were living in Europe,
he always said that he
wanted to open a club
when we go back to
Itaim Keiko provides table tennis for all
Cazuo Matsumoto and Jessica Yamada at Match Point
Brazil”, explained Jessica Yamada. “So,
when we went back, he started to teach
some players at Itaim Keiko and more
and more people wanted to practise
with him, he felt that it was the moment
to have his own place and we opened
Match Point Table Tennis. We opened
on Saturday 29th February two weeks
before quarantine, gradually we are
getting back to a normal state of affairs
but we must be careful.”
Itaim Keiko is the club organised by
Marcos Yamada, Jessica’s father and
is one of the most successful in Brazil;
importantly, the door is always open.
“Match Point is a club for everybody
who wants to improve, it doesn’t matter
the level. The idea is to offer good quality
practice, so we have different groups
decided by level and number of players;
attention from a coach is always available”,
added Jessica Yamada. “Cazuo
Matsumoto and Andrews Martins, coach
of cadet national team, are the coaches;
in the future I will join them too, but now
I have to focus on my career as a player
so it’s not possible to be there, full time
as a coach.”
A new venture but one thing remains
the same; there has always been strong
family support.
“My family has always been there, my
brother, mother and father; they’ve paid
for me to go to tournaments”, stressed
Jessica Yamada who is most grateful
for the support she has received. Over
the years she has been supported by
Butterfly and by her father’s company
Jjyamada, table tennis retailers.
“In the future I hope to assist to a greater
extent with the company helping with
sales”, added Jessica Yamada who is
also well aware that without the support
of the Brazilian Table Tennis Confederation
and the Ministry of Sport, alongside
the backing of the clubs for which she
has played, the situation in which she
now finds herself, with Tokyo beckoning,
would not be possible.
“I practise in São Paulo at Match Point
and Itaim Keiko but when I play national
tournaments, I represent the Concordia
club from Santa Catarina” added Jessica
Yamada. “I’ve just signed for Ganxets
de Reus in Spain, so this season I’m
playing in Köpings BTK and Reus.”
The enthusiasm for the sport is as
strong as ever, the past is the past,
learn from experience, it may be difficult
but be strong, look ahead. “Follow
your dream, strive for your goal and be
strong”, is the advice.
It is those elements that have been vital
in Jessica Yamada’s career, the elements
that mean she is Tokyo bound.
Match Point staff, Primacia Melo, Carol Gomes, Alan Takahashi, Jessica Yamada, Cazuo Matsumoto,
Andrews Martins, Pedro Truszko.
The Yamada family, Marcos, Nanci, Jessica and Jeff
Match Point staff, Primacia Melo, Carol Gomes, Alan Takahashi, Jessica Yamada, Cazuo Matsumoto, Andrew Martins,
Pedro Truszko)
Saint Pierre les Elbeuf, Yann Loiseau, Jessica Yamada, Laura Gasnier, Stephanie Loeuillette
48 49

1 ST
generation concludes,
degrees awarded
Launched in October 2016, at the Faculty
of Kinesiology at the University of Split,
designed specifically for table tennis
players and coaches, in November 2019,
Norway’s Eirik Anses became the first
student to complete the University Degree
Study Programme in Sports Coaching.
Thus he gained the title Bachelor of Kinesiology
– Sport Training (Table Tennis), the
thesis being: “How can coaches develop
and maintain a coach-athlete relationship
which enhances athlete performance.”
In the world of sport, table tennis being
a prime example, high level players and
their coaches travel the globe to compete
in international tournaments; most significantly,
they have professional commitments
with clubs. They live away from
home and may well change club from year
to year.
Neven Cegnar presents Duagkaman Poosaksrikit with his diploma in 2019 in Bangkok
tee, of which the head of the programme
Goran Munivrana is a member, has
proved invaluable. It is a committee that
works very much away from the limelight,
time and again projects are initiated that
perhaps do not receive the recognition
deserved but are invaluable to the sport of
table tennis.
Thus, thanks to all organisations concerned,
a programme based on the
“Moodle” distance learning system was
developed. Constant on-line support
was provided with examinations being
arranged through Skype, on-line written
tests, the standard method with students
present, or a combination.
Notably, more traditional learning methods
are not neglected. Once a year, a
specific practical part of the programme is
held in Split or in another partner institution
best suited to the students. It is organised
in the off season period, June being
the favourite month, the schedule lasting
some seven to ten days.
Overall some 20 educational establishments
are involved from the Texas Wesleyan
University in the United States to the
Department of Physical Education, National
Taiwan Normal University in Chinese
Taipei. Notably, Eirik Anses graduated
under the guidance of Associate Professor
Guillaume Martinent, from the University
of Claude Bernard Lyon, France
He is a member of a team of some 30
lecturers comprising professors from universities
around the world; all have highly
distinguished academic credentials and
practical experience. Additionally, a great
majority have some table tennis background
as well.
Original concept
The concept builds on the project successfully
started in 2014 at the University
of Split and conducted in the Croatian
language; it was aimed at the Balkan
countries in which the same or similar
languages are spoken.
Significantly, the project was immediately
recognised and supported by the
International Table Tennis Federation;
one of the most notable names enrolled
was that of Tamara Boros. Amongst a
host of achievements, she reached the
number two spot on the women’s world
rankings in February 2002 and to this
date is the only European player since
1993 to gain a women’s singles podium
finish at a World Championships. She
secured bronze in 2003 in Paris.
In October 2018 at the Faculty of Kinesiology
University of Split, she gained
her Master’s Degree in Sports Coaching,
specialising in table tennis, the
thesis entitled: Characteristics of basic
playing systems in the modern table
tennis women’s game.
A most successful start, universally
acclaimed, now the next three
year generation begins; scholarships
are available.
The planned launch of the second
generation of students will be officially
announced due time. In the meantime
interested potential applicants may contact
the Head of the Programme, Goran
Munivrana PhD for more information.
Contact details:
Goran Munivrana PhD
ITTF Sports Science and Medical Committee
Phone: +385 98 735 101
Skype: munivrana.goran
e-mail: goran.munivrana@kifst.hr
Eirik Ansnes, the first to gain the Bachelor’s award
Furthermore, in recent times, the International
Olympic Committee has promoted
an “Athlete Career Programme”, the aim
to include athletes in education ventures
during their active careers and immediately
thereafter. Thus social marginalisation
of athletes, which is not unusual, can be
avoided. Equally when playing days are
over, they can contribute to the development
of their sport.
Tamara Boros receives her masters award from Goran Munivrana
Meanwhile for coaches, the initiative
provides a major opportunity to extend
knowledge; thus in the long term raising
playing standards.
Support
Throughout from the earliest stages when
the concept was just an embryo, the International
Table Tennis Federation and the
European Table Tennis Union, alongside
major manufacturers, Butterfly and Tibhar
have supported the initiative.
In particular, the co-operation within the
ITTF Sports Science and Medical Commit- Advice from Richard Prause on the first part of the course in 2017
Students on the second part of the three year course in 2018
50 51

Born in the German city of Mainz, the
42 year old is much travelled. He grew
up in Nigeria, finished high school in
Germany and studied Computer Science
in Brussels. Later, he travelled to
India before moving to Vancouver and
then Ottawa in Canada. In Vancouver he
studied photography.
In both his native Germany and in Belgium,
he played table tennis extensively;
throughout the length and breadth of
Canada he facilitated coaching clinics, in
Ottawa he assumed an official role with
Table Tennis Canada. More recently in
2015 he moved to Fort Providence to
become the Physical Literary Co-ordinator,
a rather isolated part of the world.
THE SPORT FOR THE NORTH
Need a top class photographer, one who will go that
extra mile and produce exactly the necessary requirements,
whether for on-line or hard copy, look no further
than Thorsten Gohl. He is one of the very elite at pointing
the camera lens in the right direction, capturing
the iconic moment, delighting editors, enthralling fans
as he encapsulates the precious split second image.
Fort Providence is not even a village, a
population of less than 700 inhabitants;
it is located west of the Great Slave
Lake on the banks of the Mackenzie
River in Canada’s Northwest Territories.
On the Celsius scale in mid-summer,
the month of July, temperatures can
reach 23 degrees, in winter it has been
known in February to fall as low as
minus 50 degrees.
Considering distance, Yellowknife, the
major city in the region, is a drive of
three hours; to travel further then it is
board an airplane. The flight time west
to Vancouver or east to Toronto is about
eight hours; venture further east to Halifax
and over 20 hours!
Voluntary position
The role of Physical Literary Co-ordinator
is his source of income but as in all
prior destinations at the top of the list is
table tennis. A voluntary position, Thorsten
Gohl is the Executive Director for
Table Tennis North, the governing body
for table tennis in North West Territories,
a part of the country where he has
created history.
Several years ago Yukon and then
Nunavut, the two further territories in
Northern Canada, affiliated to Table
Tennis Canada. In September 2015,
Table Tennis North was recognised by
the North West Territories government
sport authorities as a territorial sport
organisation. In July 2016, Table Tennis
North became a member of Table Tennis
Canada.
Stand and deliver, Thorsten Gohl with precious camera in hand at the Liebherr 2019
World Championships
Welcome to the North West Territories
Notable dates but the most notable of
all is Sunday 9th June 2019; on that day
Thorsten Gohl was elected unopposed
to the Board of Directors of Table Tennis
Canada; his role the Director responsible
for Marketing and Communications
as well as Coach Development. Immediately,
he introduced initiatives across The Hay River in June 2019, Lee Cawson from Aurora Ford presents an F150 to Thorsten Gohl
52 53

all social media platforms as well as a
website to increase interest and attract
more sports’ fans to table tennis.
Promoting the sport of table tennis on
a national front and wider, he is making
an impact but it is in the more local
region, an area of 442,000 square miles,
just over twice the geographical area
of France, where he has overcome
problems rather different to those experienced
to the country of his birth!
“It’s not easy to bring programmes into
these communities, as it takes a lot of
financial resources just to get here”,
stressed Thorsten Gohl. “We face challenges
that are different to even areas like
Yukon or Nunavut. You have to fly in.”
Isolated is an understatement, it is a
part of planet earth not suitable for the
vast majority of sports; the one discipline
that stands out in the often frozen, snow
covered terrain, is table tennis.
Playing on a table made of ice
ducted coach education courses.
“Right now I’m the only fully certified
coach, we have about 20 trained coaches
for our clubs in Fort Smith, Hay River,
Fort Providence and Fort Simpson”,
explained Thorsten Gohl. “We’re working
on a club in Yellowknife too.”
Equally, attention has been paid to
the art of umpiring; most significantly,
the visit of vastly experienced official,
Norman Tang from Ottawa, reaped dividends,
a star pupil emerged.
Shari Olsen from Fort Smith, who
started to play table tennis in 2018,
qualified as a Territorial Umpire in
less than one year. In 2019 she was
on duty at the Canada Games trials,
the North West Territories School
Championships and the “North of 60”
challenge in Whitehorse, Yukon. Very
quickly she passed the 100 match
mark in which she has officiated.
In Fort Providence, the yellow ball essential
“It is the sport for the north, it’s simple,
you just need a ball, you can even make
your own table”, smiled Thorsten Gohl.
“Table tennis engages people, you
can play old, young, big or small; it’s a
community activity, it’s ideal for our part
of the world, here it’s virtually the third
world, there is poverty and the winters
are dark.”
“I am always up for a challenge and trying
new things; table tennis is a growing
sport in the North and it seems to be the
right fit”, said Shari Olsen.
February 2020, a training camp in Yellowknife in preparation for the Arctic Winter Games
Huge potential
An activity for the community, since
Thorsten Gohl arrived, it has become a
major activity for the community!
“There is huge potential, table tennis
is fun, it’s great to watch”, stressed Thorsten
Gohl. “We start at grass roots, form
a base, now in the territory we have
some 8,000 people who have played
table tennis at some point; gradually as
we travel we create leaders, we create
role models. In this part of the world
table tennis works.”
Yellowknife in March 2019, playing at the Snowking Ice Castle
St. Pats High School, the 2019 North West Territories champions
The 2019 North West Territories High School Championships
Thanks to support from Rowe’s Construction,
a local company, table tennis
tables have been transported to local
schools where the sport has become
part of the curriculum.
Thorsten Gohl and Kevin Murphy, the Yukon head
coach at the preparation camp in Whitehorse, Yukon
January 2019
“All eight schools in Yellowknife have
a table tennis table; outside in the wider
territory we have some six schools
with tables”, added Thorsten Gohl.
“The whole aim is to provide opportunities
for children.”
Following the role of developer and
facilitator, gradually Thorsten Gohl has
put a more detailed structure in place. Shari Olsen from Fort Smith, Territorial Official; Table Tennis North - You Can Play
Bob McLoed, at the time man at the helm, with members of North West Champions, the William MacDonald School
Thanks to his qualifications, he has con- the second tier
Territories junior team at the 2019 Canadian Games
54
55

The 2019 North West Territories School Championships
Time to rest for a pupil at Deh Gáh School
Increasing schedule
Moreover, her talents could well be in
greater demand. An ever more detailed
competition calendar is now in
place. Locally, every year in December
a schools’ tournament is staged; the
Northwest Territories Championships
are held in January, trials for the Canadian
National Championships are organised
in April. On the wider front, players
compete every two years in March at the
Arctic Winter Games, every four years in
February, at the Canadian Games.
Competition but at the heart of the
matter is participation, reaching local
communities; in order to achieve the
goal vast distances have to be covered.
“In the past four years we have reached
17 local communities; taking flights as
opposed to road transport is often the
best option”, explained Thorsten Gohl.
“We ordered 50 mini table tennis tables,
now every community in the North West
Territories has a table tennis table.”
The facts underline the dedication
of Thorsten Gohl who has a very full
schedule; immediately work finishes he
starts his second full time occupation!
“In my job I work 40 to 50 hours per
week, for table tennis it is 20 to 30 hours
per week usually starting at 6.00 pm,”
said Thorsten Gohl.
Make no mistake, the latter role is demanding.
Currently in Canadian dollars
there is a turnover of some $150,000.00
per year; an annual grant of $20,000.00
is received from the North West Territories
regional government, local communities
contribute between $60,000.00
and $80,000.00 per year.
Most significantly, in addition there is
sponsorship, notably Aurora Ford provides
a vehicle.
“The partnership with Aurora Ford
is helping us to support the smaller
communities in the Mackenzie Region.
Accessibility is key when it comes to
support a sport like table tennis”, emphasised
Thorsten Gohl. “It opens up so
many possibilities for us and we are so
very grateful.”
Moreover, Aurora Ford is well aware
that the F150 will be highly visible as it
travels to established clubs in the Hay
River, Fort Providence, Fort Smith, Fort
Simpson and Yellowknife.
“Aurora Ford is always looking to support
all of the communities in the North”,
Operations for the Aurora Group. “The
partnership with Table Tennis North has
provided an excellent opportunity to get
visibility in the smaller communities and
help such a worthy organisation be able
to achieve its vision.”
Different thinking
A vehicle provided, a challenge met;
it is a situation in which Thorsten Gohl
revels, very much find a solution and
smile. Even when his precious camera
was stolen, he did not cry over spilt milk.
“You must think outside the box”, enthused
Thorsten Gohl. “There is support
from the ITTF Foundation, for World
Table Tennis Day we have played on
the Ice Road, on the Great Slave Lake;
we’ve played on an ice table in Yellowknife
and in the World’s Tallest Tepee.”
Quite simply, the actions represent the
values for which the ITTF Foundation
stands, the humanitarian element;
moreover it endorses the Thorsten
Gohl philosophy.
“Our aim is to make better human
beings, the idea of creating professional
athletes is minimal, it’s well down the
agenda; the main thing is that young
people have a meaningful activity and
they have fun”, stressed Thorsten Gohl.
“At the 2019 Canadian Winter Games in
White Deer, Alberta, we gave everyone
a hand-made gift.”
Notably, Table Tennis North is a prominent
supporter of “You Can Play”, a major
initiative promoted by the Northwest
Territories government; it was very much
the theme for those who competed in
the 2016 and 2019 Arctic Winter Games
as well as the 2019 Canada Winter
Games and 2019 Canada Western
Summer Games.
The support given by Thorsten Gohl
has been greatly appreciated by Marny
Twigge, the Vice President of “You
Can Play”.
“It is so important to make sure that
everyone participating in table tennis, or
in any activity, can feel safe and enjoy
their experience or focus on their development
in the sport, said Marny Twigge.
“Our kids in the Territories are great and
love sharing that message wherever
their competitions bring them.”
Equally, Ryan Pettengill, the initiative’s
Executive Director, was most positive
and appreciative.
identity or sexual orientation, Table
Tennis North sends an important message
that sport at any level can and
should be inclusive for all”, stressed
Ryan Pettengill.
Provision not possession
Everyone is welcome; the concept
is also witnessed in another sphere.
There is no sense of possession, the
sense is provision.
“They play table tennis but then they go
to hockey, we have no problem with that
situation”, stressed Thorsten Gohl. “If
the skills learnt playing table tennis enable
a young person to excel in another
sport then that it fine by us.”
Simply, the goal is giving a meaning to
life through playing sport.
“The idea with multisport is we are
providing an environment to create the
possibility for kids to realise their full
potential. As in sports, so it is in life”,
stressed Thorsten Gohl. “The idea is
I’m not taking your athletes, I’m trying
to support your athletes and make them
better, more well-rounded people.”
A fine example is being set, one for others
to follow; significantly Thorsten Gohl
made a presentation at the 2020 Sport
for Life Canadian Summit staged in late
January in Gatineau, Quebec.
Most certainly he impressed Richard
Way, the Sport for Life Chief Executive
Officer; he applauded the initiatives and
the different thinking.
“Thorsten had the vision necessary to
make the endeavour work and now other
sport organisations working in challenging
locations can use his example
as a blueprint for success. It’s not just
about playing table tennis; this is about
contributing to a community’s overall
health, bringing people together and giving
them something to accomplish”, said
Richard Way. “This programme demonstrates
what’s possible in North West
Territories if you have a dream, now we
can’t wait to see how things continue to
develop as he reaches more communities
and involves more players.”
Foresight, goals identified, opportunities
created; whether with camera in hand
or in discussion for future initiatives to
benefit fellow man, there is one common
factor. Thorsten Gohl is a man of vision,
above all, a man with a very clear vision.
Gracie Brennan, Shannan Bonnetrouge, Monika Kunderlik with Thorsten Gohl at the 2019 Canadian
Games in Red Deer
The flame glows in the background; Northwest Territories (Gracie Brennan, Nikhilesh Gohil, Conner
McKay-Ivanko, David Dragon, Monika Kunderlik, Shannan Bonnetrouge) at the 2019 Canada
Winter Games
said Lee Cawson, Vice President of
“Through their message that everyone
belongs in sport, regardless of gender
In October 2019 Steve Rowe visited Deh Gáh School in Fort Providence; involving young people in
his Ping Pong Physical Literacy programme
56 57

Recognised for their outstanding contribution
to the sport of table tennis; in
November, Neil Harwood, Glenn Tepper
and Steven Dainton were inducted
into the Table Tennis Australia (TTA)
Hall of Fame; they are the first administrators
to be elected.
First launched in 1996, backed by
the TTA Board, the Hall of Fame was
an initiative of the late Karol Javor,
the legendary coach and avid records
keeper. Initially the Hall of Fame was
solely for athletes in the open age
group. Four men and four women were
the original inductees, further inductions
occurred in 1998 and 2008.
After a hiatus, in 2019 Scott Houston,
TTA Chief Executive Officer, put
forward a proposal to relaunch and
expand the Hall of Fame, it was unanimously
supported by the TTA Board.
The Hall of Fame now consists of six
categories: Athlete (Open), Athlete
(Para), Athlete (Veteran), Coaches,
Referees & Umpires, Administrators.
The purpose of the Hall of Fame is
to recognise outstanding contributions
made by individuals in the fields
of playing, coaching, officiating and
administering the sport. A person may
only be inducted by meeting either
the objective or subjective criteria for
induction. The nominee must have
displayed the appropriate conduct,
characterised by demonstrating good
sportsmanship, acting within the spirit
of the game, displaying an exemplary
attitude and perfect behaviour, being a
positive role model, showing courteous
etiquette and always adherence to the
laws of the game.
Neil Harwood and wife Sandra play host to the royal family: Sophie Countess of Wessex, Prince
Philip and Prince Edward at the London 2012 Olympic Games, to the right in the back row can be
seen Glenn Tepper and Steve Dainton.
Australia Board Member and Director
in 1984, before rising to the office of
President, a position he held from
1996 to 1999. Later, he stepped back
to become a Board Member once
again from 2001 to 2004.
A Table Tennis Australia life member,
also he made his mark on the sport
internationally. He was the table tennis
competition manager at the Sydney
2000 Olympic and Paralympic Games,
before becoming President of the Oceania
Table Tennis Federation. Soon
after, he rose through the ranks of the
International Table Tennis Federation,
holding roles of Continental Vice President
on the Executive Board, Chair of
the Umpires and Referees Committee,
Executive Vice President (Finance)
and then finally Deputy President.
Medal of the Order of Australia
Harwood also served as a Board
Member of Commonwealth Games
Australia and in 2007, received the
Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM);
established in 1975 to recognise outstanding
service.
Neil Harwood wearing the prestigious Medal of
the Order of Australia
fact the nomination was made by his
peers adding a certain ingredient to
the occasion.
Glenn Tepper in his role of ITTF Deputy President
Distinguished administrator
Hailing from Murtoa, Victoria, Glenn
Tepper wore the green and gold as a
player from 1982 to 1991, but it is his
work as a distinguished administrator
that is his defining legacy to the sport.
The career in an official capacity at
Table Tennis Australia began as the
National Coaching Director when he
set up the Coach Accreditation System.
He conducted training camps and
talent identification programmes that
saw many players become national
team members, some medal winners
on the international stage.
Later, he worked as the Oceania Development
Officer creating a pilot programme
that was replicated worldwide;
most significantly being recognised
as the best of its kind by the Oceania
National Olympic Committees.
Immediately following, for 20 years,
he worked for the International Table
Tennis Federation, fulfilling the role of
Development Director, before being
promoted to the position of Deputy
Chief Executive Officer.
Steve Dainton with Raul Calin, ITTF Secretary-General
Glenn Tepper with Thomas Weikert; on Saturday 6th May 2017, when Guinea Bissau joined, every
possible country and territory was a member of the International Table Tennis Federation
“It’s an honour to receive this award.
“Neil is arguably Table Tennis Australia’s
greatest ever administrator, enjoy-
One doesn’t go into sport administration
looking for awards, you go in to
Attention to detail, he made sure
One of Australia’s longest serving
and highest achieving sport administrators,
Neil Harwood began his table 50 years; Neil’s impact was so great, he
ing a decorated career over more than
help. It started when I was very young,
that everyone who had contributed
I joined the Committee of the Southern
and every initiative that had been
tennis administration career at national was able to bring an Australian voice to
Tasmanian Table Tennis Association;
conducted was named in his annual
level in 1976 as Chair of the National the sport at an international level. Coming
from a country so small in relation
after I was ruled out of a competition, I
report. Significantly, he established a
Coaching Committee. Over the following
20 years, he held many significant to the rest of the table tennis popula-
was told if I wanted to change the rules,
worldwide development programme
come on to the committee and that’s
and global four level coach accreditation
structure, supported by coaching
roles, including Chair of National tion, that’s something truly remarkable”,
what I did in the very early years; this
Selectors plus coach and manager of said Scott Houston, the Chief Executive
started me on the journey”, reflected
manuals in more than 10 languages.
the national junior boys’ team. He was Officer for Table Tennis Australia. “On
Neil Harwood. “The highlight for me
A major effect was that the goal of
the National Team Manager for three behalf of Table Tennis Australia, I’d like
was the Olympic movement and the
having every possible territory a member
of the International Table Tennis
Olympic Games, seven World Championships,
four Commonwealth Champi-
achievement but also for everything
to congratulate Neil for not only this
Olympic Games. I had to spend much
time away from home, so for that I have
Federation was achieved; a feat even
onships, three Asian Championships he has contributed to making our sport
to thank my wife and family who have
he thought not possible. He said at
and five Oceania Championships. what it is today.”
supported me all the way through. I
the time, that the task was “more of a
Thus, possessing a wealth experience,
Understandably Neil Harwood was thank everybody, all the committees
dream than a realistic goal but I took
he became a Table Tennis delighted to receive the accolade, the I’ve worked on, it’s been great.”
this very seriously and slowly added Scott Houston initiated the proposal to extend the Hall of Fame
58 59

a few countries each year, providing
technical equipment and support.”
The achievement meant by having
more members than any other such
body, the International Table Tennis
Federation was very much at the
vanguard of demonstrating how sport
could promote universal understanding,
the 2011 Peace and Sports Cup in
Qatar being a prime example.
Moreover, a Corporate Social Responsibility
Programme was established
liaising with such organisations
as UNHCR (United Nations High
Commission for Refugees), Peace and
Sport, Generations for Peace, the International
Paralympic Committee and
Save the Children.
Extensive projects, the effect was that
awards were received from such highly
respected organisations as Peace and
Sport, Beyond Sport, Sport Accord
Spirit of Sport, 360 Sports Marketing
Making a Difference and FICTS
(Federation Internationale Cinéma
Télévision Sportifs Sports Movies and
Television).
“Glenn has been an outstanding
administrator who has displayed
passion and an incredible work ethic
for our sport and very much deserves
this induction; on a personal note
too, Glenn was my manager when I
started my working career as Oceania
Development Officer”, reflected
Scott Houston. “He provided me with
the skills, knowledge and experience
that benefitted my career and made a
positive and lasting impression.”
Family affair
Notably, Glenn is not the only member
of the family who is a member of the
Table Tennis Australia Hall of Fame.
He follows in illustrious footsteps!
“Glenn’s sister Kerri was inducted into
the Hall of Fame in 2008 as an athlete,
making this a historic occasion. It’s
the first time multiple people from the
same family have become Table Tennis
Australia Hall of Fame members”,
added Scott Houston. “Congratulations
again Glenn, you are most worthy of
being an inductee.”
Glenn’s two other siblings, Jan and
Ross also represented Australia as
players. Currently the Tepper family
holds the Australian record for the
most family members to represent
Australia. Surely this will be a record
that will stand the test of time.
Most certainly the contribution made
to the sport of table tennis by Glenn
Tepper is far reaching.
Officer, which way to Sydney? Neil Harwood, at the 2000 Olympic Torch relay in Glenorchy, Tasmania
Alex Swanson, Steve Dainton and Scott Houston
playing for the Southern Table Tennis Association
in the South Australian State League in 2001; it
was the first year the club had a team in the top
division, third place was the outcome.
“It’s a great honour to be inducted
into the Table Tennis Australia Hall of
Fame. My journey was a long and interesting
one, starting on a homemade
table in the garage of our house, with
my father Merv as coach. Dad was a
reasonable table tennis player who
transferred his knowledge of tennis,
successfully coaching his four children
to national team level from a small
town of 1,000 people four hours from
Melbourne”, said Glenn Tepper. “This
led to national representation for 10
years, while studying for a Bachelor of
Education degree specialising in physical
education. My background naturally
led me to coaching, taking on the
national junior programme for nearly
10 years and leading to be assistant
national coach to Zhou Lan Sun while
coaching international teams.”
A background in Australia, led to his talents
being highly valued on a wider scale.
“I have made friends of different
language, race, religion and culture
throughout the world through table
tennis; my father was the driving
force from the beginning while at Table
Tennis Australia level, Ron Moule
and Zhou Lan Sun provided great
guidance and education”, continued
Glenn Tepper. “At ITTF level I was
fortunate to have Adham Sharara
as a great mentor for over 20 years,
but thanks must go to all the players,
coaches, administrators and staff I’ve
worked with over the years, including
several current Australian officials
Scott Houston and Craig Hayes.
Thank you, Table Tennis Australia for
this great honour”.
Kerri Tepper was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2008
seeing “Aim for the Stars” project.
Revenue increase
In many ways, it is in the footsteps of
Glenn Tepper that Steve Dainton, appointed
Chief Executive Officer for the
International Table Tennis Federation
in 2017, trod.
Presently he has the unenviable task
of organising matters in the midst of
a pandemic but most significantly in
recent years, his leadership has led to
the creation of the ITTF Strategic Plan
“Table Tennis For All For Life 2018-
2024” and a significant increase in
ITTF commercial revenue.
Forward thinking, since appointment,
the professional staff structure has
grown; World Table Tennis has been
created to manage and enhance commercial
prospects, a governance and
management review for good practices
has been established. Additionally, the
ITTF Foundation is now an integral part
of the mandate, driving forward the Corporate
Social Responsibility activities.
Meanwhile, bravely, at the Liebherr
2018 World Team Championships,
he was prominent in supporting the
proposal for the Korean Peninsula
to compete as a unified team in their
semi-final women’s fixture against Japan.
A bold move, it is the same with
the concept of a Global Home of Table
Tennis, the proposal not being just
a headquarters for the International
Table Tennis Federation, also a facility
for research, development facilities,
training and testing of materials.
Player
However, similar to all, the table tennis
career began as a player. Commencing
in 1984 he represented the
Steve Dainton, the coach for New South Wales in the mid 1990s
Currently for the Asian Table Tennis
Union Glenn Tepper manages the far Albury Wodonga Table Tennis Associ-
60 61
ation, in a four year period securing a
host of titles and representing the Victoria
junior team. Later from 1992 he
became the junior state team coach for
New South Wales, Victoria and South
Australia, players under his charge enjoying
notable success. Also, he was
the club coach for the Albury Wodonga
Table Tennis Association.
Success at state level, Steve Dainton
became a Table Tennis Australia
Scholarship Coach working alongside
Jerzy Grycan to help prepare the team
for the 2000 Sydney Olympics. In the
same year, he liaised with John Matovinovic
and Li Wang Li in Adelaide,
eventually leading a group of junior
players from South Australia on a tour
of Beijing.
The next step was to become the
Oceania Development Officer, a role
in which he increased the number
of active national associations and
raised participation levels at continental
events to a then record 12
countries competing at the Oceania
Championships.
Noteworthy success at continental
level, in 2010 he assumed the role of
ITTF Marketing Director, creating new
agreements and promoting increased
television coverage before acceding to
the post of Chief Executive.
“On a personal note, Steve was my
coach as a junior. Through Steve’s
guidance I grew to love our great
game”, reflected Scott Houston. “Although
I didn’t realise it at the time, but
this was a significant moment in shaping
the direction of my life. Thank you
Steve, congratulations Steve on being
one of the inaugural administrators
inducted into the TTA Hall of Fame,
you’re a most worthy inductee.”

Pandemic
exercise ital
for senior players
by Miran Kondric, PhD (Chair ITTF Sports
Science and Medical Committee)
Established patterns of movement
disturbed or even completely
immobilised; such is effect of the
Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, we
need to work even harder for personal
well-being and strengthen our immune
system.
Sometimes we forget how important
movement is when we grow older.
Physical exercise does not only benefit
the young but also people in their later
Andras Podpinka silver medallist 2001 World Team Championships
years. Physical activity is any bodily
movement produced by the contraction
of skeletal muscle that increases
energy expenditure above base level.
In the so-called “Covid-19” situation
we are unfortunately forced to exercise
much more at home or in the vicinity of
the home.
The spread of coronavirus and preventive
measures greatly affects our
lives. We find ourselves in isolation
and in an unusual situation; a situation
that also affects our well-being. Therefore,
we must make sure to minimise
the psychological impact of
isolation. We need to try to create a
daily routine and include a great deal
of exercise in the schedule.
We are inundated by various recommendations
regarding physical
activity. It is a time of great uncertainty
and confusion, fuelled by media
chaos. In a space that is increasingly
socially and physically restricted as
the pandemic spreads, we need to
focus more attention on elderly table
tennis players.
It is a well-known fact that all motor
abilities decrease with age. In various
published studies it is underlined
that a faster collapse of motor
abilities follows a period of physical
inactivity. Initiatives in the field of
health and welfare, with the aim of
increasing physical activity, have
proved to be effective; thus, slowing
the ageing process.
Regular and sufficient physical activity
for the elderly is highly recommended
by physicians and kinesiologists. It
contributes to the preservation of the
body’s ability and skills necessary
for everyday tasks and activities.
Additionally, it affects the individual’s
well-being, the feeling of good health
and the overall satisfaction with life.
In 2017 England’s Pam Butcher received the MBE
Strength training
For the elderly, it has a particularly
high importance for strength training,
which can significantly alleviate the
reduction of muscle mass and the
negative effects of the displacement of
muscle cells.
Ageing means reducing the functional
capacity of the body; this is manifested
in the reduction of muscle strength, explosivity,
aerobic ability, bone density.
All affects the worsening of the flexibility
and balance of an older person.
A week of lying-in bed, the muscle
strength of an older man may decrease
by even a fifth, and the density
of the spinal bone by one per cent.
New research suggests that lifting
large loads can affect the strengthening
of muscle mass, and muscular
mass can most favourably affect the
quality of life in later years. Strength
training is gaining greater importance
in maintaining the functional abilities of
the elderly. Most agree that walking or
walking with a stick is not enough.
It is also important, even in more
senior years, to develop other mobility
skills that preserve functional capabilities;
these include muscle strength
and muscular stamina, balance,
co-ordination and flexibility. The problems
of elderly people with reduced
Dr Miran Kondric addresses the Luxembourg
Academy of Sports Medicine in November 2018
mobility, arthritis, falls, osteoporosis
fractures, functional regression are in
most cases associated with reduced
muscle strength and mass, so the
inclusion of strength workouts is very
useful and necessary.
Muscles are not only the generators
of force but are also involved in other
bodily functions. Muscle mass regulates
body heat, it is a water reservoir
and controls electrolytic balance and
regulates glucose. The mobility of the
body is also important. A sedentary
lifestyle means a reduced muscle
mass, especially those muscles associated
with the spine.
Regular physical activity benefits
Has a huge impact on fat burning; thus, a lower potential
risk of atherosclerosis.
Reduces the amount of harmful stress hormones by
using regular endurance exercises; thus, increases the
amount of melatonin hormone required to sleep.
Amongst older adults, lowers arterial blood pressure
when compared with the inactive. Aerobic activity from
lower to high intensity is influenced by lowering systolic
blood pressure after exercise.
Maintains or even gains muscle mass in the elderly; thus,
allowing for better stability and prevents falls and injuries.
Strengthens the immune system and thus reduces the
morbidity of various infectious diseases, such as viruses.
Maintaining muscle mass due to regular physical activity
allows an individual energy intake, which means that with
a varied mixed diet it receives enough of all necessary
Start strength training with resistance
bands and increase slowly
nutrients and maintains a normal body weight.
Danny Seemiller famous for developing the grip that carries his name Edvard Vecko, men’s team bronze medallist 1969 World Championships
load repetitions.
62 63
Impact
Employing balance exercises, we can
contribute to preventing falls common
at a later age which cause osteoporosis
and a danger to life. Therefore, all
exercises have an impact on increasing
the mobility of the elderly, helping
fulfil daily tasks and preserving the
social network. The quality of life in
later years is preserved.
Whatever the decision, practise in
the fresh air is recommended, on the
terrace, the balcony or at least with an
open window. According to recommendations,
such as adequate distance
from others and necessary protection,
walk to the nearby park or forest.
If you do so we would recommend
you use Nordic walking, a physical
activity utilising similar to a ski pole
in each hand, applying pressure with
each step and thus using the largest
number of “big muscles”. Do not forget
that sometimes poles can save you
from falling.
Absence or lack of physical activity and
oversitting can lead to a reduction in
bone and muscle mass, this can lead
to premature ageing and in a reduced
ability to perform everyday tasks.
Becoming physically active, we soon
notice the initial benefits that are
brought about by regular physical
activity, such as a better overall
feeling, we have more energy, as a
rule, we feel less pain during movement.
If we increase the amount of
daily physical activity according to
ability, we can prevent or mitigate
many of the negative results of disease
or conditions.
Note carefully, all activities must be
carried out following prior consultation
with a personal medical doctor,
physician, or professional trainer.
Especially lifting loads must be
planned very carefully.

Aim for the Stars
in retrospect
A most difficult year, in 2020 the Asian Table Tennis Union’s
newest project “Aim for the Stars” was fully activated
but competitions, development activities, and even
training in most countries stopped owing to Covid-19;
thus innovation and flexibility was needed.
Junior training camp with Anshul Garg in Nepal
New projects
Receiving the usual technical support from our international
experts has not been possible during the Covid-19 pandemic;
instead, help has been given for the time when activities involving
international training camps and equipment assistance can
recommence in a safe and secure manner. Many projects
have started or will start soon, they include:
Afghanistan: commenced - an ambitious project involving 10 provinces;
involves education, equipment assistance, training and a first
ever Afghanistan Cadet Championships
Bahrain: junior training camp and equipment assistance
Prior to the pandemic taking hold, “Aim for
the Stars” was able to assist with:
A South Asia Training Camp in India, preparation for the
South Asia Games.
Training camps in Sri Lanka and Nepal, as well as in Korea
Republic for Mongolia and in India for Nepal
Equipment assistance packages including:
5,400 balls for Iran
Racket coverings for Omani junior players
32 tables, 192 rackets, 800 three-star balls, 3,200 training balls
shared equally within 16 states in Myanmar
South Asia regional project
Equipment assistance for Iran
Bangladesh: junior training camp plus Stag equipment assistance -
tables and nets, 1,800 three-star balls
Bhutan: equipment assistance - 14 tables, 10 nets, 100 rackets,
1,002 three star balls, 2,004 one star balls, 15 towel stands, 20 surrounds,
10 scorers, 10 umpires tables
Brunei: Stag equipment assistance - 16 tables and nets, 105
rackets, 1,200 three-star balls, 30 towel stands, 250 surrounds, 14
scorers, 15 umpires tables
Cambodia: junior training camp and equipment assistance: 16
tables, eight nets, 50 rackets, 100 three star balls, 300 one-star balls,
50 surrounds, eight scorers, eight umpires tables
India: training camp and coach education
Atoll Development Programme Equipment – six tables, 60 rackets,
600 balls in Maldives
Indonesia: equipment assistance - eight tables and nets, 10 gross
three-star balls
Support for players from Iran and the United Arab Emirates
to attend ITTF World Tour tournaments
Support for players from Saudi Arabia and Jordan to attend
ITTF World Junior Circuit tournaments
Umpires and Referees courses for Bhutan
On-line coaching videos
During the shutdown “Aim for the Stars”, with the close co-operation of
the Korea Table Tennis Association (KTTA), introduced a series of 12
on-line coaching videos. The initiative was co-ordinated by Lee Jongsan,
KTTA International Relations Director and Glenn Tepper, Projects
Director for the Asian Table Tennis Union; the videos were released
weekly and included Korean stars Jang Woojin, Cho Daeseong, Lee
Sangsu, An Jaehyun and the defence maestro Joo Saehyuk.
Later in the year, as some countries started to better manage Covid-19,
we were able to provide a more innovative and flexible approach;
three major projects were completed:
A junior training camp in Qatar comprising 70 players from
nine clubs
A training camp in Mongolia which involved equipment
assistance of 15 Tenergy rubbers, 1,000 training balls, 300
practice balls
Three junior training camps, each lasting almost one month,
in three major governorates in Yemen: Sana’a, Ibb and Hajjah
Coach education in Sri Lanka
Equipment assistance for Myanmar
Qatar, coaches, players and officials
Training camp in Bangladesh
Iran: Nittaku equipment assistance - 13,200 training balls
Iraq: equipment assistance - 35 tables, 40 nets, 207 rackets, 800
three-star balls, 2,009 one-star balls, one scorer
Jordan: junior training camp and coach education
Kazakhstan: Donic equipment assistance – 17 tables
Kuwait: equipment assistance - 50 rackets, 150 rubbers, 30 surrounds,
2,400 balls
Kyrgzystan: Stag equipment assistance -15 tables and nets, 2,000
three-star balls, 15 umpires tables, 30 towel stands, 30 scorers, 50
surrounds
Laos: Stag equipment assistance - 29 tables, 18 nets, 350 three-star
balls, 4,820 one-star balls, 10 towel stands, 10 umpire tables
Lebanon: Stag equipment assistance - 10 America Plus tables,
2,000 Supreme balls, 500 square metres of flooring
Malaysia: junior training camp and equipment assistance
Maldives: Male schools project and Addu City Atoll development
programme
Oman: equipment assistance - six tables, 12 racket coverings, 1,000
one-star balls plus a local two week training camp for 10 players and
an international cadet, junior training camp for six players
Pakistan: junior training camp
Junior training camp in Mongolia
Palestine: equipment assistance -16 tables and nets, 543 threestar
balls
Philippines: junior training camp
Sri Lanka: junior training camp
Thailand: Level Two Coach Education Course and Umpires Course
Turkmenistan: equipment assistance - 39 Double Happiness tables,
25 nets, 20 scorers, 70 surrounds, six umpires tables and chairs, 12
towel stands, 250 three-star balls, 2,880 one-star balls, 100 rackets.
Provincial representatives from Afghanistan meet in Kabul
Vietnam: equipment assistance - 20 tables, 20 rackets, 1,100 balls,
Training camp in Sana Yemen
Umpires and referees course in Bhutan
10 surrounds, six towel stands, five scorers, three umpires tables.
64 65

Now over 30 years ago, the Centre of Excellence in Farnley, Leeds
in1988: Sylvia Worth (coach), Caroline Bentley, Joanne Keighley, Mark
Stephenson, Debbie Toole, Michael O’Driscoll, Michael Auchterlonie,
Mark Smith and Hans Soova (coach)
Now over 30 years later In February 2020, located near Alkmaar, table tennis
was part of the BSC school’s 100 year celebrations.
The aim is one of unity; bringing
together individuals, regardless of
status, gender, age, creed, colour,
religion or any other obstacle imposed
by short sighted, misguided, protective
and jealous despots.
Mark Smith is the founder of Ping
Pong Alkmaar, a city located in the
north west of the Netherlands with
a somewhat unusual claim to fame,
a link with the Beatles, arguably the
most famous pop group of all time.
It is where the first guitar used by
John Lennon was made. The 1969
hit “Come Together” underlines the
philosophy of Mark Smith, as he
steers his club from “Nowhere Man”
on the “Long and Winding Road” to
ever more daunting targets. “Help” is
afforded by the ITTF Foundation. A
“Magical Mystery Tour” is in progress.
Open to all, no barriers, driving forward tirelessly to
create players who can compete on the international
stage but providing extensive opportunities for anyone
who wishes to play the sport of table tennis, it is the
goal of Mark Smith.
www.pingpongalkmaar.nl
to go from nothing to a fully comprehensive
club that is multinational; the
aim is to achieve this target in four
years”, explained Mark Smith. “We
have players from many different
countries, India in particular at the
moment; also, our young Dutch players
have learnt English very quickly
and are now fluent, that’s been an
added bonus.”
Moreover, Mark Smith
envisages the organisation
as more than just a
table tennis club; the principles
on which Bounce
operates, a social “ping
pong” club where you can
eat, drink and be merry,
perhaps not too merry or
you’ll never hit that pesky
ball, are very much part
of his thinking.
stressed Mark Smith. “Bounce in London
is a good example; include music
and dance, not just sport, provide
an opportunity for people to meet.
Also, we must look at sustainability,
the Ormesby Club in England on the
outskirts of Middlesbrough provides
a good example, supporting excellence,
open to a wide range of the
community and continuing to flourish
year after year.”
New environment
The scenario is simple for the now
44-year-old who arrived in Alkmaar in
2012, if you can find a hall in which
to play; then progress can be made.
Coaching sessions, tournaments,
social occasions can all be held. Most
importantly he has adjusted to the
environment and, although somewhat
different to his native Bradford, he
feels very much at home.
“I like it here in Holland, it’s a beautiful
region of the world; when I arrived,
I worked for the local club, Alkmaar
71. Back in the 80s and 90s the club
was among the biggest clubs in Holland.
Many professional players including
English players played there,
in fact some of my childhood heroes!
Trevor Taylor, Nicky Mason and
Skylet Andrew; there was a strong
traditional rivalry against Tempo Team
where Bettine Vriesekoop played,”
explained Mark Smith. “Bettine is the
most successful Dutch table tennis
player ever, a household name here
in Holland. Bettine was my coach
for the last years when I played for
Tempo Team, we are proud to have
her now as our main club ambassador
at PingPongAlkmaar.”
Crowned European champion in
1982 in Budapest and ten years
later in Stuttgart, on duty at the 1988
Seoul, 1992 Barcelona and 1996
Atlanta Olympic Games, in Bettine
Vriesekoop, the club has a splendid
role model. Bettine Vriesekoop faced
challenges and achieved her goals, in
a different manner, it is the same for
Mark Smith.
Starting from absolutely nothing in
2018, Mark hires a hall from the local “Many clubs are just
council and pays by the hour for the about high level; here I
use of the premises. Most significantly, want to bring everything
he caters for refugees, hence his application
together. I like meeting
to the ITTF Foundation very people, delivering the
much fitted the requirements of the innovative
Dream Building Programme. everyone getting on well
to go from six die-hard junior players At the Yasaka Eastern Open staged in King’s Lynn in November 1996, Mark Smith surprisingly reached
sport of table tennis,
“It is the biggest challenge I’ve faced,
together; that’s the joy”
the men’s singles semi-finals. He received the Jarvis Sports Young Player of the Tournament award for
“It is the biggest challenge I’ve faced,
Mark and Fleur, with daughters Josje (being carried) and Pippa
which we inherited from our partner his efforts
66 67

Mark Smith at the 2020 Dutch National Championships
club Alkmaar 71 to a fully comprehensive
club that is multinational; the aim
is to achieve this target in four years”,
explained Mark Smith. “Alkmaar 71 saw
declining years in membership. Hooge
Huys was the sponsor, a finance company,
they withdrew support, the club’s
primary function became catering for
recreational players.”
Responding to the situation, Mark Smith
formed Ping Pong Alkmaar; he used his
experience and knowledge gained in
a period of over 25 years dedicated to
coaching, organising and promoting the
sport of table tennis. Now the club has
some 30 tables, some from the “Bounce”
organisation, others purchased locally or
transported from England.
Notably the club extends beyond the
venue itself; very much the philosophy
is to connect with the community.
Tables and equipment are delivered to
local schools and companies to foster
good relations and increase participation
in what Mark Smith believes to be
the very best sport of all.
“The game is so versatile”, he
stressed. “It is a sport that can pull
everybody together.”
Rapid progress but to make even
more progress; there is one rather
imperative requisite.
“We need our own premises; I’m hoping
the local council can help with providing
land”, said Mark Smith. “Land is
expensive, we have good relationships
with everyone in the local area; now we
must start a fund-raising campaign.”
Sound education
Everyone can be assured that Mark
Smith will give total commitment to the
venture; it is been the same throughout
his career. He hails Bradford in
the north of England, a city that grew
to prominence in the Industrial Revolution
of the 19th century, the world
centre for the wool industry. A vision
of chimneys exuding smoke but make
no mistake those days are long gone;
moreover, the surrounding West Yorkshire
countryside is one of the most
picturesque areas you could ever wish
to visit; simply magnificent.
“I was nine years old when I started
to play table tennis, we lived in an old
Victorian house; a table tennis table
fitted in my bedroom”, reminisced
Mark Smith. “I went to Clayton Middle
School, for nine to 13 year olds; Miss
Simmonds, my science teacher, ran
the table tennis, we won the Bradford
Schools’ Championships. Recently
she passed away, I went to visit her in
2016 with my mate Ben Mason who
was also in the table tennis team. She
bought us fish and chips and we reminisced
about the four great years we
had at an outstanding school. Shirley
facilitated 10 hours of table tennis
each week before and after school and
entered three teams in the Bradford
Schools League.”
Left-handed, an attacking top spin
player, Mark attracted the attention
of Hans Soova and Sylvia Worth who
organised the Farnley Centre of Excellence,
open two nights a week for elite
level training sessions and for general
play at weekends. The aspiring young
man was in good hands. There is
no better duo on guiding a player on
the right path; if in that respect better
such coaches exist, I have yet to meet
them. They do not look for short cuts.
There is no stick a sheet of long pimples
or anti-spin rubber on a 12-year
old’s bat, hope for the best and then sit
in reflected glory.
“I had a good education, Hans and
Sylv taught good basics up to the
highest level of technical skills, they
were reliable, there was good management,
but I think more important
was their attitude; their positive nature
was remarkable, always they gave one
hundred per cent support”, extolled
Mark Smith. “I didn’t realise it at the
time, but that positivity has rubbed off
on me.”
Carefully nurtured, there was quick
progress, county and national selection.
He played for both the Yorkshire
junior and senior teams, captaining the
latter to the national title in 1996. One
year later he was a member of the
Darlington outfit that won the British
League Premier Division title, having
in 1994 partnered Andrew Wilkinson
to men’s doubles gold at the English
Under 21 Championships. Internationally,
in the same year, he represented
the British Aerospace Team in Riyad,
having earlier been on duty for England
schools.
A talented sportsman, also academically
strong, from 1995 to 1998 he
studied Sports Management at Sheffield
Hallam University; a short spell as
a lifeguard at Bradford Swimming Pool
ensued, before being appointed to the
post of North of England Regional Development
Officer for the English Table
Tennis Association.
Travel bug bit
The Netherlands connection, Mark Smith’s introduction to table tennis was on holiday, camping in Annecy,
France playing against Dutch opposition
Playing in Nepal during a Maoist strike
Enforced government cutbacks, after
two years in the post, there was a
need to look elsewhere, the travel
bug bit.
“I took a one way flight to Delhi,
played against many Indians, travelled
mainly as a tourist, eventually
reaching Nepal where I met my wife,
Fleur; she was doing voluntary work
with the street kids, she was 18 or 19
at the time, I was 25 years old”, explained
Mark Smith. “We came back
to England, to London; we saved for
a year and then I went to Australia.
Fleur did not want to go, she returned
home to Alkmaar.”
Down under, based originally in
Melbourne, Mark both coached and
played table tennis; in fact, he moved
west to Perth and won the Western
Australian men’s singles title!
The successful Clayton Middle School team, Jason Stanger, Andrew Stebbings, Mark Smith,
Chris Swain
68 69

A qualified coach under the auspices
of the English Table Tennis Association,
New Zealand was the next stop
followed by a return to London. Under
the patronage of the Greenhouse
Foundation, he coached table tennis
at the Ernest Bevin College in Tooting,
guiding the pupils to success in the
English Schools Table Tennis Association
Team Championships.
In addition, he formed his own
business, promoting table tennis and
providing corporate events; after
a period of ten years in England’s
capital city, it was time to move; back
to Yorkshire or to Alkmaar, his wife’s
own town. He chose the latter; Alkmaar
is the beneficiary.
Everyone can be sure that from
Mark Smith there will be total effort to
achieve the stated goals. He will not
allow any obstacle, manmade or natural,
to stand in his way.
Significantly, during the height of the
Covid-19 pandemic last March, the
Netherlands suffered rather less than
most but there was a three-week period
when the club was forced to close.
However, the break did not mean a
postponement of activities; a Zoom
call was organised with the Za’atari
Refugee Camp in northern Jordan, on
the Syrian border.
Close links with Jordan; most significantly,
there are close links with the
Central Agency for the Reception of
Asylum Seekers (COA) in Heerhugowaard;
resident at the centre with
his wife and young daughter is Abbas
Ramezani, an engineer by profession
who has a strong sporting background.
He played baseball at national level
and is a former member of the Iranian
junior national table tennis team. Thus,
he is proving a great asset in Alkmaar.
“There were big problems where
we were living in Iran, so I’m really
pleased to come to the Netherlands,
everybody has been welcoming”, explained
Abbas Ramezani who attends
four or five evening sessions per
week, his enthusiasm never waning.
“I think some of these young players
can progress to a good level; it’s
important they have a strong body, especially
strong legs”, stressed Abbas
Ramezani who is clearly enjoying the
coaching but is also eager to improve
his own playing skills.
It is intended that alongside Karol
Swierczynski from Poland and local
players Joris Kok and Rob van de
Horst, they will form a men’s team
when national competitions restart.
Additionally, Rob van de Horst will
An international aspect Jean-Paul Montanus from the Netherlands, Mark Smith from England and Kento
Normura who hails from Japan
In November 2019 Alkmaar members visited Borussia Düsseldorf
In November 2019 Alkmaar members visited Borussia Düsseldorf
Rob Vader Horst, (Alkmaar club chair) and Abbas Ramezani (coach) with Mark Smith
Jean-Paul Montanus, class 7 Para player, coaching in Alkmaar
Mark Smith conducts a secondary school class in Alkmaar
Youssef Alsalama, a Syrian refugee, helped Mark with a Zoom call to advise the coaches at the Za’atari
Camp in Jordan
assume the role of chair for the club
to relieve Mark Smith of the extensive
workload, he assumes the role of head
of coaching and development
Ambitious, Mark will not stop, the
renowned Yorkshire upbringing of
hard work is ingrained in his character,
in the word of the Beatles, he will
promote the concept of “All You Need
is Love”; rest assured he will commit
“Eight Days A Week”.
Inclusion the theme
by Karine Teow
ITTF Foundation – Field Programmes Manager
At the ITTF Foundation we have
an annual fund for any individual,
backed by an organisation, who is
looking to make social change; invitations
were extended in 2018, the
following year witnessed the initial
applications for the Dream Building
programme being approved.
Mark was one of the first, perhaps
there were a few stronger proposals,
but his initiative was realistic and
quite simply he was not asking for
excessive sums of money. Unfortunately,
some proposals were a little
too ambitious, they did not meet the
goals intended, or were not within a
credible budget.
Clearly Mark was sincere, his proposals
were not centred just on
performance, they were much wider,
inclusion was very much the major
theme. A very humble character, Mark
wanted to support the community,
help those less fortunate, he wanted
to assist refugees, his proposals
ticked the boxes.
Brighton Table Tennis Club was very
much his role model. Located on the
south coast of England, formed in
February 2007, the principles of the
club are that table tennis is a powerful
tool in engaging people of all ages
and transforming lives. It is on that
basis that Alkmaar Table Tennis Club
is organised; most significantly, Mark
has liaised with Brighton and has
organised exchange visits.
We monitor the progress that he is
making, we have regular Skype calls,
he completes the necessary forms,
every six months the documents being
in more detail.
Always, Mark is positive, enthusiastic,
wanting to make progress, introduce
new ideas, adding to an already
extensive programme; courses for
girls is one of his recent initiatives.
70 71

location for 2021.
by using the Rockets’ facility.’’
Anne Warner Cribbs addresses the 2019 ITTF Annual General Meeting
Question answered
by Melanie Hauser
For a decade, it was the one question
Lily Zhang wished she could answer
definitively.
But she couldn’t.
Every time an international player
would ask when the United States was
going to host the World Championships,
Zhang talked around it. The two-time
Olympian knew the best in the world
wanted to play in the U.S. and she and
her teammates could think of nothing
better than playing in front of a home
country crowd but it wasn’t even on the
selection committee’s radar.
Zhang was in a team practice session
at the Liebherr 2019 World Championships
in Budapest in April when it was
announced that Houston would host the
2021 World Championships.
Two hours earlier, she had been part of
the U.S. presentation, speaking from the
heart about what it would be like to play
that event in America. Now, she was celebrating
America’s first chance to host
the event with the rest of the team.
“Everyone was so excited,’’ Zhang said.
“It was so cool. We couldn’t believe it
was happening.’’
“I kind of feel like Houston - and Texas
- is somewhat the heart of America,’’
Zhang said. “People show a lot of pride
and spirit and it would be cool for international
players to come here and see
what America is all about.’’
Sports town
Houston can’t wait. The most diverse
city in America has an up-and-coming
table tennis community and a rich
history of hosting some of the top sports
events in the world. It’s a major metropolitan
city yet one with a warm, downhome
feel.
“Houston,’’ said Anne Warner Cribbs,
the chair of the US Table Tennis Association
Board, “is just a great sports town.”
Houston has hosted three Super Bowls,
two NCAA Basketball Final Fours and
the 2015 World Weightlifting World
Championships and will host the 2023
NCAA Men’s Final Four and the 2024
College Football Playoff. The city is also
under consideration as one of the host
cities for the 2026 World Cup.
“We are thrilled to be the first city in
America to host the ITTF World Championships,’’
said Harris County – Houston
Sports Authority (HCHSA) Chief
Executive Officer Janis Burke. “As the
most diverse city in the country, we are
ready to welcome the best players in
the world to the competition. As well as
introduce people to the sport and help
grow the game.’’
Houston has a marvellous downtown
footprint which the HCHSA has used
for the Super Bowls and Final Fours.
The area includes major hotels, a wide
range of restaurants and the George
R. Brown Convention Center (GRB),
which is bookended by Toyota Center,
home of the two-time NBA Houston
Rockets, on the south and Minute Maid
Park, where the 2017 World Series
Champion Houston Astros play, on the
north. There is also Discovery Green, a
12-acre urban park.
Special place
Early rounds of the ITTF World
Championship will be played at the
GRB, while the finals will be played at
Toyota Center.
In a sport dominated by the Chinese,
Toyota Center holds a special place
in the hearts of that country because
they watched one of China’s greatest
athletes – Rockets’ eight-time NBA
All-Star center Yao Ming – play there
during his career.
“How cool is that – the finals in Yao
Ming’s house,’’ Burke said. “Yao is a
Houston legend as well. He was presented
the keys to the city.’’
Houston is also home to 92 consulates
from around the world and is rapidly
becoming known for its international
cuisine, including Yao Restaurant and
Bar, owned by Yao Ming.
In addition to the World Championships,
Cribbs said there will be a number
of training clinics and other events
held in Houston in the run up to the
2021 World Championship.
The 24 year old Zhang, who graduated
from University of California-Berkeley,
is just hitting the prime of her career.
She is member of the 2020 Olympic
team and aims to compete in Houston
in 2021.
“My first (World Championship) was
2009 in Yokohama and I never even
thought it would come to the States,’’
she said. “So, to be able to witness
this and hopefully participate. It’s such
an honour.’’
Best feeling
Zhang said the decision just shows
how much the sport has grown in the
U.S. – and continues to grow. During the
presentation, Zhang told the committee
what hosting the event would mean to
American athletes.
“There’s really no better feeling than
playing in front of a home crowd,’’ she
said. “And that honestly, it would be
so magical for all of us athletes. The
World Championships will grow table
tennis significantly in the U.S., which
will also help table tennis in the world
in the future.’’
Lily Zhang delighted with the news when playing at the Liebherr 2019 World Championships
Yao Ming, a basketball legend
Cribbs agrees, adding
that it will give American
umpires and referees
international experience
and it will impact today’s
young table tennis players
the same way the 1984
Olympics in Los Angeles
impacted young athletes.
“It will mean a lot to the
10 year old kids who
are just starting in table
tennis and see what can
happen and where they
can be if they set their
sights and be dedicated,’’
Cribbs said.
The finals will be played at the Toyota Center
“Those little kids are the
future. Those are the ones
And that it’s coming to Houston? Zhang “We have an amazing partner in Janis
who have the dreams and
So, she would smile and say simply, spent a week training with the U.S. team and the Sports Authority and some
have to see the dreams
“Just wait. It will happen.”
in the fourth largest city in America on incredible facilities in Houston,’’ Cribbs
to know that they have
her way to the Pan American Games said. “It will allow us to really spotlight
to practise, show up and
It finally has.
in Lima, Peru and thinks it’s the perfect table tennis in terms of the presentation
Houston, the green aspect
have a chance.’’
The Toyota Center at night
72 73

Jacques Secretin, distinctive skills, sadly missed
Jacques Secretin passed away on Tuesday 24th November, he was 71
years old; interviewed in 2019 by Claude Bergeret we reflect on his path
to becoming the 1976 European champion in Prague.
A step back from the table and even a few steps more,
the style was distinctive; later the likes of Sweden’s Mikael
Appelgren and Denmark’s Michael Maze executed similar
aptitudes, but Jacques Secretin was very much the first of
the art. The manner in which he played, reflected his character;
he was his own man, he believed in himself.
He won every conceivable national title in every possible
age group, including the men’s singles on no less than 17
occasions. Alongside Vincent Purkart, exhibition matches,
using a variety of props and table sizes, he delighted
crowds worldwide; internationally he enjoyed success
after success but there are two particular triumphs that
stand out.
In 1977 in Birmingham, he won the mixed doubles title at
the World Championships partnering Claude Bergeret, the
tournament concluding on Sunday 7th April; just under one
year earlier in 1976 on Sunday 4th April in Prague, he had
been crowned European champion. In what is now the capital
of the Czech Republic, it was gold for the player who
started life as a defender, a veritable backspin artist.
Born on Friday 18th March 1949 in Carvin, located in
the department of Pas-de-Calais, in the north east of the
country bordering the English Channel, Jacques Secretin
started to play in an era when the basis of the racket used
today was being established. In fact until he was 12 years
old he used a racket covered with the traditional pimpled
rubber and no sponge.
At the time it was not out of the ordinary, as teenage years
approached the great debate on racket coverings was
coming to a conclusion. Many of that era believed the use
of a layer of sponge in any form should be banned but at
the ITTF Congress, staged in Dortmund in 1959, standardisation
was the order of the agenda, the parameters of the
present day racket were approved. The use of very thick
sponge was banned.
Two years later at the gathering in Beijing, it was decided
the racket must be the same colour on each side. Furthermore,
when considering defensive play, it was at that
meeting, agreement was reached to introduce the expedite
system.
Parents
An era of debate, the effect was that
playing away from the table came naturally
to Jacques Secretin for whom table
tennis was very much in the blood;
his parents were no mean players,
in fact they became veteran national
champions.
“My parents were my coaches, they
encouraged me but never pushed
me”, said Jacques Secretin. “I played
every weekend, my parents took me
to tournaments, I was always playing,
always it was straight knock-out, so
you had to focus from the very start
and keep your concentration; it was
a very good education to develop a
strong mental attitude.”
Demanding but clearly relishing in
the intensity of the itinerary, in 1963
Jacques Secretin won the boys’
singles title at the French High School
Championships, before in 1964, when
15 years old, making his debut at
the European Championships in the
Swedish city of Malmö.
“In the team event I had the same
results as Vincent Purkart, the French
champion at the time, I won 10 of my
15 matches, we became really good
friends”, explained Jacques Secretin.
However, it was only by chance that
Jacques Secretin actually played in
the team event.
“I shared a room with Paul Evrard,
on the first night he went to a night
club, the coach came to our room
and saw he was not there”, explained
Jacques Secretin. “The coach was
not pleased. He left a message on
the bed telling Paul that he would
not be selected for the first two days
of the tournament; it gave me my
chance. I played in every match in
the team event.”
Later in the men’s singles Jacques
Secretin beat Graham Gear from
Wales, before losing in the second
round to Nikolai Novikov, at the time
representing the Soviet Union.
Eventually gold
A most promising start but it was in
1972, at the European Championships
in Rotterdam, when Jacques Secretin
started to make his mark in the prestigious
tournament.
Very much against the odds, he
reached the quarter-final stage of the
men’s singles event, status suggested it
was not an unexpected outcome. At the
time on the world rankings, he was listed
in number 18 spot, on the European
Antun Stipancic lost to Jacques Secretin at the European Championships in both 1974 and 1976
Anatoli Strokatov beaten by Jacques Secretin in the 1976 European Championships final
Milan Orlowski, a player for whom Jacques Secretin had the greatest respect
74 75

order of merit at number 10. The surprise
factor was that through illness he
had not played in the men’s team event,
a high temperature, he had influenza.
Notably, he beat Sarkis Sarhajan on
duty for the Soviet Union and Hungary’s
Janos Borzei before losing to Yugoslavia’s
Istvan Korpa.
Once again in 1974, on this occasion in
Novi Sad, he was on European Championships
duty. France finished in seventh
place in the men’s team event; similar
to two years earlier in the men’s singles
Jacques Secretin reached the quarter-finals.
Notably en route he beat Yugoslavia’s
Antun Stipancic, before losing to
the champion elect, Czechoslovakia’s
Milan Orlowski.
Significant results, in 1976 in Prague,
again he progressed. He negotiated the
early rounds. He recorded wins against
West Germany’s Wilfried Lieck, Austria’s
Rudolf Weinmann and Hungary’s Janos
Borzei to reach the last eight; only this
time it was different, it was not the end
of the road. He beat Antun Stipancic,
before ousting Milan Orlowski to book
his place in the final.
“The semi-final against Orlowski was
not about the result, we had immense
respect for each other; we both fought,
gave our best, the match was played
at the very highest level,” recalled
Jacques Secretin; a full distance five
games win was the order of the day. In
the final it was a similarly hard-fought
contest against the Soviet Union’s Anatoli
Strokatov, once again a five games
victory, most importantly the coveted
title secured.
National recognition
Success and a return to France where
in L’Equipe, he was voted the second-best
sportsman of the year behind
footballer Marius Trésor; in the same
year he had won the French Cup when
representing Olympique de Marseille.
“Returning home for the first time I was
recognised in the street”, reminisced
Jacques Secretin who, just as in 1993
when Jean-Philippe Gatien was to win
the men’s singles title at the World
Championships in Gothenburg, had
given the sport of table tennis in France
a major boost.
title was secured. Soon after, the top
step of the mixed doubles podium was
reserved in harness with the Soviet
Union’s Valentina Popova.
Four decades after the success in
Prague, the men’s singles title returned
to France; in 2016 in Budapest, Emmanuel
Lebesson prevailed, yet another
left hander. A tremendous achievement
European Champion – 1976, Prague
but Jacques Secretin was the first
Frenchman to achieve such a feat, he
set the standard, he demonstrated what
was possible.
He reserved a special place in French
sporting history, for many years to
come he will be the subject of conversation,
no longer with us but the legend
lives on.
At the 1984 European Championships, Jacques Secretin partnered Valentina Popova to mixed
doubles gold
Positive Nature
Claude Bergeret (French
Table Tennis Federation)
Wonderful memories
of Jacques,
especially winning
the mixed doubles
at the 1977 World Championships; we
had such a good understanding, such
a good friendship.
Jacques was positive by nature, he
was always looking forward, always he
had new ideas. He was not the type of
person who worried a great deal, he
knew the importance of the situation,
he knew how to respond and make
valued judgements.
Playing he was never afraid, win or
lose; it was a delight to be in his company,
he was such a funny guy, always
making jokes. Also, he was a very
generous person, both financially and
personally, he would always give his
time for others.
After playing days had finished,
following an official role in the sport or
being a high level coach of a national
team was not for him; he was happy
at grass-roots level, convincing people
to play table tennis. He liked to help
beginners, quite simply he wanted
everyone to like table tennis.
It was such a shock when he died. He
was in good health, just two weeks before
his death he had been to the doctor
for a check-up; everything was fine. He
was practising for the World Veteran
Championships.
Mercifully, he did not suffer, he died
suddenly, totally unexpected, a heart attack;
just the same as his mother when
she was in her eighties.
Later he added to his European Championships
Saturday 27th March to Saturday 4th April
gold medal haul. In 1980 in
Bern, he partnered Patrick Birocheau
Round Two: Wilfried Lieck (Federal Germany) 18-21, 21-18, 21-12, 21-18
to men’s doubles success, before in
Round Three: Rudolf Weinmann (Austria) 21-15, 21-13, 21-17
1984 in Moscow departing with two titles Round Four: Janos Borzei (Hungary) 21-12, 21-9, 21-19
to his name. Again, joining forces with Quarter-Final: Antun Stipancic (Yugoslavia) 14-21, 21-18, 21-11, 21-13
Patrick Birocheau, Patrick Renverse,
Francis Farout and Pierre Campagnolle
Semi-Final: Milan Orlowski (Czechoslovakia) 18-21, 21-10, 16-21, 21-17, 21-13
Final: Anatoli Strokatov (Soviet Union) 21-16, 26-28, 21-14, 13-21, 21-12
completing the squad, the men’s team
The 1979 United States Open in Long Island, New York, Claude Bergeret umpires the exhibition match between Vincent Purkart and Jacques Secretin
76 77
Hit hard
by Adham Sharara (Table
Tennis Canada)
The news of Jacques
Secretin’s passing is
very sad and has hit
the table tennis world
very hard.
On behalf of Table Tennis Canada and
all its members I send the French Table
Tennis Federation our deepest condolences.
Please relay our sincere heartfelt
condolences to Jacques’ family.
I first met Jacques in person in 1968 in
Alexandria, Egypt, during the Mediterranean
Table Tennis Championships.
I was a young junior player he was
only 19-years old. My friend and I took
the opportunity to practise our limited
French and talk to Jacques. He was
very kind and receptive and interested in
our table tennis activities. He also gave
us some tips and explained to us some
of his spectacular techniques.
The next time I met Jacques in person
was in St. Adèle, Quebec (Canada) in
1970 at a provincial junior training camp
where Jacques was invited as the head
coach. Even though I was only 17 years
old, I was assigned as his assistant
coach. This was a tremendous learning
experience for me.
After that, I met Jacques many times
at World Championships, Open Championships
and also spent a lot of time
with him, and with Claude Bergeret and
Vincent Purkart during their cross-Canada
exhibition tour in 1979.
When someone we love leaves us, we
can keep his spirit alive by remembering
them. I will always remember Jacques,
his flair, his playing elegance and his
tremendous focus during a match. May
his soul rest in peace, and may his spirit
soar higher than his lobs.
I reiterate our deepest condolences and
my wife, Mariann, joins me in sending
our respects to Jacques’ family and to
the table tennis family in France and
around the world.
Great admiration
by Alan Hydes (England
international)
I had great admiration
and fond memories
of Jacques
Secretin. He had
magnificent skills. I spoke to Desmond
Douglas a few weeks ago, we talked
about the great match they had at the
Europeans in Prague in 1976, some of
the points are on YouTube.
I played him in Paris on Friday 20th
February 1970, my 21st birthday; earlier
in the day Jacques took the England
team up the Eiffel Tower. A European
League match, Johnny Leach was our
captain, we beat France 4-3; surprisingly,
I beat Jacques at 3-3 and was
awarded a vase as man of match.
Dan Seemiller versus Jacques Secretin at the
1979 Canadian Open

We Remember
Vladimir Beloglazov (Russia)
President of the Russian club, TTSC
UMMC, semi-finalists in the 2020
Table Tennis Champions League Men,
Vladimir Beloglazov passed away on
Friday 5th February; he was 64 years
old. Additional to promoting a professional
team, he established a comprehensive
programme for the development
of young players. He was a member of
the organising committee of the Liebherr
2015 European Championships in
Ekaterinburg.
George Braithwaite (USA)
Born in Guyana, moving to New York
in 1959, George Braithwaite, the
Chief, died on Wednesday 28th October;
he was 86 years old. Competing
at the 1971 World Championships
that ignited “Ping Pong Diplomacy”;
the following year when China visited
the United States, watched by future
President, George H.W. Bush, he
played Liang Geliang. Later at the
25th anniversary with Henry Kissinger,
the United States Secretary of
State, present, he organised “Friendship
First, Competition Second”
matches. Over 70 national titles, in
1989 he was inducted into the United
States Table Tennis Hall of Fame.
George Damianov (Bulgaria)
singles, men’s doubles and mixed
doubles each on two occasions. Notably
in 1974 he completed the clean
sweep. Later, commencing in 1990 he
fulfilled a four year stint as the national
coach for Cyprus, prior to spending
three years in the Seychelles and
then moving to Canada where he
coached in Ontario and Manitoba.
Jiri Danek (Czech Republic)
Founder and chair of the Czech Para
Open in 1995, Jiri Danek passed
away on Thursday 14th January;
he was 83 years old. The interest in
Para play commenced in the 1980s
in Havirov; he became a Para table
tennis technical delegate and national
team coach, resigning in 2000. He led
the Czech team on their Paralympic
Games debut in 1996 in Atlanta, an
occasion when he was elected to the
International Paralympic Table Tennis
Committee, he remained a member
until retirement in 2009.
George Kennedy (USA)
Suffering from pancreatic cancer,
George Dowd Kennedy, died on
Monday 5th October at the Abbott
Northwest Hospital in Minneapolis. He
was 80 years old. Known as Gus, he
served for over three decades as an
Executive Officer in the United States
Table Tennis Association, fulfilling
both national and international roles.
He was a member of the United
States Olympic House of Delegates,
being inducted into the United States
Table Tennis Hall of Fame in 2012.
in 2004, St Mathieu Muana Mbuta
passed away on Friday 15th January;
he was 63 years old. In 1988 at
the Biennial General Meeting of the
African Table Tennis Federation, he
was elected Zonal Vice President, a
period of office he held for 16 years
unbroken. More recently in 2017, he
assumed the role of Treasurer for the
Central African Region, the following
year becoming the Secretary-General.
Park Do Cheon
(Korea Republic)
Suffering from cancer, Park Docheon
died on Friday 29th January. He was
70 years old. Chair of the Asian Table
Tennis Union’s Technical and Umpires
Committee, he proved a key figure
within the Korea Table Tennis Association.
He became the International
Director in 1981, an office he held
until his passing; additionally, from
2013 to 2016, he was Vice President.
At the 1991 World Championships
he was the Public Information Officer
for the Korea United team; later, he
proved pivotal in organising the 2010
ITTF World Tour Grand Finals in
Seoul. Quiet, reserved, never seeking
the limelight, speaking in a gentle and
caring manner, Park Docheon gained
the respect of all; making decisions
he displayed consideration and fairness,
his opinions highly valued.
Sultan Moosavi (India)
Senior Vice President of the Table
Tennis Federation of India, former
President of the Andhra Pradesh
Table Tennis Association and member
of the ITTF Equipment Committee,
Sultan Moosavi died on Saturday 31st
October. He was 61 years old. A family
tragedy, his wife died the previous day,
his son Javed one day later, his mother
ten days earlier, all suffering from
Covid-19. Sultan Moosavi was at the
forefront of proceedings at the 2010
ITTF World Cadet Challenge and at
the 2012 ITTF World Junior Championships,
both staged in Hyderabad.
Piradej Pruttipruk (Thailand)
Following a short illness, Piradej
Pruttipruk, President of the Table Tennis
Association of Thailand and Vice
President of the Asian Table Tennis
Union, representing South East Asia,
died on Sunday 1st November. Under
his leadership, Bangkok hosted the
2014 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals
and in Korat the NSDF 2019 World
Junior Championships. Also, attention
was paid to grass roots; at the
Bounce be Good project launched in
Thailand in February 2020; overall,
474 children enrolled, of that number
over half, 268 young people chose
table tennis.
Melecio Rivera (El Salvador)
Suffering from Covid-19, Melecio
Rivera, 82 years of age, passed away
in San Salvador on Sunday 27th
December. He was President of the
El Salvador Table Tennis Federation
from 1983 to 2017; President of the
National Olympic Committee from
1987 to 1999, President of the Latin
American Table Tennis Union from
2006 to 2010. In 2009 he joined the
ITTF Executive Committee, a position
he retained until 2014. Notably, in
2005, he was instrumental in establishing
the annual El Salvador Junior
and Cadet Open, setting the example
that a small association could host an
international tournament.
Sarkis Sarhajan (Georgia)
Championships he won two men’s
team silver and three bronze medals
in addition to one men’s doubles and
one mixed doubles bronze. He attended
five World Championships, in 1975
he was the mixed doubles runner up
partnering Elmira Antonian. Between
1963 and 1983, he claimed 26 national
titles, five men’s singles, 12 men’s
doubles, nine mixed doubles.
Werner Schnyder (Switzerland)
Known for his administrative skills,
always working in the background.
Werner Schnyder passed away on
Sunday 27th September. He was a
member of the Technical Commission
for Swiss Table Tennis from 1972 to
1975, becoming the General Secretary
in 1975, a position he held until
1989 when elected President. It was a
role he regarded as interim, he stood
down after three years in favour of
Claude Diethelm. Recommended by
Hugo Urchetti, he became the Treasurer
of the Swaythling Club International,
an office he held until 2019.
Juraj Stefak (Slovakia)
Classification Officer at the Rio 2016
Paralympic Games, following a long
battle with cancer, Juraj Stefak died
on Saturday 23rd January; he was 69
years old. Born in Trnava, a graduate
of the Faculty of Medicine in Bratislava,
he attended his first classification
seminar in 1997. Later he became
an international classifier in 2001,
head classifier in 2009 and led the
classification team from 2011 to 2017,
renouncing his position owing to ill
health. Clearly unwell in 2019, true to
his character of supporting Para table
tennis, Dr Stefak attended the Egypt
Para Open and Asian Para Championships;
unfortunately, later in the year
in September he was unable to attend
the European Para Championships
being in need of urgent surgery. An
orthopedic doctor, he fulfilled the role
of team doctor for the Slovak National
Chester Barnes (England)
Chester Barnes passed away on
Thursday 18th March; he died of a
heart attack. Born on Monday 27th
January 1947, he remains to this
day the youngest ever player to win
the men’s singles title at the English
National Championships. He was
15 years and 343 days old when he
succeeded on Saturday 5th January
1963 at Manor Place Baths in London.
He was to win the title a further four
times. A member England’s team at
four World Championships, he retired
in 1975 to become the assistant to the
racehorse trainer Martin Pipe.
Peter Williams (England)
Born on Saturday 30th November
1946, Peter Williams passed away on
Saturday 20th February. Runner up
in 1959 and 1960 in the News of the
World most promising player competition,
injury cut short an international
career. In October 1968, he was a
member of the England team that recorded
a 9-0 win against Israel. Later
in November, he suffered a slipped
disc, the result of delaying treatment
for a foot injury experienced in a county
match.
Berni Vossebein (Germany)
The oldest living German champion,
on Tuesday 12th January, following a
stroke, Berni Vossebein passed away
in his hometown of Bochum, he was
95 years old. He was one of the leading
players in Germany in the 1940s
and 1950s; at the national championships,
twice the men’s singles runner
up. He competed in four World Championships.
Later from 1971 to 1987, he
was one of the coaches for the West
German Table Tennis Association,he
advised such celebrated internationals
A pivotal member of the Bulgarian
Born in Batumi, Sarkis Sarhajan died
national team for many years, after
on Sunday 24th January; he was 73
contracting the Covid-19 virus George
years old. Representing the Soviet
St Mathieu Muana Mbuta (Re-
Damianov passed away on Tuesday
26th January; he was 70 years
Championships he secured junior
)public of the Congo
Union, at the 1965 European Youth
old. Overall, he won six titles at the Elected President of the Fédération
Congolaise de Tennis de Table
singles silver. Later at the European Para Team.
as Wilfried Lieck and Christian Süss.
boys’ team gold and junior boys’
national championships, the men’s
78 79

Hitting the headlines
Wednesday 16th September
Igor Levitin elected
At the Congress held on line, Russia’s
Igor Levitin was elected President of the
European Table Tennis Union for a fouryear
term.
Portugal’s Pedro Moura was voted
Deputy President; England’s Sandra
Deaton, Vice President for Finance.
Further Vice Presidents named were
Germany’s Heike Ahlert, Finland’s
Sonja Grefberg, Latvia’s Ina Jozepsone
and Vladimir Samsonov of Belarus.
Additional members of the Board of
Directors who gained office were Claude
Bergeret of France, Romania’s Cristinel
Romanescu, Sweden’s Jörgen Persson
and Poland’s Lucjan Blaszczyk alongside
Aleksandar Karakasevic.
Thursday 17th September: Hana
Goda, change-maker
Hosted by the Swedish Embassy in
Cairo and organised in conjunction
with their Canadian counterparts, at
a special ceremony Hana Goda was
listed among the 10 most inspirational
Egyptian women change-makers for
her success in the sport of table tennis.
Thursday 23rd September: Saudi
Arabian National Day
Amongst a whole range of events, to
celebrate National Day, table tennis
was featured at the Alothaim Mall at
Thursday 23rd September:
Ping Pong Parkinson
A major opportunity to promote Ping
Pong Parkinson, Nenad Bach, the
founder, was interviewed by Damaris
Diaz for Univision, a digital terrestrial
television channel.
Thursday 24th September: Priping
players respond
A call from the Kosovo National Centre
for Blood Transfusion to help those
affected by Covid-19; on Thursday 24th
September, players from the Priping
Table Tennis Club in Prishtina, the country’s
capital city, responded.
Saturday 26th September: Ellen
Lee Geck Hoon re-elected
Ellen Lee Geck Hoon JP, PBM, was
re-elected on Saturday 26th September
at the virtual Annual General Meeting of
the Singapore Table Tennis Association
for a fourth and final term.
Poh Li San and Teo Nam Meng were
named Deputy Presidents, Eldwin Wong
Yuan Jun, Chua Kok Wei and Juan Han
Ngge, Vice Presidents.
Saturday 10th October: Fan
Zhendong for third time
Fan Zhendong beat Ma Long to win
the men’s singles title at the Chinese
National Championships to bring
matters to a close in the week-long
tournament staged at the recently
completed 4,000 seater Weihai
Nanhai Olympic Centre in Shandong
Province. It was the third time he had
secured the title having previously
won in 2014 and 2016. Conversely,
for Chen Meng, the women’s singles
winner, who overcame Sun Yingsha in
the title decider, it was a first.
Ma Long and Xu Xin emerged the
men’s doubles winners overcoming
Liang Jingkun and Lin Gaoyuan in the
final; in the women’s doubles Chen
Meng and Wang Manyu secured the title
at the expense of Sun Yingsha and
Wang Yidi. Wang Chuqin and Wang
Manyu won the mixed overcoming Xu
Xin and Sun Yingsha in the final.
Guangdong (Lin Gaoyuan, Zhang
Chao, Zhou Qihao) finished in top
men’s team spot ahead of Beijing
(Liu Yebo, Ma Long, Wang Chuqin).
Hebei (He Zhuojia, Sun Yingsha, Zang
Xiaotong headed the women’s team
list; Shandong (Chen Meng, Gu Yuting,
Wang Xiaotong) secured runners
up spot.
Saturday 10th October: MBE
for Sarah Sutcliffe
Sara Sutcliffe, Chief Executive of
Table Tennis England, was awarded
the MBE in Queen’s Birthday Honours
released on Saturday 10th October.
Customarily the award is made in June
each year but was delayed owing to
the coronavirus pandemic.
In addition to table tennis, in a period of
20 years’ service to sport, Sarah Sutcliffe
has worked for the British Olympic
Association and has held positions on
the boards of British Gymnastics and
GB Taekwondo.
Sunday 11th October: Kay
Stumper retains title
er emerged the junior boys’ singles
winner at the European Youth Top 10
tournament; thus, the crown secured
one year earlier in Noordweijk was
successfully defended. He finished
ahead of Belgium’s Olav Kosolosky
and Nicolas Degros.
Prithika Pavade of France won the junior
girls’ title, Darya Kisel of Belarus and
Romania’s Elena Zaharia concluded
play the next in line. Also, from France,
Felix Lebrun clinched cadet boys’ gold.
Germany’s Annett Kaufmann secured
the cadet girls’ top prize.
Thursday 15th October: Enzo
Angles wins in Madrid
Staged at the RUI Plaza España Hotel
in Madrid, following three days of action,
Frenchman Enzo Angles won the men’s
title at the Spanish Masters. In the final
he beat Belgium’s Cédric Nuytinck; both
having ended the hopes of the host
nation in the penultimate round, Enzo
Angles overcame Miguel Angel Vilchez,
Cédric Nuytinck defeated Endika Diez.
Meanwhile, in the women’s event it was
success for Brazil’s Bruna Takahashi,
she accounted for Charlotte Carey of
Wales in the final; as in the men’s competition,
Spain suffered in the penultimate
round, Sofia-Xuan Zhang at the
hands of Bruna Takahashi, Galia Dvorak
when facing Charlotte Carey.
Tuesday 10th November: Chen
Meng wins on debut
Staged in Weihai, making her first In the women’s event, Chen Meng continued
Staged in Berlin, after three days
appearance in the tournament, Chen
her incredible run of form. After
Alhassa City.
of action, Germany’s Kay Stump-
Meng emerged the winner of the Dis-
overcoming Germany’s Petrissa Solja, eration for a four-year term in Durres.
80 81
hang 2020 Women’s World Cup. In an
all-Chinese final, she beat Sun Yingsha,
having at the quarter-final stage
accounted for Lily Zhang of the United
States and Germany’s Han Ying in the
penultimate round.
Beaten by Sun Yingsha in the semi-final
round, Japan’s Mima Ito overcame Han
Ying to secure third place.
Sunday 15th November: Fan
Zhendong for fourth time
China’s Fan Zhendong won the Dishang
2020 Men’s World Cup in Weihai
to become the first player to secure the
title in three consecutive years. Overall,
it was the fourth occasion when he had
prevailed. Thus he matched the record
of compatriot Ma Lin, the winner four
times between 2000 and 2006.
After recording a quarter-final success
against Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yun-Ju, Fan
Zhendong beat Korea Republic’s Jang
Woojin and colleague Ma Long to arrest
the title. Tomokazu Harimoto, beaten by
Ma Long in the penultimate round, overcame
Jang Woojin to claim third place.
Sunday 22nd November: Ma
Long turns the tables
Beaten by Fan Zhendong one week earlier
in Weihai, Ma Long avenged the defeat
to claim the men’s title at the Bank
of Communication 2020 ITTF Finals.
Earlier, in the round of the last eight he
had beaten Sweden’s Mattias Falck
followed by success against teammate
Xu Xin. In the opposite half of the draw,
in the later stages, Fan Zhendong had
accounted for Brazil’s Hugo Calderano
and Korea Republic’s Jan Woojin.
she beat compatriots Sun Yingsha and
Wang Manyu to reserve the top step of
the podium. In the opposite half of the
draw, following success against Chinese
Taipei’s Cheng I-Ching, Wang Manyu
had defeated Japan’s Mima Ito.
Monday 23rd November: Kazakhstan
National Training
Centre opened
In the presence of Kassym-Jomart
Tokayev, the country’s president, on Monday
23rd November, the newly constructed
Kazakhstan National Table Tennis
Centre was opened in Karaganda.
Thursday 26th November: Andreea
Dragoman in form
Romania’s Andreea Dragoman won the
women’s title at the second Spanish
Masters staged in Madrid. After accounting
for Spain’s Marija Galonja, she
overcame Brazil’s Caroline Kumahara to
secure the top prize. In the men’s event
Denmark’s Jonathan Groth beat Portugal’s
Marcos Freitas at the final hurdle,
having in the penultimate round defeated
Vladimir Samsonov of Belarus. In the
counterpart semi-final, Marcos Freitas
ended the hopes of the host nation’s
Alvaro Robles.
Saturday 28th November: Kosovo
and Albania in one accord
Jeton Beqiri President of the Kosovo Table
Tennis Association and Arben Meçaj
of the Albania Table Tennis Association
signed a mutual Memorandum of Co-op-

Hitting the headlines
Sunday 29th November: Ma
Long turns the tables
China’s Ma Long and Sun Yingsha
won the respective men’s and women’s
events at the World Table Tennis 2020
tournament presented by Galaxy Entertainment
Group.
Thursday 10th December: Kim
Daybell recognised
Great Britain’s Kim Daybell, a class
10 para player, was named as one
of three winners of the prestigious National
Lottery Spirit of Sport awards at
the 71st Sports Journalists Association
(SJA) British Sports Awards 2020.
Thursday 8th December: Berlin
Eastside wins dramatic final
Staged in the Sportpark Lissfeld in Linz,
Berlin Eastside (Britt Eerland, Nina
Mittelham, Shan Xiaona) recorded a 3-2
success against Linz AG Froschberg
(Liu Jia, Margaryta Pesotska, Sofia
Polcanova, Bernadette Szocs) to win the
European Champions League Women.
Thursday 15th December: Support
for Nigerian Paralympic duo
Supporting the bid for medals at the
Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games; thanks
to the generosity of Quadri Aruna, Isau
Ogunkunle and Faith Obazuaye received
equipment and clothing totalling
1,370 Euros.
Friday 18th December: Borussia
Düsseldorf yet again
Borussia Düsseldorf (Timo Boll, Anton
Källberg, Kristian Karlsson) posted a 3-1
win against 1.FC Saarbrücken (Patrick
Franziska, Darko Jorgic, Shang Kun) to
win the Table Tennis Champions League
Men for an 11th time.
Friday 18th December: Ang
Rae Shyn stars at Crocodile
Challenge
Ang Rae Shyn won the most senior
of the three age group categories at
the Singapore Crocodile Challenge;
the further girls’ champions were Loy
Ming Ying and Chevelle See. In the
boys’ events, the winners were Aron
Ng Hong Siu, Seah Shih Luck Benaiah
and Shi Zhiyuan Marcus.
Monday 21st December: Wahid
Enitan Oshodi reappointed
The ITTF Executive Committee reappointed
Nigeria’s Wahid Enitan Oshodi as
the Chair of the Nomination Committee.
Tuesday 29th December: Chinese
Super League titles decided
Staged in Guangzhou, following nine
days of play Shandong Luneng (Fang
Bo, Ma Long, Wang Chuqin) won the
men’s team title beating Shandong
Weiqiao (Liang Jingkun, Lin Yun-Ju,
Zhou Qihao) 3-1 in the final. Earlier in
the women’s final, Shandong Luneng
(Chen Xingtong, Qian Tianyi, Wang
Manyu) had experienced defeat by the
same margin when facing Shenzhen
University (Chen Meng, Sun Yingsha,
Wang Yidi).
Saturday 16th January: Priping
supports Croatia
Priping, a table tennis club located in
Prishtina, the capital of Kosovo, in conjunction
with Rotary Club Prishtina Newborn,
organised a charity tournament to
raise funds for Croatia, recently struck
by a disastrous earthquake. Held at the
Palace of Youth and Sports proceedings
commenced at 2.00 pm; the cost of entry
was €5.00, many contributed more.
Oikawa and Kasumi Ishikawa won
the respective men’s and women’s
singles titles at the All-Japan National
Championships.
Saturday 13th February: Titles
for Chameera Ginige and Ishara
Madurangi
Chameera Ginige and Ishara Madurangi
won the respective men’s and women’s
singles titles at the All Island Ranking
Tournament in Sri Lanka. Organised
by the Western Province Table Tennis
Association, 100 men and 70 women
competed.
Saturday 13th February: Mima
Ito star name in Doha
Staged in Doha from Sunday 28th February
to Saturday 6th March, Japan’s
Mima Ito won the women’s singles title
at the WTT Contender tournament; the
following week she repeated the success
on Sunday 17th March at the WTT
Star Contender tournament.
Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yun-Ju and Cheng
I-Ching won the mixed doubles at both
tournaments; similarly, there were two
titles for Korea Republic’s Lee Sangsu.
At the former he won the men’s doubles
partnering Cho Daeseong, at the latter
alongside Jeoung Youngsik. Germany’s
Dimitrij Ovtcharov and Japan’s Tomokazu
Harimoto emerged the respective
men’s singles winners, as in the women’s
doubles did Japan’s Miu Hirano and
Kasumi Ishikawa followed by the Korea
Republic’s Jeon Jihee and Shin Yubin.
Wednesday 17th March: Tokyo
reservations
The Czech Republic’s Lubomir Jancarik,
Hungary’s Bence Majoros,
Slovakia’s Wang Yang and Russia’s
Kirill Skachkov claimed the four men’s
singles places available for Tokyo
2020 at the World Singles Qualification
Tournament in Doha. The women’s
places were secured by Britt Eerland
of the Netherlands, Sweden’s Linda
Bergström, Russia’s Polina Mikhailova,
Monaco’s Yang Xiaoxin and Thailand’s
Suthasini Sawettabut.
Saturday 20th March: Asia
Olympic Qualification
We mark 100 years since
the birth of one of the
greatest champions not only
table tennis has known, but
sport has known.
The life of Angelica
Rozeanu is the story of a
young girl, who contracted
scarlet fever when eight
years old, received a table
tennis set from her brother
to aid her recovery and
progressed to establish
records that have never
been equalled and may
never be equalled.
Sheer determination, a will
to win, returning stronger
from defeat are the elements
of her character
that shine through. She
experienced unprecedented
problems; only 18 years
old when war broke out in
Europe; during the years
when players are at their
peak, she was banned from
table tennis halls owing to
her Jewish faith. Later when
international play returned,
she established herself firmly
as the best female player
in the world.
Legend is a word often
over-used to describe an
outstanding personality, it
is not the case regarding
Angelica Rozeanu, she is
not just a legend, she is a
true legend.
SPECIAL OFFER
(includes
ininclcluding
delivery)
delivery
Your name acknowledged in
Organised in Doha, Mongolia’s Lkhagvasuren
Enkhbat, Iran’s Nima Alamian,
Richard Scruton
India’s Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and
Email
Singapore’s Clarence Chew emerged
the men’s singles qualifiers. In the women’s
richardofyork187@outlook.com
singles, Mongolia’s Bolor Erdene
Batmunkh, Kazakhstan’s Anastassiya
Deadline: 18th June 2021
Sunday 17th January: Japanese Lavrova, India’s Sutirtha Mukherjee and
national titles decided
Thailand’s Orawan Paranang booked
Tokyo places. India’s Sharath Kamal
Staged in the Osaka Municipal Gymnasium,
Achanta and Manika Batra reserved the
after seven days of action Mizuki mixed doubles place.
82 83
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