World Championships | 19 Feb 2016
Dimitrij OVTCHAROV canceled his participation at PERFECT World Championships
Dimitrij's substitute in Kuala Lumpur is Steffen MENGEL
Only week before the start of the PERFECT 2016 World Team TT Championships in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (28 February - 6 March 2016) German team faced big upset. Dimitrij OVTCHAROV canceled his participation because of back problems – to be precise he pulled back muscle and has nerves irritation starting from the sacroiliac joint.
"In the next three weeks I will undergo an intensive rehab programme, hoping that Ill again be fully resilient afterwards, said Ovtcharov.
" In the next three weeks I will undergo an intensive rehab programme, hoping that again I will be fully resilient afterwards," said OVTCHAROV.
The best ranked European player added:
"That is one of the toughest moments for me in my sporting career. After winning three silver medals in a row and great experiences at World Team Championships, this one is the first World Championships that I have to cancel since I debuted in 2007. This is, of course very sad moment for the team and for me , but I do not want to jeopardize my participation at the Olympics Games. Health is an absolute priority. Now is still very early and I hope to be in good shape for Rio".
Dimitrij's substitute is Steffen MENGEL who was part of the German silver medal-team in Tokyo two years ago.
Team of Germany
Timo BOLL (club: Borussia Düsseldorf, World Ranking: 9)
Bastian STEGER (SV Werder Bremen, 39)
Ruwen FILUS (TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell, 42)
Patrick FRANZISKA (Borussia Düsseldorf, 43)
Steffen MENGEL (TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt, 57), substituting Dimitrij Ovtcharov