Former ETTU President and Honorary President of DTTB passes away at 89
The European table tennis community mourns the passing of Hans Wilhelm GÄB, one of the most respected and influential figures in the sport, who passed away on 13 April 2025, just two weeks after celebrating his 89th birthday.
A man of deep integrity and vision, GÄB was a former German national team player, a reformer, and a moral authority in both sport and society. His impact spanned athletic achievement, sports politics, corporate leadership, and advocacy for organ donation. Throughout his life, he championed fairness, responsibility, and modernisation.
Born in Düsseldorf, GÄB discovered table tennis at the age of 13 and rose to become a multiple-time German champion and national team member. Early on, he and his friend Eberhard SCHÖLER decided not only to criticise sports governance but to help improve it. GÄB first took on responsibility in the regional association of North Rhine-Westphalia and later led a transformative period as President of the German Table Tennis Association (DTTB) from 1981 to 1994.
In that role, he laid the foundations for the professionalisation of German table tennis, enabling the rise of stars like Jörg ROßKOPF and Timo BOLL. Since 1994, he continued to support the DTTB as Honorary President, widely recognised for his diplomacy and commitment. As Eberhard SCHÖLER described him, he was an “absolute stroke of luck for German table tennis.”
His well-known motto, “Learn to lose with dignity and win with humility,” deeply influenced generations of athletes. As president, he also helped modernise the image of the sport. During the 1989 World Championships in Dortmund, he introduced a red playing surface and professionalised the tournament design in cooperation with television experts. That event marked a turning point — not only because of its visual identity but also because of the sensational title won by FETZNER and ROßKOPF, who awakened the “sleeping giant,” as ROßKOPF later described it.
GÄB was as accomplished in business as in sport. A trained journalist and co-founder of Auto Zeitung in 1968, he transitioned into public relations, becoming the first communications director on the board of Ford Germany and later an executive at Opel. He ultimately served as Vice President of General Motors Europe, where he established major sponsorships with sporting icons such as Steffi Graf, Franziska van Almsick, and clubs like FC Bayern and AC Milan.
Despite his corporate success, he remained connected to table tennis and sport more broadly. He was President of the European Table Tennis Union (ETTU), was named Chef de Mission for the unified German team at the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games, and was considered the desired successor to Willi DAUME as head of the German Olympic Committee. However, a serious liver illness forced him to step down from all offices. A liver transplant in 1994 saved his life.
GÄB transformed his personal experience into advocacy, founding Athletes for Organ Donation (1996) and later the Children’s Organ Transplant Support Foundation. Supported by public figures such as Timo BOLL, Michael SCHUMACHER, and Steffi GRAF, he tirelessly promoted awareness and the importance of organ donation.
In 2005, during a critical phase, he was called upon to lead the German Sports Aid Foundation. Once again, he provided guidance as a reformer and moral pillar, stabilising finances, modernising structures, and later serving as Honorary Chairman of the Supervisory Board.
Hans Wilhelm GÄB received numerous honours throughout his life, including:
- The Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
- The title “Sports Marketing Man of the Year”
- The Laureus Media Award
- Induction into the German Sports Hall of Fame
- The Golden Sports Pyramid, awarded in 2020 by Franziska van ALMSICK
In a strong act of principle, he returned his IOC Olympic Order, awarded in 2006, ten years later as a protest against the lack of disciplinary action against Russia following revelations of state-sponsored doping.
Hans Wilhelm GÄB was a visionary in sports politics, a gentleman of intellect, humour, and integrity. His contributions to table tennis in Germany, in Europe, and worldwide are profound and enduring.
The European Table Tennis Union, together with the DTTB, his club Borussia Düsseldorf, and the entire table tennis family, mourn with his wife Hella, their children Christiane and Wolfgang, and their grandchildren. The funeral will take place in a private family ceremony.
With thanks to the German Table Tennis Association for photo and archival content
