BOLL led the list of four former European champions in Warsaw

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Champion in Men’s Singles Event at the LIEBHERR ITTF European Championships in Alicante three years ago, Germany’s Timo BOLL will fight for his eighth title in Warsaw, Poland from 22nd to 27th June. After titles in Zagreb 2002, Belgrade 2007, Saint-Petersburg 2008, Ostrava 2010, Gdansk-Sopot 2011, Herning 2012 and Alicante 2018, star from Germany, currently placed at the position no. 3 in Europe, will be in pursuit for another one. Timo has the debut in the European Senior Championships as a 17 year old in 1998.

BOLL will be challenged by top ranked European player on the list, Mattias FALCK, no. 8 at the World’s rankings. Year after BOLL clinched the gold in Alicante, FALCK reached medal rostrum at the LIEBHERR 2019 ITTF World Championships. Swede won silver after he beat Simon GAUZY of France in the quarters of the same Championships. Whilst FALCK still did not reach the medal rostrum in Singles at the European championships GAUZY has silver from 2016 when his teammate Emmanuel LEBESSON beat him in the final.

In Alicante, BOLL was challenged by Romania’s Ovidiu IONESCU in the final. Bronze went to Patrick FRANZISKA of Germany and Sweden’s Kristian KARLSSON.

Team of Germany can count on another gold medal winner. Europe’s no. 2, Dimitrij OVTCHAROV who won the titles in Ekaterinburg 2015 and Schwechat 2013 always chasing another one, for sure.

Speaking about the European Champions on the list of participants at the LIEBHERR ITTF European Championships, it is Vladimir SAMSONOV of Belarus who was there first. In Eindhoven 1998, SAMSONOV clinched his first gold in European Singles Championships and two more followed in Courmayeur 2003 and Aarhus 2005.

From the list of the Men’s Singles Event winners in past 23 years only two names are missing from the list of participants in Warsaw – Dane Michael MAZE who won in 2009 in Stuttgart and Peter KARLSSON who clinched gold in Bremen 2000.