Sweden has the top seeded player Truls MOREGARDH in the Men’s Singles but still remains the top power with the four players in top 10 at the forthcoming European Championships in Munich. Dimitrij OVTCHAROV QIU Dang Timo BOLL and Patrick FRANZISKA are seeded at the positions three four five and six at the list.
Dimitrij OVTCHAROV Olympic bronze medalists and currently number 9 in the World is runner up from last year. In Warsaw he lost to Timo BOLL in the final. OVTCHAROV returned to the playing circuit in mid – June in Lima after the ankle injury.
“After the tournament in Peru where I was second unfortunately an infection threw me off track again. The effects kept me a little off tracks during the tournaments in Budapest in July. But I have been back in rhythm since two weeks and feel very strong again in training. But that does not mean anything for the competition because in a short time you cannot completely compensate for such a long break. However I am going to the European Championships with self-confidence. My performance in Munich will also depend on my shape on the day. I am sure that the longer I stay in the tournament the more dangerous I will be for my adversaries.”
Patrick FRANZISKA World number 11 and semi-finalist at the WTT Champions in Budapest is coming to Munich after his victory over Olympic champion MA Long among others.
“Of course that was a nice feeling. The victory over MA Long showed me once again that on a good day I can win against anyone in the World. So the self-confidence is there before Munich there is no lack of it. This is the result of many months of intensive training where I worked very very hard on important details. Knowing now that I could successfully implement what I trained gives me even more self-confidence.”
Timo BOLL and Patrick who would also have had to compete in the qualification had to withdraw their entries on Thursday at short notice.
“The birth of Patrick and his wife Frida’s first child is due very soon. Unfortunately we can’t say exactly when. It will now unfortunately be too tight to be able to compete reliably in the double qualification on Saturday. Therefore the two of them together with the coaches’ team have decided with a heavy heart to withdraw from the doubles ” said DTTB spokesperson Simone HINZ.
QIU Dang World number 13 is German champion and winner of the Lima Contender. He is reigning champion in mixed doubles with Nina MITTELHAM .
” As last year’s winner it is of course our goal to win the title again. But it will not be easy because there are some very strong mixed combinations in Europe. In the doubles I am one of the favorites together with Bene. I hope that we can win one or the other match and maybe be on top in the end.”
It will be his European Championship debut in the singles competition in front of home fans:
“In the singles I will try stay focused from round to round. It is always something very important to be able to compete in a European Championship. The motivation is always very high no matter if it is abroad or in Germany. But of course it is even nicer that the individual European Championships is taking place in Munich. For me as a native of Nürtingen it’s practically right on my doorstep.”
Timo BOLL reigning champion record European champion and No. 14 in the World suffered from the rib fructure but he stood the latest tests.
“Munich will certainly be one of the last international appearances in front of my home fans in my career.”
What is meant by “international appearances” are the home European Championship and home World Cup which rarely take place in Germany. The last World Cup in Germany was held in Düsseldorf in 2017 the last European Championship in Stuttgart in 2009.
Benedikt DUDA was the German champion in 2021.
“Munich as a multi-sport European Championship is of course a great top event and a highlight for spectators and media. But as an athlete I am going to ignore the overall event for the time being and focus entirely on table tennis. My main goal is simply to play a good European Championship. That’s what I was nominated for and that’s why I’m going to Munich. In doubles I am one of the top favorites with Dang. We hope that we have learned from our experiences at the last European Championships and at the World Championships and that we will win a medal this time. In the Mixed alongside Sabine WINTER with whom I haven’t played a tournament for a long time a lot will depend on the form of the day. I’m going into the singles with confidence and know that I can beat anyone on a good day.”
Jörg ROSSKOPF men’s national coach talked on his expectations:
“Many players are dangerous. But we have chances in all competitions and I am very confident that we will win these medals in all competitions at the European Championships. Timo is a little bit injured but all the others are in a good shape. Until the European Championships we hope that the good shape will turn into top shape. Our boys are in a good mood and go to Munich with a lot of self-confidence. In any case we are in a good position in all three competitions.”
He gave the comment on the special nature of a home European Championship:
“At a home European Championship you always want to perform particularly well. You can see that in the players’ faces they are even more focused than usual in training. However we won’t notice so much of the multi-sport European Championships because we are not accommodated together with all sports like at the Olympics. But such events are the right way to get the sports more in the media’s focus.”
DTTB Sports Director Richard PRAUSE gave summaries: “We have a very strong team in Munich and many “irons in the fire.” Certainly the pressure at a home European Championship is a little bit higher than usual. But we want to have a say this time as well and win medals. If things go well titles are also possible. The recent outstanding results in Alicante and Warsaw however are exceptions and not a given thing. We have a strong team but there are also many challengers for example Truls MÖREGARDH Darko JORGIC Anton KÄLLBERG Kristian KARLSSON Mattias FALCK or the LEBRUN brothers.”
