Table Tennis: Timo Boll’s Column  "Olympics in Beijing"

Issue No. 3, April 2, 2008 - The first tournament after injury

 Over the past weekend, I participated in the German national table tennis championship in Hamburg. Unfortunately I didn’t win the title after the semifinal exit. To me, this tournament was an important warm-up. I won’t regret too much over the losing, although I am hungry for victory.

I assume readers here must be curious about the player who defeated me this time. He is a Chinese called Lei Yang who has German passport and is already in the training of German national team. It must have been a wonderful weekend for Lei Yang to make the final in Hamburg! I am not yet at my best after the injury, but playing through the tournament without harassment of injury is more important to me.

I have not played in the international tournament recently, yet I was impressed to see that Vladimir Samsonov defeated three Chinese players in a row to win the Kuwait Open. I feel a bit surprised and happy for him. The Chinese players will surely feel the pressure ahead of the Olympics as they know there will be some competitors for the Olympics golden medal.

Regarding Samsonov, I think he is a “phenomenal player”. He is capable of controlling the whole match area thanks to his quick response and excellent feeling of the game. He is a person of integrity and objectivity in life. That’s a Samsonov I know. As European players, we certainly discuss with each other on how to play against Chinese players. So whoever makes triumph, we regard it as our honor.

I have good personal relationship with Samsonov and good friendship with Schlager. They are really experienced players that have been active in this field for such a long time. As to myself, whether to stay active that long depends on my fitness and advantage. As long as I am among the top players, I will definitely be active in table tennis.

(First issued: Titan Sports, April 2, 2008)