Published 2024-08-05 14.26
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PARIS. Timo Boll, 43, was unexpectedly selected for the German table tennis team.
Thus, Kristian Karlsson cannot meet his brother-in-law, the top-ranked Patrick Franziska, in the upcoming quarter-finals.
– It was a somewhat controversial selection, but you have to take that with the Germans, says the Swede.
The eighth against Canada is mostly seen as a formality. Everyone expects that it will be the strong ping-pong nation Germany that Sweden will face in the quarter-finals.
– It’s not hockey. Then I would have guessed Canada, says confederation captain Jörgen Persson and laughs.
He has great respect for the resistance.
– They are tough. Germany has dominated Europe. Now we certainly beat the Germans in the EC in Malmö (2023), but we have previously been beaten at the EC, WC and Olympics. Hard nut.
Petted the best player
Germany has several highly ranked players. Patrick Franziska (10), Dang Qui (11), Dimitrij Ovtcharov (14) are all top 15 in the world rankings.
Therefore, of course, it stands out that Franziska, who climbed higher and higher in the ranking during the spring and summer, was pushed to reserve. Instead, it is the veteran Timo Boll, 43, who took last place. Now the legend is making his seventh Olympics.
– He (Franziska) is fourth in the team, their highest ranked. So it’s a tough selection, says Persson.
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full screenTimo Boll. Photo: Johan Nilsson/TT
“No one counted on Boll”
Did it surprise you?
– Yes, it was a little surprising. But Boll has had a good spring. Actually he was completely gone when January started but won a competition in Qatar and played very well despite low ranking. So no one counted on Boll, but he came back to life.
Swedish player Kristian Karlsson, who was responsible for strong efforts both in singles and doubles against Denmark, is one who followed the German selections. Partly out of interest in ping pong, partly because it is a family affair. Patrick Franziska is married to Karlsson’s sister Frida.
Who are the favorites in the match?
– We, because my brother-in-law is in the other team. So we have to have the favorite cabinet. So this is an incredibly important match for us, says Karlsson and laughs.
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fullscreen chevron-rightnextKristian Karlsson.
1 / 2Photo: Pontus Orre
“You can take that with the Germans”
He continues:
– It was a slightly controversial selection, but we’ll leave it at that. You can take that with the Germans. I don’t want to talk about that… someone else can do that.
How do you see Timo Boll as an opponent?
– Timo is a living legend. He won a big competition in Qatar and after that it almost felt like the German people had decided that Timo was going to play. I don’t know… no, it’s hard for me to talk about.
Karlsson, who is by far Sweden’s best doubles player and a very important part of the Swedish team, will meet Boll in the doubles.
– He is very talented. He is also left-handed (like Karlsson). When I was younger, Timo was my idol. I got to play with him in Düsseldorf for five years so it was fun!
Truls Möregårdh on Germany:
– They are big favourites. We have opportunities to win, because we won in the EC final even though they didn’t have the best team then. But maybe they have put that in the heads of the Germans. In the doubles, we don’t know how good Germany is as they have a new pair. It is also Timo Boll’s last competition. The question was who would play, Franziska was actually better in the end, but Boll is a damn good doubles player.
The medal league
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No medals awarded for selected sport.
