Swaythling October 2019 (No.107)

SWAYTHLING
Issue No. 107 October 2019
The First Professional
The Racket Revolution
World Table Tennis Day Grows
Milestones for Brazil
Success at First
Fighting Spirit Unrivalled
The Last Match
Career Ends on High Note
The Forgotten
World’s First Table
Tennis Shoe
Budapest reflections: when
did it last happen?

SWAYTHLING
Issue No. 107 October 2019
Editor
Ian Marshall
Sub Editor
Richard Scruton
Contributors
Bengt Ahli, Nelson Ayres, Colin
Clemett, Philip Eggersgluess, Benoît
Glorieux, Chuck Hoey, Pierre Juliens,
Anton Lehman, Vladimir Mirsky,
Wiebke Schieffer, Robert Szentgörgyi,
Gloria Wagener, Diane Webb
Photographers
Adewale Adeyemo, Jerome Chinedu,
Getty Images - Matt Roberts, Rémy
Gros, Chuck Hoey, ITTF Foundation,
Richard Kalocsai, Leon Libin, Chris
Petkov, Table Tennis England, Table
Tennis Legends, Tang Xiao Yu,
Vladimir Mirsky, Diane Webb
Printer
Anton Hamran
Designer
Jeff Tokaz
next issue
Closing date for contributions for the next issue (no.108) is Monday 3rd
February 2020. Kindly send to: claude.bergeret@fftt.email, gloriawagsci67@web.de
or rcsettu@pt.lu
Contents
Official News..............................................................................................4
The First Professional ................................................................................8
The Last Match, Career Ends on High Note...........................................16
Fighting Spirit Unrivalled.......................................................................20
The Racket Revolution............................................................................24
Success at First ........................................................................................28
Budapest Reflections, when did it last happen?....................................30
Milestones for Brazil .................................................................................38
The Forgotten World’s First Table Tennis Shoe.......................................42
World Table Tennis Day Grows..............................................................46
InMemoriam............................................................52
Memorable Months.................................................................................56
Worldwide...............................................................62
Time of Legends
China’s Ma Long emerged the men’s
singles winner at the Liebherr 2019
World Championships in Budapest;
thus alongside Victor Barna and
Zhuang Zedong became the only player
to win the event on three consecutive
occasions. The success means
that he is now firmly a legendary figure
in what has been a time of legends.
woman to win gold at a World Championship
became the Secretary.
2
Earlier in the month of April, we
marked 100 years since the birth of
Richard Bergmann; then in May Jean-
Michel Saive played his last match.
Both players, who during their illustrious
careers, at some stage could lay
claim to being the best in the world.
Equally, within the Swaythling Club
Executive Committee, renowned
names assumed office; Ebby Schöler
returned to the role of President,
Claude Bergeret, the only French
3

OFFICIAL NEWS
New look for Executive Committee
Beverley Godfrey Diane Schöler Ebby Schöler
The Executive Committee (left to right) Harvey Webb, Reto Bazzi, Claude Bergeret,
Ebby Schöler, Richard Scruton
Elected by acclamation, Ebby Schöler
returned to the role of President, a
position he had held previously from
2013 to 2018, when at the Annual
General Meeting in Halmstad, he had
stood down in favour of Öivind Eriksen
and assumed the role of Deputy
President.
Reto Bazzi continues in the role of
Rules Expert, the remaining members
of the Executive Committee being new
to office. After years of loyal and most
appreciated service, alongside Öivind
Eriksen, Gloria Wagener tendered her
resignation as Secretary, a position
she had held since 1997 when she
succeeded Diane Schöler who became
President. Diane Schöler, who
followed Ferenc Sido, remained in
office until 2013 when handing over
the reins to husband Ebby.
However, Gloria Wagener is not lost
to the Swaythling Club; she becomes
the Special Advisor to the Membership
Committee, being the contact for
the database.
Similarly, a long standing servant
Werner Schnyder ended his tenure of
office as Treasurer. Newcomers, Harvey
Webb assumes the role of Deputy
President, Claude Bergeret fulfils the
position of Secretary; Richard Scruton
shoulders the task of Treasurer.
Notably, membership is one of only
two sub-committees retained in a
major overhaul; the other being the
World Veteran Championships. Chair
of the World Veteran Championships
is Hans Westling; Reto Bazzi is the
Director with members being Ina
Jozepsone alongside a representative
to be nominated by the International
Table Tennis Federation.
Gloria Wagener becomes the Special
Advisor to the Membership Committee
Familiar faces at the
Annual General
Meeting
Gizella Zacher Harvey Webb Jochen Leiss
The Annual Meeting
Zdenko Krisz
James Morris
Milan Stencel
Teri Földy
The Annual General Meeting was
staged on Thursday 25th April on
the occasion of the Liebherr 2019
World Championships in Budapest.
The room in the Hungexpo stadium
was full to capacity with some 50
members being present; later all were
able to exchange memories at a most
welcome reception.
Öivind Eriksen announces he is standing
down from position of president
Vivek Kohli
Pierre Juliens
Zbynek Spacek
Werner Schnyder
4
5

Bordeaux journey: the 2020 World Veteran Championships
• In May 2015 at the Qoros World
Championships, Bordeaux won the
bid ahead of Kobe, Doha, Suwon
and Las Vegas.
• After winning the bid, members of
the organising committee attended
the World Veteran Championships
in 2016 in Alicante and 2018 in Las
Vegas, as well as the European
Veteran Championships in 2019 in
Budapest.
1,500 registrations were received.
The limit was raised from 4,600
to 5,000 players. The entry is
full; there is a waiting list of 1,300
players.
• Entries feature 1,172 players
from France, 1,170 from Germany,
220 from Japan, 165 from Spain
and 160 from England; also there
130 entrants from Australia, 116
from Belgium and 110 from India.
• Based on 5,000 players, it is
anticipated that 18,000 matches
will be played, 6,000 balls will be
used, 200 officials will be present.
Some 200 volunteers will be in
attendance.
• To date approaching 200 umpires
have volunteered their services,
in particular from China, Germany,
India, Japan, Sweden and the
United States.
Oman host for 2022
World Veteran
Championships
Oman won the bid to host the 2022
World Veteran Championships, they
finished ahead of the one further candidate,
Malaysia.
• Throughout there has been close
co-operation with the French Table
Tennis Federation and the Ligue
Nouvelle-Aquitaine de Tennis de
Table.
• The organising committee comprises
some 15 volunteers with a
wide range of professional knowledge
from information technology
to accountancy and expertise in
the subject of wine, essential for
the region!
• Further volunteers have enrolled
from local clubs.
• Some 1,200 rooms have been
booked with the Accor Hotel Group
– Pullman, Novotel, Mercure, Ibis.
• Everything is ready, just waiting
for the draw. Transport, catering,
partners, venue management,
registration, accreditation, sightseeing,
guest welcome, website,
answering questions; they are all
in place.
• Volunteers are working in a
professional way; they have great
experience in organising local and
national championships for 300 to
500 players but now 5,000; it’s a
different scale.
• Registration opened at midnight
on Thursday 28th February. In the
first minute of Friday 1st March, 10
registrations had been received. At
the end of the day 200 had been
submitted.
• During the first week of July,
6
• Overall, 80 national associations
are represented, players travelling
from as far afield as Azerbaijan,
Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria,
Palestine, Peru, Russia, South
Africa, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.
• Approximately, 1,500 accompanying
personnel are expected;
some 26 per cent of the entrants
are women.
• Notably, 1,200 personnel have
arranged their visit with a tour operator
or an organisation managed
by their national association. They
include Australia, China, Chinese
Taipei, Czech Republic, England,
Germany, Japan, Korea Republic
and Sweden.
• The oldest participant is Hong
Kong’s Yuet Yu Wa. She is 96
years old.
• The star name for the host country
is Jacques Secretin, the 1976
European champion.
• The equipment partner is Gewo;
they will be represented by three
ambassadors: Aleksandar Karakasevic,
Dimitry Mazunov and Sylvia
Khan.
• Two venues will be used, the Velodrome:
36 tables; the Exhibition
Centre: 152 tables. In addition 40
tables will be available for practice
and five kilometres of court surrounds
will be erected.
Swaythling Club
Invitations
2020 World Veteran Championships
The organisers of the 2020 World
Veteran Championships in Bordeaux,
to be staged from Monday
8th to Sunday 14th June, extend
invitations to 10 Swaythling Club
members to compete in what promises
to be a record breaking tournament;
one to remember.
Please reply no later than Monday
25th November
2020 World Team
Championships
Invitation to attend 2020 World
Team Championships in Busan:
four members are invited to attend
the 2020 World Team Championships
to be held in Busan, Korea
Republic from Sunday 22nd to
Sunday 29th March.
Please reply no later than Sunday
15th December
Members of the Oman Table Tennis Federation who presented the bid (left to right)
Mohammed Humaid Al Kelbani, Secretary General; Abdullah Mohamed Bamakhalef,
President and Sajad Al Lawati, Head of the Competition Committee.
(left to right) Pongi, Mattias Falck and Claude Bergeret
Standing (left to right) Jozsef Mayer, Robert Szentgyörgyi, Laszlo Pigniczki, Peter Rozsas,
Jozsef Kelemen.
Sitting (left to right) Erzsebet Jurikne-Heirits, Maria Jonyerne Nemet, Tibor Horvath,
Laszlo Volper.
Fair Play for Falck
Sweden’s Mattias Falck won the
Richard Bergman Fair Play Award
at the Liebherr 2019 World Championships;
he received the award from
Claude Bergeret, the newly elected
Secretary of the Swaythling Club.
The Hungarian branch of the Swaythling
Club met on Thursday 16th May
at the Hungarian House of Sports.
Notably three of their members
secured bronze medals at the 2019
European Veteran Championships
staged during the first week of July
in Budapest. Gizella Zacher in women’s
singles 70 years; Jozsef Mayer
in men’s singles 40 years and Karoly
Nemet in men’s singles 40 years.
7

Day by day, the Liebherr
2019 World Championships
approached, in April we
wondered if Tomokazu Harimoto,
only 15 years old, would reach his
allotted place in the men’s singles
draw; he was the fourth seed,
a semi-final finish and he would
become the youngest player ever to achieve
the feat. It was not to happen, in the fourth
round he was beaten by the Korea Republic’s
An Jaehyun.
TheFirst
Professional
(left to right) A young Richard Bergmann with Bohumil Vana, Laszlo Bellak and Victor Barna before
an exhibition match in front of a full house in Liverpool, England
It meant that the player, who was
born a century earlier on Thursday
10th April 1919, was still the owner of
the record; on Tuesday 18th March
1936, Richard Bergmann was 16
years and 342 days old when he accounted
for England’s Adrian Haydon
(21-9, 21-7, 26-24) to reach the penultimate
round at the World Championships
in Prague.
He was beaten by Poland’s Aloizy
Ehrlich (16-21, 21-16, 21-18, 21-10), a
contest that witnessed a strange turn
of events. The match started at 7.00
pm, at the end of the third game, they
had been playing for almost an hour.
Aloizy Ehrlich realised that dinner in
the Lucerna Hall closed at 8.00 pm
and he was hungry; so after a brief
discussion with the umpires all agreed
to eat and then return to play after
they had enjoyed a hot meal!
Now times have changed but 83
years later that record of being the
youngest semi-finalist still stands; it
pays immense tribute to the character,
the skill and professionalism of Richard
Bergmann. Furthermore, consider
the fact that Richard Bergmann did
not start to play table tennis until he
was 13 years old, the age at which
he bought his first table tennis ball. It
was a time when Austria was suffering
galloping inflation; he paid for the ball
from the money he earned by singing
in the local church choir.
Some four years later, he reached the
semi-finals of a men’s singles event at
World Championships!
Compare that scenario with Tomokazu
Harimoto; he started to play
when less than five years old; when
he played in Budapest, he had been
playing for over 10 years. In consecutive
years 2010 and 2011 he won the
under 8 boys’ singles title at the Japan
National Championships; then in 2012
and 2013, he repeated the feat in the
under 10 age group, prior to in 2014
and 2015 doing exactly the same in
the under 12 category. He had won six
national titles before the age at which
Richard Bergmann had ever picked
up a table tennis bat!
“Always
think about
your defeat,
about the underlying
causes;
otherwise
you will
never be
able to
get rid
of your shortcomings
and will lose again
to the same opponent.”
Richard Bergmann, one of six children,
was born in Vienna, his mother
Italian, his father Polish, a local
businessman who died before his
illustrious son ever picked up a table
tennis racket.
8
Saturday 9th January 1954, the England team ready to leave for Paris to play in the
French Open; (left to right) Richard Bergmann, Michael McLaren, Rosalind Rowe, Diane
Rowe, Ken Craigie, Jill Rook, Bryan Merrett, Ann Haydon, Johnny Leach, Kathy Best,
Ray Dorking, Aubrey Simons
He started to play in an age when
playing sport for money, in whatever
discipline, was somewhat frowned
upon. It was something you did for
fun; it was the amateur who gained
public respect. However, is that not
the contribution, the legacy of
9

1949 English Open partnering Johnny Leach
Richard Bergmann, not necessarily in
financial terms but was he not the first
table tennis professional?
Accepted that accolade may well be
bestowed on the shoulders of Victor
Barna but has there ever been
a player who took the sport of table
tennis so seriously? Throughout his
life, Richard Bergmann dedicated
himself to the sport. He was of the
opinion that he was a great sportsman
in a great sport; for him table tennis
was an art to be revered and to be
respected.
Furthermore, his approach was
reflected in his character. Richard
Bergmann was always smartly
dressed, never a hair out of place; he
bought his suits in Hong Kong, his
shoes in Spain, his sports shirts in
Italy. Whether playing or attending a
social function, meticulously he paid
attention to detail. He was ahead of
his time; nowadays he would have
been the marketing man’s dream!
A most professional approach, he
believed you must be physically fit
to play table tennis, he had endless
stamina, undoubtedly footwork was
one of his major assets but totally different
from the modern day player he
paid very little attention to the service,
for him it was just a way of starting the
rally. He did not drink alcohol and he
did not smoke but always he carried
a smart cigarette case just in case
he met the acquaintance of a lady
smoker.
10
Debonair but no prima donna; whether
at the local club or whatever tournament,
he was willing to play against
anyone who wanted to test their skills.
Primarily a defensive player but his
forehand attacking stroke was the
equal of the best of the era; however,
arguably his strengths were his will to
win, his sense of anticipation and his
quick thinking, all reflected in the fact
he spoke seven languages.
The determination, the drive to succeed
was nowhere better demonstrated
than in 1937 in Baden bei Wien, a
spa town located in southern Austria,
when he won the men’s singles title at
the World Championships for the first
time in his career.
En route to the final he beat Sol Schiff
of the United States, the favourite for
the title and the expert at executing
finger spin serves. In the title decider
he faced Aloizy Ehrlich; the experienced
Polish star won the opening
game 21-19, in the second he went
ahead 20-14, Bergmann recovered
to succeed 25-23! The third went in
favour of Ehrlich 21-19, after trailing
15-19!
The fourth game progressed, controversial
decisions, they went in favour
of Bergmann. Ehrlich was furious,
outraged, accusing the umpires of
bias. He asked for the umpire to be
changed but all were Austrian so
he refused every nomination! The
situation was resolved by Laszlo
Bellak, the well-known member of the
Hungarian national team. The match
resumed, Bergmann was mentally the
stronger; he won the fourth game 21-
7, the fifth 21-11.
The following year in London,
Bergmann was to lose in the final
to Czechoslovakia’s Bohumil Vana
(20-22, 21-9, 21-16, 21-14), before in
Cairo in 1939, living in London but at
the time theoretically stateless owing
to the Nazi annexation of Austria, he
was to beat Ehrlich (21-7, 21-15, 21-
18) to regain the title.
It was to be the last World Championships
before World War Two; during
the hostilities Bergmann served in
the Royal Air Force. On Wednesday
7th June 1944 he was involved in the
Normandy landings; he embarked
with machine gun in hand, table tennis
racket and ball in his backpack!
He was not able to compete in the
1947 World Championships in Paris
but was present as a spectator; he
brought with him several thousand
leaflets in various languages which he
scattered out of an airplane offering
£500.00 to anyone who could beat
the “best player in the world”. At the
time gambling by national associations
was forbidden, there were no
takers. Disappointing but at the end of
the year in mid-December, there was
better news, Richard Bergmann was
granted British citizenship. Immediately,
he entered the English Open in
Manchester and duly won the men’s
singles title.
Now with the 1948 World Championships
on the horizon in London, his
new home, the sheer will to win, the
determination was once again displayed.
He did not enjoy the best of
results in the men’s team event, the
final witnessed a 5-2 win for Czechoslovakia
against France but Bergmann
did not watch the contest, he
practised; his diligence bore fruit.
He reached the penultimate round
of the men’s singles event. He faced
Czechoslovakia’s Ivam Andreadis
in what to this day stands as one of
the epic semi-finals. The man from
Prague won the opening two games,
appeared to tire as he lost the third
but then in the fourth led 19-16 and
20-18; two match points, at 21-20 he
held a third. Bergmann recovered,
won the game 25-23 but then in the
fifth appeared to be facing defeat as
Andreadis established a 9-4 lead;
from that point onwards, the defe
nce of Bergmann proved rock
solid, he afforded his gallant
adversary just seven
more points (17-21,
18-21, 21-7, 25-23, 21-
16). A place in the final,
Bergmann accounted
for Bohumil Vana (21-12,
18-21, 21-19, 14-21, 21-11)
to seal the title.
A Bergmann racket and
The recommended ball
“Return the ball any
way you can but return
it. Any stroke,
any smash, whatever
its impact
can be returned if
your racket catches
the ball. Of course
your legs must act
fast in order
to get you
to the right
position.”
One year later in 1949 in Stockholm,
Bergmann was to somewhat unexpectedly
lose to Hungary’s Ferenc
Soos in the last 16, before in 1950
in Budapest avenging the defeat.
He overcame Soos in the final, yet
another contest that underlined his
tenacity. The match started at 1.00
am in the morning, both principally
defenders, it was a long drawn out
encounter, Soos won the opening two
games, Bergmann returning the ball
high, encouraging his opponent to
attack, recovered to level matters. In
the fifth game, Soos went ahead 8-2,
at 12-all it was parity, Soos lost his
temper, Bergmann surrendered just
one further point; for the fourth time he
was the world champion.
Success in English colours but
also he experienced clashes with
the authorities. He was suspended
after travelling to South Africa to play
exhibition matches; thus he did not
compete in the 1951 World Championships
staged in Vienna, the country
of his birth. The following year, he
was involved in exhibition matches
in a Paris music hall; as a result for
the forthcoming 1952 World Championships
in Bombay, England did not
originally select Bergmann believing
with justification that his form was not
at the level required.
However, they kept the fifth place
vacant, advising that an improvement
was needed and he would be required
to pay his own expenses. Bergmann
duly practised diligently. In the
The year 1952
1955 in Tokyo with Johnny Leach and Ivor Montagu
Monday 13th July 1953, with Johnny Leach at the Wataya Hotel in Kumamoto
11

1952 English Open men’s singles winner
Medals
The 1957 World Championships with Toma Reiter
1957 World Championships playing Ferenc Sido for England
against Hungary
Trophies
The Popular model
A copy of 21 up signed by Richard Bergmann
Above:The classic defensive style exerted
by Richard Bergmann; note the use of the
free arm to create balance
Left: The famous £500 challenge to any -
one who could beat the world champion
Right: Monday 2nd - Wednesday 11th April 1956,
the World Championships in Tokyo with Brian
Kennedy, Ivor Montagu and Johnny Leach
A World Traveller
12
13

Swaythling Cup, England finished in
runners up spot, losing 5-4 to Hungary;
Bergmann won all his three
matches, he beat Ferenc Sido, Josef
Koczian and Kalman Szepesi.
One year later at the 1953 World
Championships in Bucharest, lining
up alongside Johnny Leach, Aubrey
Simons and Brian Kennedy, England
won the Swaythling Cup, the one and
only occasion when the country where
the sport started has won the men’s
team title.
Success but by that time, the racket
covered with sponge was appearing
on the scene, for Richard Bergmann
such a product was “enemy number
one”, he detested the innovation.
Popular Richard Bergmann rackets
THE LIFE AND
TIMES OF
RICHARD BERG-
MANN
1936 World Championships
At the 1936 World Championships in
Prague, Austria won the men’s team
title for the one and only time to date;
only 16 years old Richard Bergmann
was the backbone of the 5-4 win
against Romania. He won his three
matches.
“Return
the ball
any way
you can but
return it.”
A brilliant showman, he organised
several professional tours, at times
he displeased authorities but wherever
he played, crowds warmed to his
efforts. Moreover, he played in some
most unusual venues including the
London Palladium, the Moulin Rouge
in Paris, the Maharajah Palace in
India and Madison Square Gardens
in New York. Perhaps most famously
he played in breaks of play when the
Harlem Globetrotters toured; notably
playing in Sofia in front of a 45,000
crowd, surely the biggest ever to
watch a table tennis match.
Sadly in late 1969 during an exhibition
match at a holiday camp
in Southport on the west coast of
England, he lost consciousness, he
was rushed to a hospital in nearby
Liverpool; he was diagnosed with a
brain tumour. He died in London on
Sunday 5th April 1970; he was only
50 years old.
Four days later his body was cremated
in New York where his sister
lived, a human irony, the man with a
thousand friends had no home of his
own.
Watching in awe
Alongside Aubrey Simons
Tuesday 3rd April 1956, World Championships in Tokyo, Richard Bergmann plays China’s
Tsen Huai-Kuang
“I did not sleep well for days before
my first World Championships
in Prague in 1936. We crushed the
Czechoslovaks 5-0 and the Americans
5-1 and, in the final disposed of the
Romanians 5-4 who did us a favour
by surprising the favoured Hungarians
5-4. Our final match had no precedents;
we played three evenings,
altogether 12 hours! The extremely tiring
match was interrupted first at 2-2,
because the police stormed into the
hall at 2.00 am and had us stop! The
match continued the next evening and
was completed only after the singles.
Soon after my return I won the
Austrian senior title and began to
teach ping pong to boys, for petty
cash of course. However, the Austrian
Table Tennis Association thought
I was violating their rules and to my
amazement I was suspended for six
months; however the suspension was
annulled soon. Perhaps because of
public pressure, who knows? Anyway,
I continued to learn and develop my
table tennis skills, night and day.”
Richard Bergmann v Farkas Paneth
21-15, 21-14
Alfred Liebster v Viktor Vladone 21-19,
11-21, 18-21
Helmut Goebel v Vasile Goldberger-Marin
11-21, 9-21
Richard Bergmann v Viktor Vladone
19-21, 21-14, 21-13
Helmut Goebel v Farkas Paneth 9-21,
11-21
Alfred Leibster v Vasile Goldberger-Marin
21-13, 23-21
Helmut Goebel v Viktor Vladone 21-
19, 13-21, 12-21
Richard Bergmann v Vasile Goldberg-
Exhibitions with Lee Dal Joon proved popular
er-Marin 21-19, 21-16
Alfred Leibster v Farkas Paneth 21-15,
8-21, 21-10
1937 World Championships
After winning his first men’s singles
title at the 1937 World Championships
in Baden bei Wien
“Everybody applauded. My whole
body shook out of excitement. I had
become world champion at less than
nineteen.”
1939 West of England Championships
“My mother came to England from
Vienna in 1939. There she watched
me play table tennis for the first time,
although she did not know the rules; it
was in Torquay at the West of England
Championships. On that occasion
before a crowd of 2,000 I defeated
the best world players, Vana in the
semi-finals, Barna in the final. Immediately
after the match I approached
my mother who was sitting in the front
row. She patted me on the shoulder
and said: never mind Ricky, you’ll win
next time.”
1944 Normandy Landings
A member of the Royal Air Force but
at the time Richard Bergmann was not
a British citizen, still Austrian.
“We left our ID’s behind. I took particular
care, if the Germans counter
“I consider myself
one of the best
players; then I
insist on playing
with the best
possible ball.
I always seek
perfection.”
attacked and took us prisoner and saw
that I was formerly Austrian; for them I
would have been a deserter and they
could have shot me right away.”
1956 Tokyo Championships
Bergmann lost the first game against
Hong Kong’s Tsui Cheung Ling; he
was losing in the second. He stopped
the match and asked the umpire to
change the ball.
“We cannot play with such an egg-like
ball!”
He tested no less than 250 balls, Ivor
Montagu, ITTF President, approached
Bergmann advising he could be
disqualified. After 25 minutes Bergmann
found a suitable ball; nervous,
Tsui Cheung Ling, after leading two
games to nil, lost the last three and
the match.
14
15

The last match, career ends on high note
All good things come to an end,
for Jean-Michel Saive, it came to
an end earlier this year on Thursday
9th May in the Auderghem
Sports Centre.
In the Super Division of the
Belgian League, he beat Julien
Meurant to secure a 5-1 win for
Logis in opposition to Etoile Basse
Sambre, the concluding points
being those that saluted the career
of a national hero. Retreating back
from the table to the environs of
the court surrounds, he returned
the ball high into the heavens time
and time again; the reaction a
standing ovation from his adoring
supporters when eventually the
rallies concluded.
The points brought to an end
over 40 years of competitive play,
his first venture being in 1978 in
Eupen when only nine years old.
“I lost to the brother of sisters Elke
and Els Billen, I lost to Erwin!”
reflected Jean Michel Saive.
A great deal of water has flowed
under the bridge since those days,
torrents but one fact has never
waned, Jean-Michel Saive has
always revelled in the heat of the
battle, “I’ll be fighting like a pig” is
the phrase that sticks in my mind
when asked about the next match;
has anyone ever seen pigs fight?
The competitive spirit is ingrained
in his nature but now that thrill is
over; does he miss the adrenalin
flow provided by the theatre of
sport?
“No not at all”, was the emphatic
reply. “I always said it’s better
to play a year too long than a
year too less, I have no regrets;
practice was fine, I could choose
when I wanted to practise. If I
felt good then I would practise, if
not then not go; for matches of
course that’s different, you have no
choice. I’d had some injuries, the
team was not in contention for the
title; there was no great motivation,
16
In 1981, Jean-Mi (right) and (left) brother
Philippe win the minimes event, their first
Belgian title. Later Jean-Mi won the mixed
doubles and boys’ singles titles
the fighting spirit was not there.”
Play at club level over, on the
international stage it had come to
an end some four years earlier in
Ekaterinburg at the Liebherr 2015
European Championships, when
unwell, he had lost to Laurens
Tromer of the Netherlands in the
initial stage of the men’s singles
event. It was the conclusion of a
venture that had started in January
1983, selected for the Belgian
national team for the first time; he
joined forces with Luc Cabrera, the
Welsh Open in Cardiff being the
destination. Alas it was not an auspicious
start, defeat at the hands
of Denmark and an early men’s
singles farewell.
Later in the same year, 13 years
old at the time, he made his debut
at the World Championships, competing
in Tokyo. He lined up alongside
Thierry Cabrera, Remo de
Prophetis and Didier Leroy; under
the captaincy of André Damman,
Jean-Michel Saive played just one
match, the defensive skills of Didier
Leroy being preferred. He was
selected for the contest against El
Salvador. Competing in division
The Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games
Hoisted aloft after in 1994 Belgium won
the European Men’s League
three, Belgium finished in second
position behind Brazil, overall 34th
place, as in Cardiff, in the men’s
singles event it was an inauspicious
early exit.
Second place and promotion to
the second division; it is that fact
which sets Jean-Michel Saive
apart from his contemporaries and
from the vast majority who have
appeared in high places on the
world rankings. Most illustrious
names begin their world championship
careers as members of teams
in the Championship Division,
China, Japan, Korea Republic,
Sweden and Germany being prime
examples. Jean-Michel Saive at
the helm, Belgium climbed through
the divisions, the culmination being
in 2001 in Osaka when principally
selecting younger brother Philippe
and Martin Bratanov, Marc Closset
and Andras Podpinka completing
the squad, the second step of the
podium behind China was the end
result.
“It was two years and then another
two years, I played all the
time”, reflected Jean-Michel Saive.
“There was no chance we could
go direct to the Championship
Division, every time we had to win;
later we went down so it was the
same experience again.”
Undoubtedly, the final in Osaka
was a proud moment for Jean-
Michel Saive, as was winning the
European Men’s League in the
season 1993-1994 and retaining
the title the following year. Philippe
Saive and Andras Podpinka
played crucial roles in both campaigns,
notably in the 1993-1994
campaign Thierry Cabrera and
Frédéric Sonnet were also members
of the squad.
The successes reflected the
incredible progress made by Belgium
since Jean-Michel Saive first
entered the international stage, it
also endorsed the fact that not only
did he strive for personal success;
he was a true team man, Belgium
was in the heart. He exceeded
the standards of those who went
before; arguably Norbert Van der
Walle was the best player prior to
the Saive era to wear the Belgian
A fresh faced young man at the 1991
World Championships in Chiba
national team shirt.
A defender, a measure of his
ability was underlined in September
1967 at the Sussex Open in
Hastings on the south coast of
England. He reached the semi-final
stage of the men’s singles
event losing to Czechoslovakia’s
Jaroslav Stanek, the eventual
champion. However, in the quarter-final
round he had beaten the
leading Englishman of the time,
Denis Neale, a match with an air of
controversy. Best of three games,
at 21-all in the third, the expedite
rule was invoked!
Little did we think at the time that
two years later a player would be
born in Liège who would represent
his country with great dignity, setting
standards that would see him
stand alongside the likes of the
greatest Belgian of all, the cyclist
Eddy Merckx, five times the winner
of the Tour de France. The standard
was set to a great extent in
1993, the year he became the first
foreigner to win the men’s singles
title at the China Open; in the later
rounds he overcame Lu Lin, Wang
Tao and Ma Wenge to claim gold.
In modern day terms that’s like
beating Xu Xin, Fan Zhendong and
Ma Long to secure the top step of
the podium.
The 1991 All Stars Circuit in Chinese
Taipei
Also in 1993 at the World Championships
in Gothenburg, he was
the men’s singles runner up, a
time when European men dominated
the scene; China had to take
second place. One year later he
became European champion and
proved himself the best player in
the world.
Staged at the National Indoor
Arena in Birmingham, Jean-Michel
Saive reached the final of the
European Championships beating
Russia’s Andrei Mazunov,
before overcoming a promising
young player from Belarus named
Vladimir Samsonov. A quarter-final
reservation, he accounted for England’s
Chen Xinhua, followed by
success in opposition to Frenchman,
Patrick Chila to book his
place in the final. Either Sweden’s
Jan-Ove Waldner or, representing
Croatia for the first time at a European
Championships, as opposed
to Yugoslavia, Zoran Primorac
awaited.
Earlier in the year Jean-Michel
Saive had won the Europe Top 12
in Arezzo and had risen to the top
spot on the world rankings; it was
a place he kept until Thursday 8th
June 1995 when the position was
surrendered following the Tianjin
World Championships. The prime
position was regained on Tuesday
26th March 1996 and held for
one month until relinquished on
The Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games
17

Wednesday 24th April; overall a
total of 515 days.
The feeling in Birmingham was
that Jan-Ove Waldner was the true
number one player; who would
Jean-Michel Saive prefer to meet
in the final? The general consensus
of opinion was that it would
be the Croatian. Wang Dayong,
the Belgian national coach at the
time was of a different opinion, he
wanted Waldner; beat the Swede
in the final and then Jean-Michel
Saive would prove he was the true
number one.
Jean-Michel Saive was focused,
in the show court area there was
a big television screen but it was
located at the end of the table, not
at the side. Jean-Mi insisted the
screen be turned off; the organisers
agreed and Jean-Michel Saive
delivered; European champion in
an era when the male players from
the old continent ruled the world.
The words of Wang Dayong
had been vindicated; one of four
coaches who have primarily guided
the fortunes of Jean-Michel
Saive. First on the list was Milan
Stencel from 1984 to 1989; then
Wang Dayong from 1989 to 2009,
a period during which, from 1993
to 2010, Jean-Michel Saive was
advised by Dubravko Skoric at
Royal Villette Charleroi. From
2010 and until the present day the
Belgian national men’s team coach
has been Martin Bratonov.
Success at the 1994 European
Championships, the list of titles
secured and major achievements
fills an encyclopedia. However,
it is the accolades Jean-Michel
Saive has achieved that reflect his
accomplishments. Seven times
an Olympian; at the Atlanta 1996
Olympic Games and at the Athens
2004 Olympic Games, he carried
the Belgian flag at the Opening
Ceremony. In 1989 he received the
UNESCO Fair Play Award, in both
1991 and 1994, he was named
Belgian sportsman of the year.
18
Men’s team silver medallists at Osaka 2001 World Championships
Philipe and Jean-Mi with parents Jean-Paul and Jeannine after Belgian retained the
Men’s European League title in 1995
Alongside Jorgen Persson and Zoran Primorac, recognised at the Beijing 2008 Olympic
Games for a sixth consecutive appearance
A long and distinguished career,
if we include the Liebherr 2018
World Team Championships in
Halmstad when registered as a
player but never actually competed;
it is 25 appearances in the
global event. Remember for much
of his career the tournament was
held biennially, not alternating as
now with team and individual on an
annual basis. The reason for being
able to compete year after year at
a high level; simply Jean-Michel
Saive ticked the boxes.
“For a long career you must have
a strong character, you have to
adapt to different circumstances,
changes to rules, changes to
things like the ball; you must be
prepared to work hard, improve
your weaknesses and keep fighting,”
explained Jean-Michel Saive.
“You must accept that you lose
more than you win; that even applies
to Roger Federer and Rafael
Nadal, Roger Federer is now 38
years old, Jimmy Connors was
winning when 39; for Pete Sampras
and Bjorn Borg they could
have played longer.”
Significantly, 43 years old,
Vladimir Samsonov undoubtedly
has his eyes fixed on the Tokyo
2020 Olympic Games and is that
something we are going to witness
more and more in sport as medical
care improves, players competing
at top level for longer?
“Now we know better how to practise,
what to eat; how to prevent
injury, shoes are better, no longer
do we play on concrete floors,”
stressed Jean-Michel Saive.
“Everything must come together
but above all else you must be
motivated.”
An illustrious career but humble,
possessing a very clear understanding
that without the artisan
player he would not have reached
the pinnacle of his sport. Year after
year with a group of young players,
my journey in August was the ferry
from Dover across the English
Channel to compete in the Ostend
Open, a tournament with an event
Friday 19th July, carrying the Belgian flag
at the Atlanta 2019 Olympic Games Opening
Ceremony
for players of all levels.
On the Saturday night it was the
Masters with Jean-Michel Saive
in action; play concluded, it was
a climb up the rickety stairs to the
bar. Always Jean-Mi and brother,
Phil, were there to talk and have a
drink with the fans; I would leave
with my young players back to the
hotel via a different bar, the one
that sold burgers. I have no idea
what time Jean Mi and Phil left but
I suspect dawn was breaking on
Sunday morning.
Outstanding as a player, recently
his attentions have turned to
officialdom, in addition to being a
member of the ITTF Athletes Commission
he is Deputy President
of the Belgian National Olympic
Committee. No doubt in those
spheres he will excel but there is
another area in which he shines.
He is a mine of sporting knowledge
and not just table tennis; he
has a deep interest in the world
of sport, a veritable encyclopedia.
Player, official, guru; one factor is
common, sheer unabated enthusiasm.
Even when he speaks the
smile, the tone of voice reflects a
sense of zeal; an approach that
rubs off on others, it takes others
with him and that is exactly what
he did for Belgium.
Allez Jean-Mi, allez Jean-Mi, allez!
Friday 13th August, leading Belgium into
the stadium at Opening Ceremony for Athens
2004 Olympic Games
Adored by the fans, a farewell wave
A special place in history for Julien
Meurant , he was the opponent in the
last match
19

y Ian Marshall
spect and you have a special place in
sport. Attack when the chance arose
but it was it was on backhand defence
that her game was built. “Make sure
you have something on which you can
rely when the match is close; mine in
backhand defence”, wise words from
Elena Timina.
Defending, the ball being returned
time and again to break the heart of
the opponent, it may sound as though
Elena Timina is a lady with a dour
character; quite the opposite, once
she brought the house down. Playing
in the British League, both men
and women being eligible, competing
against Ian “Benny” Robertson, no
mean player, in a match in the north of
England, everything was going wrong,
it was one of those days. “If I cannot
play better than this I might as well
go home and make babies!” was the
stunning comment.
Aleksej Frog (coach), Irina Palina, Elena Timina, Raisa Timofeeva and Tatiana Potjomkina (née Shevchenko)
Called to acton at the Pefect 2016 World
Team Championships
It was not the best of days but in the
long run it turned out to be one of the
very best of days. It was September
1991, the club, Grove, based at the
school where I taught had gradually
grown in stature, both the men’s team
and women’s teams had qualified for
the Europe Club Cup of Champions,
nowadays the European Champions
League but in that era a knock-out
competition.
Both had to play on the same day, the
men away in Italy, the women at home
in Market Drayton, a small English
town of some 8,000 inhabitants in the
north-west midlands. I travelled to
Rome, my 17 year old daughter, Claire
was delegated the task of organising
matters in the school gymnasium. The
men experienced defeat; the match
concluded I telephoned home hoping
for better news. It was even worse,
a resounding defeat against Trade
Unions Moscow.
Claire explained our players were
totally demoralised by their leading
player; simply every ball came back,
20
Editor’s note: thanks to Vladimir Mirsky for his help in the production of this article
they could not penetrate her defensive
skills. Claire paused and then added;
she wants to know if there is an English
club she can play for next year.
I thought for less than a split second
and then advised Claire to tell her
that she had just found one; welcome
Elena Timina.
Now the then 22 year old, earlier this
year on Wednesday 8th May, celebrated
her landmark 50th birthday.
One could not have wished for a
more loyal club member, a fact that
describes Elena Timina; if you want a
person in your team, whether player
or coach who will give 100 per cent
commitment 100 per cent of the time,
she is first choice.
Elena Timina became renowned for
her backhand defence, the side of the
racket on which she used long pimpled
rubber. However, when executing
a backhand attacking stroke, she has
been likened to the style of Victor Barna;
if in any context you are compared
with that name, you have earned re-
In 1992 she met Robert Misset, a
Dutch journalist, moved to the Netherlands
in 1993, married in 1994
and has a son Andrej, 20 years old
and daughter Wera, 17 years of age.
Andrej is studying Sports Management
at Nijmegen College and aims
to work for a major football club or
marketing bureau; Wera has gained
a place at the Fontys Academy of
Music and Performing Arts, her goal
is to be a successful musical actress.
If they have half the determination of
their mother, they will succeed with
honours.
Table tennis for Elena Timina started
when seven years old; her mother, a
single parent, a Russian language and
True to character
literature teacher, took her daughter to
the table tennis club at her school, situated
at the Moscow School of Sports
Excellence. Later younger sister,
Yana, born in 1975 was to follow suit.
“I was big and clumsy and not at all
sporty; however, it was here that my
first coach, Natalia Kuptsova, recognised
my determination and extraordinary
fighting spirit”, explained Elena
Timina. “She was the bridge to my
future in table tennis; she introduced
me to the next group of people who
became important in my table tennis
career. She is still one of the most
important people in my life.”
Natalia Kupstova quickly understood
the best qualities of Elena Timina. She
recognised that speed and explosive
play were not her strengths; also realising
that as Elena grew, she would
become physically stronger. She
decided the perfect answer was to be
a defensive player.
“At the next level I was fortunate
again to be working with another great
coach and human being, Igor Tateosov,”
said Elena Timina. “I was with
Igor for more than ten years, he made
me mentally stronger and able to cope
under pressure; he became a close
family friend. He and other coaches
from the Russian national team,
Vladimir Vorobjov, Dmitrij Kotirev and
Viktor Batov always believed in me
and were convinced that I could aim
high; to them I am always grateful.”
A style of play and a sound base from
which to progress established; when
13 years old Elena Timina joined the
Soviet Union’s national junior team
and soon enjoyed success. At the
European Youth Championships she
made her presence felt. In 1983, in the
Swedish city of Malmö, she partnered
Elena Komrakova to runners up spot
in both the cadet girls’ team and
cadet girls’ doubles events. Later in
1985 in The Hague, she was a junior
girls’ team bronze medallist alongside
Flora Khasanova, Galina Melnik
and once again Elena Komrakova,
Success, (left) Irina Palina looks on
before partnering Galina Melnik to
junior girls’ doubles bronze. Success
in The Hague, the following year it
was success in Louvain-La-Neuve;
she emerged a junior mixed doubles
bronze medallist in partnership with
Igor Egorov, whilst later advancing to
the semi-final stage of the junior girls’
singles event.
Success at junior level was to be
followed by success at senior level
and much greater achievements; the
year 1994 being one in particular to
remember. Lining up alongside Galina
Determination describes Elena Timina
21

Melnik and Irina Palina, the trio won
the Team World Cup in Nîmes, before
in Birmingham securing the women’s
team title at the European Championships.
Success in England’s second city underlined
the character of Elena Timina;
not only as a player but as a person.
She received the “Most Valuable Player”
award; immediately she shared the
prize money with her teammates; the
argument being that without them, she
would not have been the most valuable
player. Furthermore, not only were
her efforts recognised in Birmingham,
they were recognised in Moscow; all
three members of the team received
the country’s highest sports nomination,
the Respectable Master of Sport
of Russia.
Gold in the colours of the Soviet
Union, one of four national associations
she represented during her
playing career. Until Wednesday 25th
December 1991, when the hammer
and sickle flag was lowered for the last
time over the Kremlin and replaced
by the Russian tricolor, Elena Timina
had represented the Soviet Union.
Following the dissolution of the Soviet
Union, Elena Timina played under the
emblem of the immediate successor,
the Commonwealth of Independent
States and then Russia as the political
map of Europe changed.
Married, after a gap of eight years
when her children were born, in 2006
she was invited to join the Netherlands
team; lining up alongside Li Jiao and
Li Jie, the trio won the women’s team
title at the European Championships
for four consecutive years starting in
2008 in St Petersburg. Additionally,
the team competed at the Beijing 2008
and London 2012 Olympic Games;
in the former it was third place in the
initial stage group behind Singapore
and the United States, in the latter a
quarter-final defeat at the hands of
China.
“Unfortunately our dream of Olympic
medals stayed a dream”, reminisced
Elena Timina. “However, I am immensely
proud of these achievements.”
The London 2012 Olympic Games
marked the end of Elena Timina’s
playing career, the start of being
the advisor sitting courtside; until
2017 she was the head coach of the
Total concentration, the year is 1996
With husband Robert at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games
Netherlands women’s team. Notably
at the 2015 European Games in
Baku, she guided the Netherlands to
three medals; Li Jiao beat Li Jie in the
women’s singles final, after silver had
been secured in the women’s team
competition. Likewise Elena Timina
was on coaching duty at the Rio 2016
Olympic Games and the previous
year in Suzhou, being responsible for
steering Li Jie and Poland’s Li Qian to
women’s doubles bronze at the Qoros
2015 World Championships.
It was also the tournament when, in
the women’s singles final, Ding Ning
after injuring her ankle early in the
decisive seventh game against Liu
Elena Timina at the 1997 European Women’s
Team Cup in Coesfeld
Shiwen, emerged successful, virtually
playing on one leg. “Every girl who
wants to succeed should watch the
video of that final,” stressed Elena
Timina; the performance of Ding Ning
reflected the character and strength of
Elena Timina
Now another coaching role awaits; on
Thursday 1st August she became the
coach for Rapid Luzern, a task she will
fulfil with enthusiasm and dedication
as in all her previous commitments.
Furthermore, without doubt she will
transmit the one vital factor explained
by Vladimir Samsonov; his words
were to the effect that I can’t change
suddenly from being an attacking
The coach
player to a defender but I want to look
round and see one person who wants
me to win! In Elena Timina, Rapid
Luzern has that player tenfold.
Many distinguished moments but
forever Elena Timina will be known
for her doubles partnership with Irina
Palina.
The duo reached the quarter-final
stage of proceedings at both the
Barcelona 1992 and Atlanta 1996
Olympic Games; notably, in addition,
in January 1992 winning the women’s
doubles title at the English Open in
somewhat strange circumstances. At
the tournament I had been finalising
details with Elena to start later in the
year in September in what was to be
her two year stint at Grove Table Tennis
Club. The pair progressed smoothly
through the rounds but when due
to play in the final they were nowhere
to be seen; officials wondered if I’d
organised political asylum and hidden
them in my home town of Market
Drayton, an hour’s drive distant.
I pleaded not guilty and was relieved
when the two arrived; they had
misread the schedule and had gone
shopping! The match was rescheduled;
they were allowed to play and
duly beat England’s Andrea Holt and
Lisa Lomas in the final, both players
with whom Elena was to be a club
colleague later in the year.
Elena Timina was to leave the club
on good terms in 1994 and it was Lisa
Lomas who reflected on her departure
in the best possible way “everybody
liked Elena” was the comment, very
true, a credit to club, country and most
importantly to the sport of table tennis.
Irina Palina, soul mate and doubles partner
Irina and I hit it off from the start;
we became close friends and soul
mates, which helps a lot when you
are playing doubles.
We had a totally different approach
and ways of playing defensively.
Irina stayed closer to the
table and was able to place the
ball perfectly; she was very good
at changing tempo and creating
unexpected attacks. I played further
away from the table and made
sure all the balls were returned so
we stayed in the rally as long as
possible.
I was more safe and solid, so Irina
knew that she could take more
risks. Sometimes I made impossi-
Deep in thought (left to right) Irina Palina, Karina Kostenko, Oksana Grek (née Chichenjova),
Elena Timina
Galina Melnik friend and teammate
ble saves; I was the spirit and she
was the brains of our doubles partnership.
We were a perfect combination.
To add to this we were both
really hard workers and fighters.
We tried to qualify for our third
Olympic Games in 2000 but unfortunately
we were not successful;
maybe I was not fit enough after
giving birth to Andrej.
Like Irina, Galina Melnik was
another great friend and teammate
for many years; the three of us
won the only Team World Cup in
the history of Russia or the Soviet
Union.
Elena Timina
Irina Palina, soul mate
22
23

The
Revolution
by Colin Clemett
Around
1900 the
vellum-covered
“battledores” that had
been used in early forms
of table tennis were beginning
to be superseded by
more durable wooden rackets.
Inevitably, players sought ways of enhancing
the spin that a racket could apply
and soon began experimenting with
a wide range of coverings. Cork, sandpaper,
felt and various types of rubber all
had their exponents but it is clear that this
variety was not considered to be a problem
when in 1926 the newly-formed ITTF
agreed a set of common Laws for the sport.
The racket law that was adopted was the
shortest and least restrictive of all the
Laws, saying simply “The racket may be
of any material, size, shape or weight”.
However, by the 1930s pimpled rubber
covered rackets had become
the de facto standard in international
play, the main difference
between them being
probably the name of the
star player who had
endorsed them.
This situation
remained
when the
ITTF resumed
full
operation
after World
War Two;
in the immediate
post-war
period the
only change
to the racket
law, in 1947,
was to say that the racket must not
be light coloured or brightly reflecting.
There was still seen no reason
to place any other restriction on the
blade or its covering; this all changed
in 1952.
The World Championships that year
were to be held for the first time in
Asia, with the Indian Association
hosting them in Bombay. Up to that
time every men’s singles title had
been won by a European player and
the general expectation was that one
of them, or one of the rising stars such
as the Americans Marty Reisman
and Dick Miles, would become the
new champion. Most of the players
featured in the Championships programme
were established European
contenders and the only mention of
the eventual winner was his name in
the draw.
The first indication that something
unexpected was to happen came in
the Swaythling Cup match between
England and Japan, when Richard
Bergmann, the four-time World Champion,
faced Hiroji Satoh, the number
three Japanese player. Bergmann,
having won the first game 21-10, did
not expect any difficulty in completing
the match but, to his astonishment,
lost the next game 13-21 and the third
and deciding game 15-21. To emphasise
that this was not just a lucky
win Satoh then beat Johnny Leach,
another former World Champion, 18-
21, 21-10 and 21-13, so an unknown
on what was his 27th birthday had
decisively defeated two of the world’s
top players.
His successes continued in the individual
event where he beat, among
others, Marty Reisman, Ferenc Sido
and Joszef Koczian, conceding only
two games on his way to the men’s
singles title. A report in the English
Table Tennis Association magazine
read: “All else in the singles was
overshadowed by the modest, bespectacled
Satoh, who softly won
point after point with an apologetic air.
Player after player came off the table
bewitched, bothered and bewildered,
without a clue as to how they lost.
Some attributed it to not being able to
hear the ball, others to the exceptional
side-spin. I noticed that whenever Satoh
returned a hard hit on his forehand
side the other player invariably put his
next shot well off the table, no matter
whether he hit or pushed. It was like
playing a ball for chop only to find that
it had heavy top-spin.”
In his autobiography “The Money
Player” Marty Reisman, one of the
only players to take a game from
Satoh, describes his experience. “I
learned that speed, except for the
sheer speed that a forehand drive
could produce, was of no use at
all against that devilish racket and
was actually counter-productive. My
backhand shots sank into the foam
rubber and were flung back to me with
amazing force. It was as if my own
power was being used against me.
Satoh’s racket was doing all the work
for him. All he had to do was to place
his racket on the ball and it would absorb
it; then hurl it back. I was playing
an attacking game against myself and
I was doing all the work.”
Satoh’s surprising defeats of Bergmann
and Leach were his team’s only
wins in the Swaythling Cup match
against England and he was the only
Japanese player to reach the quarter-finals
of the singles but Japanese
players won both the men’s and
women’s doubles events. They all
used rackets covered with a layer of
sponge rubber, about one centimetre
thick. There was no sound when the
ball was struck and it seemed that a
fierce and deceptive spin could be imparted
to the ball. The sponge rubber
covered racket was a not new idea;
Hiroji Sato, his thick sponge racket was dubbed
the Anti-Christ by prominent members of the
hard bat community.
Ivor Montagu recalled that he, and
others, had used one in his university
days and that it had not been significantly
better than other types. So why
was it so effective now? The most
likely explanation was a combination
of the extra thickness of the sponge
layer and, more important, players’
skill in exploiting its characteristics.
Nevertheless, it was rumoured that
a new material had been developed
and even that the sponge layer concealed
some mechanical or electronic
device that caused the ball to take
an unexpected trajectory. There were
demands for all the Japanese rackets
to be subjected to official scrutiny but
it was pointed out that to do so would
be meaningless because the Laws
placed no restriction on the design of
the racket. It was suggested also that
sponge rackets should be banned immediately
from international competition
but the ITTF Advisory Committee
felt that this would be premature and
recommended only that the matter
be kept under review to see how the
situation developed.
Japan did not send a team to the
1953 World Championships, preferring
to concentrate on the Asian
Championships which were held that
year in Tokyo. Perhaps in consequence,
there was no mention of the
so-called “sponge racket problem” at
the 1953 ITTF Annual General Meet-
At the Bombay 1952 World Championships
Hiroji Sato, changed the world.
24
25

ing. However, by that time players at
all levels were experimenting with various
types of similar racket coverings,
including sponge rubber faced with
pimpled rubber. Manufacturers had
quickly seen the sales opportunity and
a wide range of sponge-based racket
coverings was available, each with
its own claims of superiority. It was
soon obvious that views on the use of
sponge were polarised. It was strongly
opposed by those who felt that technology
was being substituted for skill
while others welcomed the opportunity
to develop new techniques; few were
entirely neutral.
At the 1954 Annual General Meeting,
there was a proposition from the
Welsh Association to ban the use of
sponge rubber and another, from the
English Association, to require the
ITTF Advisory Committee to launch
an enquiry into “the prevalence, use
and effects of sponge in each territory
of the ITTF”, the results to be reported
to all associations by the end of
that year. After extensive discussion
both propositions were lost but in the
Championships there was a reminder
that sponge was still a controversial
matter when another little-known
Japanese player, Ichiro Ogimura, decisively
beat world-class players such
as Ferenc Sido, Ivan Andreadis and
Tage Flisberg to win the men’s singles
title. In 1955 another sponge-using
Japanese player, Toshio Tanaka,
was the singles champion and for the
following two years he and Ogimura
alternated for the title.
It was not just the unexpected results
that were causing concern. In the
1930s a major problem had been the
preponderance of lengthy matches
when some players had developed a
style of keeping the ball in play while
not risking any attacking strokes.
When two such players met an
individual match could last an hour.
After the notorious two hours, 12
minutes rally between Alojzy Ehrlich
and Farkas Paneth at the 1936 World
Championships it was agreed that
action was needed. Several measures
were introduced to encourage attacking
play and shorten games; including
lowering the net and applying the time
limit and expedite rules. The concern
now was that rallies were so short,
with little or no tactical build-up to the
winning of a point, spectators would
lose interest and wonder why supposedly
skillful players were making so
The Stiga “Flisan” Tage Flisberg thick sponge bat with textured surface; Tage
Flisberg was beaten by Ichiro Ogimura in the men’s singles final at the 1954 World
Championships in London
The unusual Barna thick sponge bat with giant
pimples.
many mistakes.
It was partly for this reason that in
1955 the ITTF Advisory Committee
decided to seek the views of associations
but the response was poor and
at the 1956 Annual General Meeting
it was reported that only four replies
had been received. Reminders were
sent out and personal contact made
with as many associations as possible;
by the time of the 1957 Annual
The Barna thick sponge bat, the thickness
clearly visible.
General Meeting it appeared that
about half the voting strength was in
favour of some sort of standardisation
of the racket. The Advisory Committee
recommended that associations now
be asked to indicate whether, if there
were to be standardisation, it should
be on the basis of thickness only or
by a combination of thickness and
material and this was agreed.
There was no ITTF General Meeting
in 1958, as in 1957 it had been
decided that the World Championships
would be held only in alternate
years but the Advisory Committee
met to review the outcome of the
latest enquiry. This confirmed that
there was a clear majority in form of
standardisation and some indication
that those who supported the principle
preferred it to be based on pimpled
rubber. The Standing Orders Committee
was asked to advise on the best
way to proceed and it recommended
that, during the 1959 Biennial General
Meeting, there should be two separate
debates and informal votes, the first
on the principle of standardisation and
then, if that was agreed, on whether it
should be by pimpled rubber only. The
Advisory Committee, taking account
of the outcome, should then try to
draft a proposition that would achieve
the necessary 75 per cent majority.
The debates and votes were duly
held and resulted in a 64-25 vote in
favour of standardisation and a 50-35
preference for pimpled rubber only but
neither majority was sufficient to assure
success in a formal vote. Speakers
on both sides warned of the possible
danger to the unity of the ITTF if
the question was left unresolved and
urged the Advisory Committee to find
a compromise solution.
After informal discussions the Committee
finally agreed on two possible
propositions. The first, from the
Chinese Association, was to allow
either pimpled rubber only or sandwich
rubber with pimples inward or
outward and a maximum thickness of
4mm. The second, from Ake Eldh of
Sweden, in his personal position as
an Advisory Committee member, was
for pimpled rubber or sandwich rubber
with pimples outward only and no
maximum thickness.
A sub-committee was set up to consult
delegates and it was concluded
that only the first of these propositions
had any chance of being accepted,
albeit reluctantly, both by those who
favoured pimpled rubber only and by
those who were opposed to standardisation
and it was, therefore, submitted
to the Biennial General Meeting. This
led to a long and heated discussion
with supporters and opponents of
standardisation both expressing their
disapproval of what was being offered.
However, when the proposition
was put to a formal vote it was carried
Johnny Leach found Hiroji Satoh a whole
new experience.
The thick sponge pen-hold racket used by
Ichiro Ogimura.
Seen here at the 1998 World Veteran Championships, Marty Reisman was one of the
few players to extract a game from Hiroji Sato.
by 72 votes to 19, both sides having
recognised, presumably, that an arrangement
which fully satisfied neither
was better than a continuing conflict;
on Wednesday 1st July 1959 the Law
became essentially what it is today.
This year is the 60th anniversary of
what was probably the most significant
change in playing equipment
since the ITTF was established. So
what happened to the man whose
achievement had led to the racket
revolution? In 1952 Hiroji Satoh was
runner up in the Asian Championships
men’s singles but he never again
played in World Championships and
soon disappeared from the international
scene.
He died in 2000 at the age of 75,
perhaps not fully aware of his place in
table tennis history.
“Reading the various accounts
of the disagreements and
the manoeuvrings of the
participants in the saga of
racket standardisation I
couldn’t help thinking that
of substituting “Brexit” for
“sponge rubber”. Let’s hope
that problem doesn’t take nine
years to be sorted out.”
Colin Clemett
26
27

A first appearance, for Indonesia’s
David Jacobs, it was success on
debut; in Las Vegas on Sunday
24th June he won the men’s Singles
40-44 years title at the 2018
World Veteran Championships.
He succeeded in the youngest
age group; it is the category where
you may well encounter players
who continue to compete in the
highest division of their domestic
national league and even some
who ply their skills on a professional
basis. Logic suggests to
succeed you must be at your fittest
and have no ailments or incapacities.
There is no questioning the
fitness, the skill and the determination
of the 41 year old but he is
a Class 10 Para athlete; he revels
in the opportunity the sport of table
tennis provides to test his abilities,
to prove himself and on a wide
range of fronts.
Success in Las Vegas, on home
soil in Jakarta in October, he followed
suit by claiming gold at the
Asian Para Games before in Buenos
Aires repeating the success
at the Copa Tango in November.
Sandwiched in between he
competed in the World Para
Championships in Lasko, Slovenia.
In a period of less than
six months he was in action in
North America, Asia, Europe and
then Latin America!
An astounding schedule but for
his travels he gave the best reason
possible. “I like to play, I like
the competition, my friend wanted
to play at the World Veteran
Championships, Las Vegas is
special, so we came to play; most
certainly I intend to play in 2020 in
Bordeaux,” said David Jacobs.
At home when there is no tournament
on the calendar, he
practises two hours per day. He is
government employee, the situation
being that he can devote his
undivided attention to table tennis.
Competing in Para table tennis he
28
Success
at
First
receives government support, for
the World Veteran Championships,
alongside colleague Ismu Harinto,
with whom he won the Men’s Doubles
40 to 44 years event, the pair
secured sponsorship from Adiwarna
Mika, a local company.
Furthermore, has David Jacobs
fallen into an age group category,
which with the World Veteran
Championships being held every
two years, means he could consistently
avoid some well-known
names as the years advance?
“In Las Vegas, the level in the 40
to 44 years class was not so high;
it didn’t have players like Jörgen
Persson or Jörg Rosskopf”, added
David Jacobs. “There were
some good Chinese players
present who had emigrated to
the United States; overall my
services and my forehand top
spin were effective and my legs
were strong, because I’m in fulltime
training, perhaps I was just a
little too fast.”
Success in Jakarata and Las
Vegas; after making his debut in
Para events at the Asian Games
in 2010 in Guangzhou when he
won bronze; two years later at the
London 2012 Paralympic Games
he secured the same colour. A
most significant achievement but
perhaps the most notable event
of that year was when he played
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, at
the time, the President of Indonesia
and a keen supporter of
Para sport.
A host of medals have come
the way of David Jacobs, an
acknowledgement of his efforts
being at the 2015 ITTF Star
Awards in Lisbon, when
named “Male Para Player
of the Year”, an accolade
he justly reveres.
“Winning the award in
Lisbon was a big surprise, I never
believed I would win; it is very
unusual for people from my coun-
World Veteran Championships
2018 Gold: Men’s Singles 44-40 Years
South East Asian Championships
2001 Gold: Men’s Doubles (Yon Mardiono)
Pekan Olahraga National Championships
2004 Gold: Men’s Singles
Paralympic Games
2012 Bronze: Men’s Singles Class 10
World Para Championships
2014 Bronze: Men’s Team Class 10-9 (Komet Akbar)
Asian Para Games
2017 Gold: Men’s Singles Class 10
2014 Gold: Men’s Singles Class 10
2014 Silver: Men’s Team Class 9-10 (Komet Akbar)
2010 Bronze: Men’s Singles Class 10
Asian Para Championships
2019 Silver: Men’s Singles Class 10
2019 Gold: Men’s Team Class 10 (Komet Akbar)
2015 Gold: Men’s Singles Class 10
2015 Silver: Men’s Team Class 10 (Komet Akbar)
2013 Silver: Men’s Singles Class 10
2013 Silver: Men’s Team Class 10 (Komet Akbar)
Bronze medallist at the London 2012 Paralympic Games
try to win such awards,” stressed
David Jacobs. “The bronze medal
in London was very special, now my
aim is to be in Tokyo in 2020; this
I year had an extra motivation with
the Asian Para Games being in my
home country, I worked really hard
for that title.”
Notable successes in Para and Veteran
tournaments but it was in the
main stream where he first enjoyed
success; born in Ujung Pandang,
now Makassar, David Jacobs began
playing table tennis when ten years
old, in 1989 his parents registered
him with the PTP Club in Semarang,
he became the national elementary
schools champion.
Later the family moved to Jakarta
where he attended high school; he
joined the UMS 80 Club and gained
a place in the provincial team.
Clearly talented in 1997 he travelled
to Beijing where he attended the Shi
Cha Hai Sports School. The outcome
was that in 2000 he was selected
to represent Indonesia at the
2000 World Team Championships in
Kuala Lumpur.
Combining study with playing, he
gained a degree in management at
the Perbanas School of Economics,
enjoying notable men’s doubles
success in 2001. Partnering Ismu
Harinto he was a bronze medallist at
the South East Asia Games in Kuala
Lumpur, in harness with Yon Mardiono,
gold medallist at South East
Asia Championships in Singapore.
A familiar face at the South East
Asia Games, he competed in 2003
in Vietnam, in 2005 in the Philippines
and in 2007 in Thailand.
Likewise he was on World Championships
duty in 2001 in Osaka and
in 2005 in Shanghai; additionally, he
represented Indonesia at the 2003
Asian Championships in Bangkok,
two years later in Jeju and in 2007 in
Yangzhou.
A busy sporting life, also David
Jacobs is a family man; married, he
has four children, three boys and
one girl.
29

Budapest reflections: when did
it last happen?
Ma Long, winner for the
third consecutive time
The dust has settled, concluding
on Sunday 28th April, the Liebherr
2019 World Championships is now
resigned to history; fascinating as
all previous in the past ten decades
but perhaps more than any
other it tested the memory bank.
Above all else the question raised
was “when did this last happen?”
Nowhere was that more relevant
than in the men’s singles event.
An absence from the international
scene for almost six months,
emerging successful when returning
to action on the ITTF World
Tour in Qatar in late March; but
was that sufficient evidence to
suggest that Ma Long could win
the men’s singles title for a third
time and repeat the success of
Suzhou and Düsseldorf?
Was he physically fit enough?
Was he mentally ready for the
test? Was he attuned to international
competition? Ma Long
answered in style and thus joined
the illustrious group of Victor
Barna and Zhuang Zedong, the
only previous players to have held
the St Bride’s Vase aloft on three
consecutive occasions.
Ma Long did not start the favourite;
a new world ranking scheme
introduced in January 2018, the
effects of which meant he was
the no.11 seed. It begged the
question, when had the defending
champion not been listed amongst
the top eight names? The draw for
the 1928 World Championships
in Stockholm, the second staging
of the tournament, suggests that
it might have been the same for
Dr Roland Jacobi, the winner at
the inaugural edition two years
earlier! Equally, when did a player
outside the top eight names last
secure the men’s singles title at a
World Championships; not Werner
Schlager in 2003 in Paris, the vote
goes to Kong Longhui 1995 in
Tianjin.
Thus we watched the draw avidly,
could there be a possible repeat
of the final of two years earlier
in Düsseldorf when in seven
games Ma Long had beaten Fan
Zhendong, a contest which many
believed had taken playing standards
to a new level. In Budapest,
Fan Zhendong was the top seed;
the draw made, the possibility
of a repeat final did not materialise,
they were scheduled for a
semi-final clash. Likewise that did
not happen; Fan Zhendong was
beaten in round four by colleague
Liang Jingkun.
Defeat for Fan Zhendong, he never
reached the heights of Düsseldorf
but can we not draw a parallel
with Ma Long? He needed five
attempts before he succeeded.
Accepted Kong Longhui won on
debut but for most it takes time.
At the 2007 World Championships
in Zagreb, Ma Long suffered the
indignity of being the only Chinese
player, male or female, to
lose a singles match against an
opponent from foreign shores.
He tried to blast Korea Republic’s
Joo Saehyuk out of the water and
came unstuck. On the next three
occasions, commencing in 2009
in Yokohama, he was beaten by
Wang Hao in the semi-final round,
performances below par. Moreover,
he had to watch his contemporary,
the player he had lined up
alongside at the first ever World
Junior Championships in 2003 in
Chile, Zhang Jike, become Olympic
and World champion. In 2015
in Suzhou there were questions
to be answered just as this year
in Budapest but of a rather more
pressing nature; Ma Long answered
with aplomb.
Now, to a lesser extent does that
scenario apply also to Xu Xin?
The fortunes of the draw meant
that he was the only member of
the Chinese national team in the
lower half. Just as Fan Zhendong
had not really lived up to expectations,
it was the same for Xu Xin;
he was beaten in the third round
by Frenchman, Simon Gauzy.
The departure of Xu Xin and
An Jaehyun from qualification to bronze
medal
Simon Gauzy ended the hopes of Xu Xin
later that of Germany’s Timo Boll
through illness, meant the lower
half of the draw was open wide.
The man to take advantage of the
situation was Sweden’s Mattias
Falck, the no.16 seed. He reached
the final beating only one higher
rated player, that being Korea
Republic’s Lee Sangsu, the no.6
seed, in the fourth round.
At the semi-final stage he was the
favourite; he faced An Jaehyun,
named at no.152 on the men’s
world rankings and of the Korea
Republic players on that list, the
tenth highest! He had gained the
last place in his nation’s team
Mattias Falck exceeded all expectations
Liang Jingkun, semi-finalist at first attempt
ahead of Lim Jonghoon, at the
time ranked no.17 in the global
order. Again the question was
raised, when had players with
such rankings or similar contested
a World Championships men’s
singles semi-final?
Simply being selected to compete
in Budapest, for Jaeyhun Christmas
and birthday celebration had
come early; he was born on Saturday
25th December 1999. Furthermore,
he more than justified his
worth. In round two he had beaten
Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto, the
no.4 seed, in the quarter-finals, he
had ousted colleague Jang Woo-
31

jin, the no.10 seed.
Outstanding from An Jaehyun
but great credit to Mattias Falck,
whatever the seeding may have
read, the semi-final duel was in
the balance, he responded. Guided
by Jörgen Persson, who had
experienced both the disappointment
of defeat in a men’s singles
world final in 1989 and elation of
success in 1991, nothing should
detract from his efforts and performance.
Runner up spot for Mattias Falck,
he defied the odds and defied the
odds in another aspect. He uses
short pimpled rubber on the forehand;
accepted in 1999 in Eindhoven
using that surface, China’s
Liu Guoliang became world champion
but to find a shake-hands
grip player who reached the men’s
singles final at a World Championships
using short pimpled rubber
on the forehand in any guise, we
must go back 60 years! In 1959 in
Dortmund, Hungary’s Ferenc Sido,
using a pimpled rubber racket that
did not possess a layer of sponge
as in the modern day era, experienced
defeat in the title deciding
contest at the hands of Rong
Guotuan, the first ever Chinese
world champion in any sport. It
was the end of one era, the start
of another.
Three in a row from Ma Long; that
was the goal for Ding Ning but
like Ma Long there were question
marks. There had been a break
from international play in 2018 for
some six months and since succeeding
in Düsseldorf, although
she had on her return from the layoff
won the Uncle Pop Women’s
World Cup in Chengdu, she had
only two ITTF World Tour women’s
singles titles to her credit. She had
won in her native China in 2017
and one year later in Bulgaria.
Minimal problems reaching the
penultimate round but that was
where the journey ended; she was
beaten by colleague Liu Shiwen,
a contest that appeared to be
Not three in a row for Ding Ning
progressing in favour of Ding Ning
after she had won the first two
games. Pressing the accelerator
Liu Shiwen levelled matters; did
we not expect the reigning Olympic
champion to stem the recovery?
Thoughts went back to the epic
final in 2015 in Suzhou when, at
the start of the seventh game,
Ding Ning had twisted her ankle
and had somehow managed to
beat Liu Shiwen virtually playing
on one leg. No similar heroics ensued,
it was quite the reverse. Liu
Shiwen won the fifth game without
surrendering a single point! One
expected the so called mercy
point at 10-0, there was no mercy!
The sheer speed of Liu Shiwen
had overwhelmed Ding Ning. It
was the same in the sixth game,
Liu Shiwen a trifle more generous,
she allowed Ding Ning two points!
Imposing, a place in the final
booked, could Liu Shiwen repeat
the performance in opposition
to Chen Meng? She did in more
Liu Shiwen en route to gold
Adriana Diaz, the furthest ever for a Latin
American in the women’s singles event
ways than one; she prevailed in
six games and, as against Ding
Ning in the fifth game, did not
surrender a single point. Once
again, the young lady who since
2009 in Yokohama had been
three times a bronze medallist
and twice the runner up was in
no mood for charity. She saw
her chance, she seized the opportunity.
China was dominant, all three
steps of the podium, Chen Meng
having beaten Wang Manyu in
the counterpart semi-final. Significantly,
the threat for honours
from Japan was thwarted in the
quarter-finals. Miyu Kato and
Miu Hirano lost respectively to
Liu Shiwen and Ding Ning. The
expected challenge from Mima
Ito, having beaten Liu Shiwen,
Ding Ning and Zhu Yuling at the
2018 Swedish Open in November
to secure the title, did not
materialize; the Chinese coaches
had done their homework.
In the third round Mima Ito was
soundly beaten by Sun Yingsha.
Success for Liu Shiwen, the
games won without losing a single
point, added to the bank of
“when was the last time it happened”
questions. The answer
I’m sure was never and there
was one more “never” answer.
Puerto Rico’s Adriana Diaz
reached the women’s singles
third round; the furthest any
player from Latin America has
ever reached in the history of
the event.
Perhaps an air of disappointment
for Japan but there were
places on the podium in both
the women’s doubles and mixed
doubles events.
Hina Hayata and Mima Ito
commenced play, the women’s
doubles top seeds, they progressed
to the final without due
alarm; never extended the full
seven games distance, notably
accounting for colleagues Honoka
Hashimoto and Hitomi Sato,
Mima Ito and Hina Hayata, first Japanese women’s doubles’ finalists since 1971
A third consecutive final for Maharu Yoshimura and Kasumi Ishikawa
Xu Xin and Liu Shiwen, mixed doubles gold medallists
34
35

the no.3 seeds, in the penultimate
round. Arguably, it was to their
advantage that the Japanese pairings
were drawn in the opposite
half to the Chinese combinations
who likewise, as status predicted,
advanced to the semi-finals.
Sun Yingsha and Wang Manyu,
the no.2 seeds accounted for
colleagues, Chen Meng and Zhu
Yuling, the no.4 seeds.
Finalists decided, could Hina
Hayata and Mima Ito end the
run of Chinese success in the
women’s doubles event that had
lasted since unbroken for over 30
years? The most recent pairing
not from China to lift the title being
Korea Republic’s Hyun Junghwa
and Yang Youngja in 1987 in New
Delhi. It looked possible after they
won the first two games but then
the Chinese duo responded, they
secured the next four and the title.
However, Hina Hayata and Mima
Ito could reflect on their efforts
with a degree of pride. They were
the first Japanese pair to reach a
World Championships women’s
doubles final since Mieko Hirano
and Reiko Sakamoto lost to China’s
Lin Huiqing and Zheng Minzi
in the title deciding contest in 1971
in Nagoya. Furthermore, since
that date and until the gathering
in Budapest, a Chinese pair had
always been the runners up; it
was no mean achievement for the
Japanese duo, at the time of the
tournament both only 18 years old.
Two steps of the podium reserved
by Japan in the women’s doubles,
in the mixed doubles it was just
one, the second step. Maharu
Yoshimura and Kasumi Ishikawa
experienced defeat in the final at
the expense of the idyllic combination
formed by left handed
pen-hold grip dexterity of Xu Xin
and the right handed fast attacking
skills of Liu Shiwen.
Nevertheless, the outcome ensured
the Japanese duo of a place
alongside the best the sport has
witnessed. In 2015 in Suzhou they
36
Sun Yingsha halted the progress of
Mima Ito
João Monteiro and Tiago Apolonia secured
first ever medal for Portugal at a World
Championships
Ovidiu Ionescu and Alvaro Robles, simply
sensational
Silver for Chen Meng
had finished in the same position
losing once again to Xu Xin, who
on that occasion partnered Korea
Republic’s Yang Haeun. Two
years later in Düsseldorf they secured
the title at the final expense
of Chinese Taipei’s Chen Chien-
An and Cheng I-Ching.
Thus they became only the third
pair ever to reach three consecutive
World Championships mixed
doubles finals. Hungary’s Miklos
Szabados and Maria Mednyanszky
won in 1930 in Berlin and the
following year in Budapest before
being the runners up in 1932 in
Prague. Highly successful but the
most successful of all is in more
modern times; commencing in
1991 in Chiba, China’s Wang Tao
and Liu Wei won on three consecutive
occasions.
Notably, as in the women’s doubles,
Chinese pairs were drawn
in the same half, at the semi-final
stage Xu Xin and Liu Shiwen
had beaten Fan Zhendong and
Ding Ning; in the men’s doubles
it was a similar scenario. In the
penultimate round Ma Long and
Wang Chuqin accounted for Liang
Jingkun and Lin Gaoyuan; in the
final they faced the combination
of Romania’s Ovidiu Ionescu and
Spain’s Alvaro Robles, the pair
that had come together by chance.
Sun Yingsha and Wang Manyu women’s
doubles winners
Just under one year earlier, at the
2018 ITTF World Tour China Open
they had combined for the first
time; sensationally they beat Ma
Long and Xu Xin at the semi-final
stage before losing to Fan Zhendong
and Lin Gaoyuan.
In Budapest they accounted for
Portugal’s Tiago Apolonia and
João Monteiro in the penultimate
round prior to finding Ma Long and
Wang Chuqin a step too far.
Once again, as in other events,
the question “when did that last
happen” at a World Championships
raised its head; on three
counts “never” was the answer. It
was the first time a reigning Olympic
champion and Youth Olympic
champion had ever combined;
more significantly, it was the first
ever medal won by Portugal, the
first by Spain.
A series of firsts, outcomes that
gave food for thought but there
was one conclusion that did not
test the historian; once again
sheer quality, intricate attention to
detail prevailed, China completed
the clean sweep, déjà vu.
Ma Long, men’s singles gold medallist
The Liebherr 2019
World Championships
Budapest, Hungary
Sunday 21st – Sunday 28th April
Men’s Singles
Quarter-Finals: Liang Jingkun (CHN)
bt Koki Niwa (JPN) 12-10, 10-12,
11-8, 11-4, 9-11, 7-11, 11-5; Ma Long
(CHN) bt Lin Gaoyuan (CHN) 11-8,
11-9, 11-8, 11-4; An Jaehyun (KOR)
bt Jang Woojin (KOR) 12-10, 10-12,
7-11, 11-3, 11-5, 8-11, 12-10; Mattias
Falck (SWE) bt Simon Gauzy (FRA)
11-8, 11-13, 11-6, 11-3, 11-7
Semi-Finals: Ma Long (CHN) bt
Liang Jingkun (CHN) 11-8, 6-11, 11-
9, 11-9, 14-12; Mattias Falck (SWE)
bt An Jaehyun (KOR) 8-11, 11-7,
3-11, 11-4, 11-9, 2-11, 11-5
Final: Ma Long (CHN) bt Mattias Falck
(SWE) 11-5, 11-7, 7-11, 11-9, 11-5
Women’s Singles
Quarter-Finals: Ding Ning (CHN) bt
Miu Hirano (JPN) 11-8, 4-11, 11-2,
11-7, 11-9; Liu Shiwen (CHN) bt Miyu
Kato (JPN) 11-9, 8-11, 11-4, 11-6,
11-5; Wang Manyu (CHN) bt Sun
Yingsha (CHN) 11-9, 10-12, 21-19,
11-6, 9-11, 11-8; Chen Meng (CHN)
bt Doo Hoi Kem (HKG) 9-11, 11-7,
11-7, 8-11, 12-10, 11-4
Semi-Finals: Liu Shiwen (CHN) bt
Ding Ning (CHN) 6-11, 9-11, 11-5,
11-5, 11-0, 11-2; Chen Meng (CHN)
bt Wang Manyu (CHN) 11-5, 11-7,
11-5, 11-8
Final: Liu Shiwen (CHN) bt Chen
Liu Shiwen, women’s singles champion
Meng (CHN) 9-11, 11-7, 11-7, 7-11,
11-0, 11-9
Men’s Doubles
Semi-Finals: Ovidiu Ionescu / Alvaro
Robles (ROU/ESP) bt Tiago Apolonia
/ João Monteiro (POR) 11-6,
3-11, 10-12, 11-7, 11-7, 9-11, 11-8;
Ma Long / Wang Chuqin (CHN) bt
Liang Jingkun / Lin Gaoyuan (CHN)
12-10, 11-7, 11-7, 11-5
Final: Ma Long / Wang Chuqin
(CHN) bt Ovidiu Ionescu / Alvaro
Robles (ROU/ESP) 11-3, 8-11, 11-7,
11-3, 11-5
Women’s Doubles
Semi-Finals: Hina Hayata / Mima Ito
(JPN) bt Honoka Hashimoto / Hitomi
Sato (JPN) 11-9, 10-12, 14-16, 11-
5, 11-5, 11-7; Sun Yingsha / Wang
Manyu (CHN) bt Chen Meng / Zhu
Yuling (CHN) 11-3, 11-9, 9-11, 11-6,
9-11, 11-5
Final: Sun Yingsha / Wang Manyu
(CHN) bt Hina Hayata / Mima Ito
(JPN) 8-11, 3-11, 11-8, 11-3, 12-10,
11-8
Mixed Doubles
Semi-Finals: Xu Xin / Liu Shiwen
(CHN) bt Fan Zhendong / Ding Ning
(CHN) 11-5, 11-8, 13-11, 16-14; Maharu
Yoshimura / Kasumi Ishikawa
(JPN) bt Patrick Franziska / Petrissa
Solja (GER) 11-9, 11-6, 11-6, 7-11,
11-6
Final: Xu Xin / Liu Shiwen (CHN) bt
Maharu Yoshimura / Kasumi Ishikawa
(JPN) 11-5, 11-8, 9-11, 11-9, 11-4
37

Milestones for Brazil
by Nelson Ayres
Gustavo Tsuboi
Vitor Ishiy
Israel Stroh
Hugo Calderano
The names of seven players appeared
in the opening round at the
Liebherr 2019 World Championships
in Budapest; it was a landmark
achievement for Brazil.
In the men’s singles Hugo Calderano,
Gustavo Tsuboi and Eric Jouti
all received direct entries to the main
draw, Thiago Monteiro and Vitor Ishiy
successfully negotiated the qualification
stage. Likewise in the women’s
singles Bruna Takahashi enjoyed a
seeded position, Gui Lin progressed
through the preliminary group phase.
A milestone for Brazil, one month
later, there was another; the 40th
anniversary of the Brazilian Table
Tennis Confederation (CBTM) was
celebrated, the foundation date being
Thursday 30th May 1979.
witnessed the growth of table tennis
in Brazil; the situation now a far cry
from four decades ago.
“Previously table tennis was run by
the Brazilian Sports Confederation
and had a department, the Table
Tennis Advisory Council”, explained
Alaor Azevedo. “I was a member of
the Council, becoming President in
1978 and responsible for the creation
of the new CBTM.”
The first President of the Brazilian
Table Tennis Confederation was José
Pereira Antelo. He gained office by
a mere one vote. After two terms in
office, Alaor Azevedo assumed the
role; except for the period between
1992 and 1995 when Ivam Vinhas
held the reins, Alaor Azevedo has
always been the man at the helm.
Eric Jouti
Bruna Takahashi
Guilherme Teodoro
Present throughout in official roles
have been Alaor Azevedo and Ivam
Vinhas, both members of the Swaything
Club International. Both have
38
“In those 40 years there have been
many advances in table tennis in Brazil”,
explained Ivam Vinhas. “CBTM
has its own headquarters, credibility
Thiago Monteiro
Gui Lin
Welder Knaf
39

Ivam Vinhas
Hugo Hoyama now the women’s team
national coach.
with the International Table Tennis
Federation, better communication
with federations, athletes and sports
lovers. There are federations in
almost all Brazilian states; we have a
calendar of national competitions. We
have the money to participate in all
the Continental Championships and
World Championships.”
Recently there has been an increasing
in investment in professional
management. In 2018 the Brazilian
Table Tennis Confederation was voted
the second best sports federation
in terms of governance actions.
“I feel very proud to have participated
in a team that changed the history
of Brazilian table tennis”, stressed
Ivam Vinhas. “I am happy to have
40
Alaor Azevedo at the 2018 Brazilian Championships
Giulia Takahashi, an outstanding talent
been the Vice President for many
years as well as being proud of the
confidence placed in me by President
Alaor. I follow the results of the CBTM
religiously and I am very happy when
I see the successes.”
Undoubtedly, the quality of play in
the Brazilian national team has never
been higher.
“The rise in the Brazilian level of play
began with the struggle to progress
from the third division to the second
division at the World Championships;
that in itself was a spectacular
success”, continued Ivan Vinhas.
“Today, the Brazilian team plays in
the highest division; this gives me
great joy. I have high hopes that at
the next Olympic Games, Brazil will
win a medal.”
A positive outlook from Ivam Vinhas;
his views are echoed by Alaor Azevedo.
“We have been growing, we have
maintained a level of success at the
Pan American Games”, explained
Alaor Azevedo. “However, we have
never had such a position on the
world stage as we do know; there is
the rise of Hugo Calderano and the
success of Bruna Takahashi. In 2015
she won the girls’ singles title at the
ITTF World Cadet Challenge.”
Hugo Calderano is very much the
name that comes to mind but of
course, so does that of Hugo Hoyama.
Now coach for the national
women’s team, he is a player who
has enjoyed unprecedented success
at the Pan American Games, a total
of 10 gold, one silver and four bronze
is his medal haul.
Equally in the para field, there has
been most notable progress; at the
Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, the
first ever medal in the table tennis
events was secured, Welder Knaf
partnered the late Luiz Algacir to
silver in men’s team class 3.
Meanwhile, at the Rio 2016 Paralympic
Games, Israel Stroh was a silver
medallist in men’s singles class 7;
Bruna Alexandre won bronze in women’s
singles class 10 and partnered
Danielle Rauen to the same colour
medal in women’s team class 6-10.
Furthermore, Iranildo Espindola and
Guilherme Marcio da Costa emerged
bronze medallists in men’s team
class 1-2.
“We assumed control of para table
tennis in 2007 just before the Beijing
Paralympic Games. We have had a
great evolution”, said Alaor Azevedo
“In 2016, Brazil invested around US$
300,000 and won four medals in the
Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
In addition at the 2017 World Para
Team Championships, Bruna Alexandre,
Jennyfer Parinos and Danielle
Rauen won gold in women’s team
class 9-10. We are today one of the
top 10 world powers, just like in the
Olympic Games.”
Meanwhile in the junior and cadet
age groups, young players like
Guilherme Teodoro and Rafael Torino
impress as for the girls do Giulia
Takahashi and Laura Watanabe.
It is a situation of which Alaor Azevedo
can reflect with pride.
“I had the honour of chairing the
40th anniversary of CBTM, we have
to thank all the employees for their
dedication”, stressed Alaor Azevedo.
“It was their strength that enabled us
to advance to the level we have now
reached.”
Now well established, the past four
decades has been a period when
table tennis in Brazil has witnessed
consistent growth, resulting in a most
healthy present day situation. The
growth appears set to continue.
Viva o Brasil!
New brand, new strategies
Staged in July at the Trevisan
Business School in São Paulo, in
the presence of members of both
the business community and sport,
the Brazilian Table Tennis Confederation
launched a new highly visual
identity; the aim being to present a
modern image and thus increase
the share of the sporting market.
Designed by Karen Saji, the identity
depicts the characteristics of table
tennis, dynamism, speed and agility,
as well as the Brazilian character of
positivity and action.
“In this proposal, we used the
colours of the national flag, as presented
in most other sports brands.
The new brand makes reference
to the stylised design of the flag”,
explained Karen Saji. “The yellow
stroke refers to the movement of the
ball when it touches the table, the
action of attacking play, suggesting
that it was a point. The blue and
green shapes represent the table
in perspective, to give the notion of
speed and strength. We also adopted
the name “Table Tennis Brazil“
for promotion.”
The eye catching identity reflects
the “High Level Route”, an initiative
started in 2009 under the guidance
of Alaor Azevedo and Geraldo
Campestrini, the Chief Executive
Officer of the Brazilian Table Tennis
Confederation, the target being to
establish the country as a major
world force in addition to increasing
participation at a local level. Un-
doubtedly, there is now a role model
in Hugo Calderano.
“In addition to seeking to further
evolve in the governance area,
we want to structure table tennis
to create a consumer market for
brands and products”, explained
Geraldo Campestrini. “We intend to
invest more and more in table tennis
as a form of leisure, making people
fall in love with the sport, whilst also
being able to watch the sport at the
highest level.”
Integration
Talent detection was the order of
proceedings in July and it was talent
detection with a difference; in this
respect Brazil is also very much in
the vanguard. Integration was the
key factor.
A total of 49 players, able bodied
and para athletes from nine
Brazilian states (Amapa, Amazonas,
Mato Grosso, Minas Gerais,
Parana, Rio de Janeiro, Rondonia,
Santa Catarina and São Paulo),
attended the Brazilian Paralympic
Training Centre, in São Paulo.
Under the direction of Portugal’s
Ricardo Farias, national coaches
Lincon Yasuda and Jorge Franck
were present alongside para team
coaches Andrew Martins, Paulo
Molitor, Raphael Moreira and Alexandre
Ghizi.
“We did an analysis at the end of
the programme. One of the positive
points that all agreed was the
coexistence between Olympic and
Paralympic athletes. Olympic and
Paralympic athletes at the same table
provided a great deal of energy”,
explained Andrew Martins. “Another
very positive point was the number
of children registered. In the Olympic
field alone, we had 70 entries,
we selected less than half. There
were three daily training sessions,
it was very important to see their
progress. We had a lot of talented
athletes and it was hard to choose
the best.”
Further talent detection training
camps will be staged.
41

The Forgotten World’s First
Table Tennis Shoe
Stellan Bengtsson
Ichiro Ogimura
George Braithwaite
At the start of his professional career, Ogimura himself had to fashion
his own playing apparel, customising clothes designed for other sports
to suit his playing style. Self-modifying his own racket grips, he made
innovations which still influence designs today.
Working with the Japanese firm, Ogimura designed a white canvas
shoe that offered exceptional grip on any surface, in any direction; a
light, comfortable upper which allowed maximum freedom of movement.
The world’s first table tennis shoe was born, the Sharpman.
Glenn Cowan
by Philip Eggersgluess
42
The Sharpman, the world’s first purpose built table tennis shoe, personally
designed by Ichiro Ogimura, the winner of 12 gold, five silver and
three bronze medals at the World Championships, was once the gold
standard for champions around the globe, before it quietly disappeared.
When Ichiro Ogimura approached the Japanese sports shoe company,
Koyo Bear, in the 1950s, the table tennis equipment market looked a
whole lot different, products simply didn’t exist.
Pak Yung Sun
Wearing the Sharpman shoe
43

As a touring champion, Ogimura
travelled the world, introducing his
Koyo Bear Sharpmans to fellow
players and students along the
way. Many of these players would
go on to become world champions
themselves, no doubt thanks
in part to their footwear. Notable
wearers included Japan’s Shigeo
Ito and Sweden’s Stellan Bengtsson,
the respective men’s singles
winners in 1969 in Munich and
1971 in Nagoya, as well as DPR
Korea’s Pak Yun Sun women’s
singles gold medallist in 1975 in
Calcutta and two years later in
Birmingham.
Additionally, the shoe was worn
by United States international,
George Braithwaite and most significantly
by his compatriot Glenn
Cowan, a player with a special
place in sporting history. After
a practice session at the World
Championships in Nagoya, inadvertently
he boarded the shuttle
bus back to the hotel carrying the
Chinese team, an act that was to
contribute to what is historically
known as “Ping Pong Diplomacy“
and the visit to China in 1972 of
Richard Nixon, the United States
President.
The advertisement that appeared in the January 1977 edition of Table Tennis News, the
official journal of the English Table Tennis Association
At their height during the 1960s
and 1970s, Koyo Bear Sharpmans
dominated the international table
tennis scene. Sold worldwide,
their iconic blue stripe and soles
became synonymous with the
game itself. Alas, the shoe slowly
disappeared, production officially
ceasing in 1989. Only a handful of
original Sharpmans survive to this
day.
Now we have the luxury to choose
from a whole range of table tennis
shoes for which we must pay tribute
to Ichiro Ogimura; the Sharpman
was the groundbreaking
grandfather of them all. Lost but
not forgotten.
The cover of Time magazine for Monday 26th April 1971, showing members of the United States team on the Great Wall of China, the
players and officials are wearing the Sharpman Koyo Bear shoe.
Standing left to right: Rufford Harrison, John Tannehill, Judy Hoarfrost (née Bochenski), Olga Soltesz, Madeline Buben, Connie Sweeris,
George Buben, Graham Steenhoven, Tim Boggan, George Braithwaite
Sitting and squatting left to right: Glenn Cowan, Dick Miles
44
German advertisement Hans Alser (left) and (right) Kjell Johansson, European and
World men’s doubles Champions
45

Table tennis for everyone, everywhere
Buenos Aries
Argentina
70 countries
158 events
63,000 participants
2015
World Table Tennis Day Grows
Established in 2015, a main event
detailed each year with 6th April
being the focus day, for the first time
in 2019 World Table Tennis Day was
celebrated in 100 countries.
United Nations
Headquarters
New York
Kathmandu Nepal
93 countries
453 events
2017
90,000 participants
83 countries
196 events
2016
47,000 participants
97 countries
Za’atari Refugee Camp
Jordan
Hoima and Kampala, Uganda
107 countries
579events
2018
93,000 participants
579events
2019
700,000 participants
2015 Buenos Aires
46
47

2016 Nepal
Wilfried Lemke, Special Adviser to
the United Nations Secretary-General
(left) and (right) Young Sam Ma, the
Co-Chair of the Sport and Persons
with Disabilities Working Group
2017 New York
United Nations (left to right) Joël Bouzou,
President of Peace and Sport,
Thomas Weikert, ITTF President)
alongside Kanak Jha and Tal Leibovitz
Andorra - playing at altitude
2018 Jordan
Za’atari Refugee Camp in Jordan
Philippines - Municipality of Isabela Sports Festival
2019 Kampala
2019 Kampala - Ibrahim Hamadtou
(right) lost both arms in a train accident
when ten years old. He displays
his skills
Kosovo - playing outdoors in Prizren
Latvia - control exercised in Kekeva
48
49

South Africa - any size of tablesufficient in Kuruman
Bhutan - a tournament was organised in Mongar
Malaysia - competition time in Selangor
Poland - the first steps in Prabuty
Tonga – ready to play
Pakistan - table tennis for all in Peshawar Park
50
Ecuador – a fun time
51

In Memoriam
Dexter St Louis, heart of the
Caribbean
Dexter St Louis at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games
Instantly recognisable with his long
dreadlocks, a sportsman in the true
sense of the word, upholding the
highest standards, born on Thursday
26th March 1968, Trinidad and Tobago’s
Dexter St Louis passed away on
Thursday 16th May; he was only 51
years old.
Primarily based in Bordeaux where
he competed in the French League for
S.A.G. Cestas, Dexter St Louis was
the Caribbean icon.
Notably he competed in the Manchester
2002 Commonwealth Games,
the first occasion when table tennis
was included in the multi-sport event;
he raised the eyebrows of the locals
when against England in the group
stage of the men’s team event he remained
unbeaten. Even more notably,
at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth
Games, a period of 16 years
later, once again he was on duty for
Trinidad and Tobago.
Additionally he competed in the
Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games, later in
the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, the
path to the tournament in the Chinese
capital city being one that all present
at the Latin American Qualification
event in Santo Domingo, Dominican
Republic, will never forget. Competing
for the very last available place, in
the seventh game against Mexico’s
Marcos Madrid, Dexter St Louis ap-
52
peared down and out; he recovered,
secured the vital game by the minimal
two point margin, promptly ripped off
his shirt and stood on the table in the
guise of a successful warrior prince.
An exuberant character, a showman;
in fact Dexter St. Louis was the exact
opposite. In the hotel, away from the
glare of the playing arena, he would
be sitting reading the Financial Times
or similar. It was not for him late nights
and drinking; talk to him and you
realised you were in the company of
a very astute, intelligent associate; a
man of the very highest integrity.
Wherever he played Dexter St Louis
was respected, a fact recognized in
Xalapa at the 2014 Central American
and Caribbean Games; a special
presentation was made in his honour,
he accepted in his usual gracious
manner.
Always on the international stage
Dexter St Louis was accompanied by
his stepdaughter Rheann Chung; she
competed in the recent Liebherr 2019
World Championships in Budapest
and at the Lima 2019 Pan American
Games. They were a team, either
mixed doubles or one sitting on the
bench advising the other.
He passed away surrounded by his
wife, Jeromaine and two daughters,
Rheann and Axelle.
Bas den Breejen,
former Chair
ITTF Media Committee
Honorary member of the Netherlands
Table Tennis Federation, Bas den
Breejen passed away on Wednesday
24th April; born on Thursday 7th May
1925, he died just two weeks short
of what would have been his 94th
birthday.
Most notably Bas den Breejen was
the Chair of the ITTF Media Committee,
fulfilling the role under the tenure
of three Presidents; Ichiro Igimura,
Lollo Hammarlund and Xu Yinsheng.
In that position he was present at the
1995 Team World Cup in Atlanta and
one year later in the same city for the
1996 Olympic Games. Furthermore,
he occupied that position at the 1997
World Championships in Manchester
before handing over office.
Ever enthusiastic, two years later
at the 1999 World Championships
in Eindhoven, the first occasion on
which individual events only were
staged; he was present in a different
role. He organised a display of memorabilia.
The sport at heart, in recognition
of his services to the International
Table Tennis Federation, in 1993
Bas den Breejen received the ITTF
Merit Award. Moreover, also he was
the recipient of the Order of Oranje-Nassau.
A prestigious award, the
Order of Orange-Nassau, founded on
Monday 4th April 1892 by the Queen
Regent Emma, on behalf of her under
age daughter Queen Wilhelmina, is
quoted as open to: “everyone who
has earned special merits for society”.
Bas den Breejen was most deserved
recipient.
Jeff Ingber, junior international
by Diane Webb
One of the first ever junior internationals,
his debut in 1950; born
in 1935 in Manchester, Jeff Ingber
passed away on Sunday 7th July.
A distinguished career, starting in an
era when the United Kingdom was
recovering from the turmoil of World
War Two; as a member of the England
junior team, in 1951 Jeff undertook
a 29 day tour of Sweden and
Norway alongside John Hunt and Cliff
Booth, Tommy Sears was the captain.
Overall, 21 matches, an invitation
tournament and an exhibition match
comprised the busy schedule; of the
21 matches England won 20, Jeff won
43 of his 53 encounters, distinguishing
himself by beating Bo Malmquist.
Extensive journeys taking some 12
hours, the group enjoyed the sight of
beautiful scenery as they travelled;
coming from an austere post war
Britain, where much was still rationed,
Jeff recalled the food was amazing.
In England chocolate and steak
were virtually unheard of; a snippet
in the magazine “Table Tennis” read:
“bought chocolates to send home; ate
chocolates”.
Later in 1957 he made his first senior
appearance for England, playing
against Yugoslavia in Norwich; it was
to be the first of almost 60 such caps.
In total, he played in three World
Championships just missing out on
a medal in 1961 when the England
men’s team finished fourth; his best
individual result being with Elsie
Carrington in the mixed doubles when
they reached the round of 16 in 1959,
notably beating the strong United
States pair of Dick Miles and Leah
Neuberger. Jeff also played in the
European Championships and many
international matches. In the Quadrangular
Tournament he won men’s
team gold in 1960, 1961 and 1962,
never losing a singles or doubles
match. Jeff also captained England
and was an England selector.
Notably, at the English Open he
enjoyed success, Jeff played in the
tournament for the first time in 1947 in
Manchester, when only 12 years old.
Although he lost in the first round the
encouragement he received spurred
him to greater heights. In 1952 he
reached the semi-final in the junior
boys’ singles event and was the junior
boys’ doubles runner up. A good year,
the year 1961 was even better; Jeff
and Kathy Best were mixed doubles
runners up just missing out on
the gold medal to Hungary’s Zoltan
Berczik and Eva Foldi.
Similarly at the National Championships,
which began in 1960, Jeff
added medals to his collection. In the
inaugural year, he won mixed doubles
silver partnering Jean McCree and
men’s singles bronze, the latter a feat
he repeated in 1962. Later in harness
with Kevin Forshaw he secured men’s
doubles bronze. The other domestic
competition in which Jeff excelled
was the Wilmott Cup, a competition in
which local leagues selected representative
teams. Furthermore, Jeff
won titles at both junior and senior
open tournaments in England, as well
as on five consecutive occasions,
commencing in 1958, being the men’s
singles champion in his native Manchester.
Worthy successes but Jeff described
his proudest moment when winning a
gold medal in the Maccabiah Games
in Israel in 1957 and 1961; in the
latter year he beat fellow England
international Stan Jacobson, a match
which was umpired by Frenchman
Michel Haguenauer before a crowd of
3,000 in the Hilton Hotel.
Moreover, Jeff was a brilliant raconteur
and had a prodigious memory
recalling not only matches he had
played in the 1950s and 1960s but
even scores and individual points. He
was one of the earliest members of
the Swaythling Club International
a fact of which he was justly proud;
he attended meetings at home and
abroad whenever he could, to renew
acquaintances with old friends and to
make new ones.
Most notably, Jeff was as interested
in the happenings of the table tennis
world today as he was in the history
of the sport; always he kept up to
date with the progress of the up and
coming youngsters.
Jeff Ingber
Mario Marotti
Swiss champon
by Anton Lehmann
Highly respected, a popular personality
in Swiss table tennis, Mario Mariotti
passed away on Wednesday 3rd
April; born on Wednesday 18th September
1940, he was 78 years old.
Notably, in 1971 he became Swiss
champion, a title he regained in
1976. Renowned for a somewhat
unorthodox forehand, he was a very
stable player, his tactical strategies
and technical skills being virtually the
same throughout his career; perhaps
in his later years becoming more
defensively minded.
A member of the Silver Star Geneva
club, first as a player, then as a
coach, later he became the president.
Notably he advised Thierry Miller
with whom he enjoyed men’s doubles
success. Representing Silver Star
Geneva and having passed his 40th
birthday, he guided the club to success
in the Swiss Championships in
both the 1981-1982 and 1983-1984
seasons.
53

Igor Solopov, steadfast in
the defensive art
Esa Ellonen, Honorary Chair
Finnish Table Tennis Association
by Bengt Ahti
A man with clear goals, elected Honorary
Chair of the Finnish Table Tennis
Association immediately following
his period of office as chair from 1975
to 1989, on Thursday 27th September
2018 Esa Ellonen passed away at the
Espoo Hospital. He was 84 years old.
Mips Van Kampen, former Belgian champion
by Pierre Juliens
player Georges Roland “Who is this
young lady? How old is she, 19, 20
or 21 years old?” Georges replied: “I
don’t know but if she is younger than
23 years old I buy you a drink; in the
other case you pay for the drink. Let
us ask Mips to show her passport.”
At that time Mips was 32 year old.
Richard had to pay the drink!
Uncompromising in achieving the targets
set; his motto was “table tennis -
the way to happiness and success”.
Loyal, Mips Van Kampen was a
member of the Swaythling Club International
for over 40 years.
Igor Solopov at the Estonia Memorial tournament on Saturday 28th September 1996
Renowned for his steadfast defensive
abilities, Estonia’s Igor Solopov
passed away on Wednesday 12th
June, he was 58 years old.
Born on Monday 17th April 1961 in
Magnitogorsk, a Russian city located
in the foothills of the Ural Mountains,
his table tennis career started in the
country of his birth in 1971, before
eventually moving to Tallinn in Estonia.
Right handed he became one of
Europe’s leading defensive players,
progressing to win a host of domestic
titles; however it was on the international
stage where he made his mark
and gained the respect of all.
Overall, he competed in seven World
Championships, in addition to being
present in the colours of Estonia at
the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games.
In a competition where only first place
in the initial phase group guaranteed
progress to the main draw he drew the
short straw; he finished in third place
ahead of Tunisia’s Mourad Sta but behind
Sweden’s Jan-Ove Waldner and
Korea Republic’s Kang Hee Chan.
Jan-Ove Waldner progressed to win
the gold medal.
Earlier at three consecutive editions
of the European Youth Champion-
54
ships, in Mödling in 1976, then in
Vichy and in Barcelona he was a
member of the gold winning Soviet
Union outfit in the junior boys’ team
event. Moreover in Barcelona he was
the junior boys’ singles silver medallist,
losing to the Czech Republic’s
Jindrich Pansky in the final.
In addition when only 17 years
old, representing the Soviet Union,
alongside Sarkis Sarkoyan, Anatoli
Strokatov and Valery Shevchenko,
he secured bronze in the men’s team
event at the 1978 European Championships
in Duisburg.
An automatic selection, he represented
Estonia on more than 50 occasions
gaining several national awards for his
services to sport; later he assumed a
coaching role in Sweden.
However, for those present, there is
one lasting memory above all others;
at the 1994 European Championships
in Birmingham, France won the
men’s team title, in the ensuing men’s
singles event, Igor Solopov ended the
progress of their national hero, one of
the favourites for gold.
In the third round he beat Jean-
Philippe Gatien, at the time the reigning
world champion; such was the
quality of Igor Solopov.
In the 1950s, Esa was one of the
most talented table tennis players
in Finland. At the national championships,
he won the men’s singles
title in 1952 and in 1957, the men’s
doubles with Pentti Tuominen in 1954,
1955 and 1957, as well as the men’s
team title in 1952, 1953, 1954 and
1957. In addition, he secured five
silver and one bronze medal.
Notably, Esa represented Finland internationally
at both junior and senior
levelsl, being principally a defensive
player with a most effective backhand
when the opportunity came to seize
the initiative. Moreover, not only was
he a fine table tennis player, he was a
footballer of renown.
During his period in office, in 1977
Finland joined the European League,
progressing to division one after a
period of only two years. The initiative
reflected Esa’s character. “Unless you
dare to face new challenges, there
will be no way forward”, was a favourite
saying.
Esa was the chair of North European
Table Tennis Union, a member of the
ITTF Council and the Board of the
European Table Tennis Union, being
the chair of the training and coaching
committee. In addition, he studied
in the United States becoming an
accomplished linguist and diplomat. It
was certainly no coincidence that the
ever popular Finlandia Open commenced
and that in 1984, the country
hosted the World Veteran Championships.
Reliable and far seeing, always the
future of Finland in his heart; his
stature is reflected in the fact that he
received Golden Award of the Sports
Federation of Finland.
The 1961 Yugoslav Open
Born on Monday 19th October 1925
in Antwerp; Mips Van Kampen passed
away on Monday 19th August. Well
respected, she joined the Royal Belgian
Table Tennis Federation in 1949.
In 1957 at the national championships
she won the women’s singles
title and with Maria Van Overloop
enjoyed the same success in the
women’s doubles event; the following
year once again the pair emerged the
victors. Consecutive women’s doubles
successes; in fact it was to be four in
a row. In 1959 and 1960, she secured
the title in partnership with Ghislaine
Roland. A most notable feat, one that
was matched by her mixed doubles
wins in harness with Walter Dugardin;
likewise she claimed four in a row
commencing in 1956.
Overall, she represented Belgium
internationally on 32 occasions.
Notably she competed at the World
Championships in 1955 in Utrecht
and in 1959 in Dortmund; also she
was present at the European Championships
in 1958 in Budapest, 1960
in Zagreb and in 1962 in Berlin. Later
in 1963 she became coach of the
Belgian national women’s team.
Setting high standards of integrity,
upholding the principles of fair play,
there was always a bright smile on the
face of Mips Van Kampen. Moreover
she belied her age, younger looking
than her years suggested.
At the first European Championships
in 1958 in Budapest, Richard
Bergmann asked Belgium’s leading
Edith Santifaller
the stalwart supporter
An outstanding supporter of the World
Veteran Championships, Edith Santifaller
passed away on Sunday 24th
March; she was 86 years old.
Born on Monday 18th July 1932, she
competed in no less than 17 editions
of the World Veteran Championships,
the most recent being in 2014 in Auckland;
overall she won 11 medals, six
being gold; two women’s singles and
four women’s doubles titles.
Table tennis for Edith Santifaller started
in 1949 when 17 years of age, her
father bought her a table tennis table.
She took part in her first tournament in
Merano, winning the women’s singles,
women’s doubles and mixed doubles
events. Soon after she made her
debut at the Italian Championships,
competing in Milan; it was the start of
a career that brought success after
success. She won 112 Italian titles,
the last in Lucera in 2016.
She became the coach of the Italian
junior team and held positions within
the European Table Tennis Union and
the International Table Tennis Federation.
In 1983 she was presented with
the “Knight of the Republic” award
from Sandro Pertini, the Italian President,
before in 1999 receiving the
ITTF Merit Award and soon after the
Golden Star for Sport Merit from the
Italian National Olympic Committee.
Notably from 1978 to 2016 she
served as President of the Provincial
Committee of Bolzano; later, on behalf
Edith Santifaller
of the Italian Table Tennis Federation
she was involved in the organisation
of the 1992 Olympic Games Qualification
tournament, followed by the Italian
Open in 1994 and 1996. Furthermore,
she was instrumental in the organisation
of many European League
matches; she promoted the South
Tyrolean movement and was a founding
member of the Maso della Pieve
of Bolzano Sports. Also in liaison with
Gianfranco Trovo, she was the creator
of the Transalpine Trophy, this year
administered by the Italian Table Tennis
Federation.
Recently, at the Italian Championships
in Bolzano, Renato Di Napoli,
President of the Italian Table Tennis
Federation, arranged the presentation
of a plaque to Edith Santifaller in
recognition of her contribution both
nationally and internationally. It was
received on her behalf by Franz Mair,
her husband.
Professionally, she has always
worked as a teacher; she was the Director
of the Rudolf Stolz Elementary
School in Bolzano.
Finn Arnesen
Member of the Swaythling Club International,
Finn Arnesen passed away
on Monday 25th March; most significantly
he received the Honorary Merit
Award from the Norway Table Tennis
Federation in 1971 and was involved
actively until 1971.
55

MEMORABLE MONTHS
Fan Zhendong
April: Lion 32nd ITTF-ATTU Asian
Cup 2019, Yokohama - All Chinese
finals, Fan Zhendong beat
colleague Ma Long to win the
men’s title; Zhu Yuling clinched the
counterpart women’s event at the
expense of Chen Meng.
May: 2019 ITTF Challenge Slovenia
Open, Otocec – Croatia’s Wei
Shihao emerged the surprise
men’s singles winner; in the final
he beat Poland’s Jakub Dyjas.
The women’s singles title finished
in the hands of Hungary’s Georgina
Pota, she saved match points
before overcoming Ukraine’s Margaryta
Pesotska. Brazil’s Eric Jouti
and Gustavo Tsuboi emerged the
men’s doubles winners; the women’s
doubles gold medals finished
around the necks of Japanese
teenagers Miyuu Kihara and Miyu
Nagasaki. In addition, Miyu Nagasaki
won the under 21 women’s
singles title, the counterpart under
21 men’s singles title finished in
the hands of Chinese Taipei’s
Feng Yi-Hsin.
May: 2019 ITTF Challenge Thailand
Open, Bangkok – Defenders were
to the fore. Germany’s Ruwen
Filus partnered colleague, Steffen
Mengel to men’s doubles gold
before securing the men’s singles
title at the final expense of Korea
Republic’s Seo Hyundeok. Similarly,
backspin skills prevailed in
the women’s singles event, Hitomi
Sato beat Japanese compatriot
Saki Shibata to reserve the top
step of the podium. One title for
Japan, there were two more;
Satsuki Odo and Saki Shibata
claimed the women’s doubles top
prize, Yuka Umemura emerged
the under 21 women’s singles
champion. The under 21 men’s
singles title finished in the hands
of Chinese Taipei; it was success
for Li Hsin-Yu.
the final the duo suffered at the
hands of Germany’s Timo Boll
and Patrick Franziska. Success
for visitors, there was one more;
Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yun-Ju and
Cheng-Ching won the mixed doubles.
June: 2019 ITTF World Tour Platinum
Lion Japan Open, Sapporo – A
full house for Xu Xin, he beat Lin
Yun-Ju in the men’s singles final
after having secured the mixed
doubles in partnership with Zhu
Yuling and the men’s doubles
in harness with Fan Zhendong.
Successful two years earlier when
required to qualify, China’s Sun
Yingsha repeated the feat; again
not seeded she beat Liu Shiwen
to claim the women’s singles title.
Chen Meng who had replaced
colleague, Ding Ning, at the top
of the world rankings for June,
partnered Liu Shiwen to women’s
doubles success.
in runner up spot in the mixed doubles event, the pair losing to Hong
Kong’s Wong Chun Ting and Doo Hoi Kem. Two titles for Xu Xin, it was
the same for Chen Meng. She secured the women’s singles title at the
final expense of Ding Ning, have earlier joined forces with Wang Manyu
to claim women’s doubles gold.
Timo Boll and Patrick Franziska
Paul Drinkhall
May: 2019 ITTF Challenge Serbia
Open, Belgrade - England’s Paul
Drinkhall won the men’s singles
event beating Frenchman, Abdel-Kader
Salifou in the final;
Japan’s Hina Hayata overcame
Hong Kong’s Minnie Soo Wai Yam
to secure the women’s singles
title. Minnie Soo Wai Yam claimed
women’s doubles gold partnering
Ng Wing Nam, Portugal’s Diogo
Carvalho and João Geraldo prevailed
in the men’s doubles event.
The respective under 21 men’s
singles and under 21 women’s
singles top prizes were won by
Frenchman Leo de Nodrest and
Russia’s Maria Malanina.
56
Wei Shihao
May: 2019 ITTF Challenge Croatia
Open, Zagreb – An all Swedish
men’s singles final, Anton Källberg
beat Kristian Karlsson to secure
the top prize; likewise it was an all
Japanese women’s singles title
decider, Miyuu Kihara overcame
Miyu Kato to claim gold. Success
for Japan and there was more. Yukiya
Uda won the under 21 men’s
singles title and partnered Shunsuke
Togami to men’s doubles gold.
Similarly Miyuu Kihara allied with
Miyu Nagasaki to claim a second
consecutive women’s doubles success.
Titles for visitors; there was
also the top step of the podium for
the hosts. Sun Jiayi was crowned
under 21 women’s singles champion.
Ruwen Filus
June: 2019 ITTF World Tour Platinum
China Open, Shenzhen – The
host nation’s Ma Long retained his
title but colleague Wang Manyu
fell was one step short. All Chinese
finals, in the men’s singles
event Ma Long beat home town
boy Lin Gaoyuan; in the counterpart
women’s singles competition
Wang Manyu suffered at
the hands of Chen Meng. Further
success for China came in the
women’s doubles, Gu Yuting and
Liu Shiwen emerging victorious.
Success for Ma Long but not in
the men’s doubles; partnering colleague
Wang Chuqin, with whom
he had won the men’s doubles title
in April at the Liebherr 2019 World
Championships, it was defeat. In
June: 2019 European Games,
Minsk – Places in the Tokyo 2020
Olympic Games at stake, Germany
made full use of the opportunity.
Timo Boll beat Denmark’s
Jonathan Groth in the men’s
singles final to reserve his place in
the Japanese capital city; likewise,
Patrick Franziska partnered
Petrissa Solja to mixed doubles
gold. Further success followed for
Germany and thus Tokyo places,
Timo Boll, Patrick Franziska and
Dimitrij Ovtcharov combined to
win the men’s team title; Han Ying,
Nina Mittelham and Shan Xiaona
joined forces to secure women’s
team gold. The one title to elude
Germany was the women’s singles;
Portugal’s Fu Yu beat Han
Ying to reserve the top step of the
podium.
July: 2019 ITTF World Tour Shinan
Korea Open, Busan – Once again
Xu Xin enjoyed success; elevated
to top spot on the world rankings,
replacing Fan Zhendong, he won
the men’s singles title beating Ma
Long in the final, after in partnership
with Fan Zhendong securing
men’s doubles gold. However,
there was to be no full house;
alongside Liu Shiwen, he finished
Chen Meng
Xu Xin
German women’s team - Shan Xiaona, Petrissa Solja, Nina Mittelham, Han Ying
57

Truls Moregard
July: 2019 ITTF World Tour Platinum Australian Open, Geelong – Xu Xin
made it three in a row by beating Wang Chuqin in the men’s singles
final. Sun Yingsha accounted for Ding Ning to secure the women’s
singles title; Jeoung Youngsik and Lee Sangsu won the men’s doubles,
Chen Meng and Wang Manyu emerged the women’s doubles champions.
Wong Chun Ting and Doo Hoi Kem reserved the top prize in the
mixed doubles event.
July: 2019 European Youth Championships,
Ostrava – Sweden’s Truls
Möregard beat Azerbaijan’s Yu
Khinhang to win the junior boys’
singles title; the counterpart junior
girls’ singles title was claimed by
Poland’s Anna Wegrzyn at the
final expense of Italy’s Jamila
Laurenti. Represented by Vladimir
Sidorenko, Maksim Grebnev and
Lev Katsman, Russia secured the
junior boys’ team title. Germany
with Anastasia Bondareva, Sophie
Klee and Franziska Schreiner on
duty emerged the junior girls’ team
champions. Romania’s Denis Movileanu
and Elena Zaharia clinched
the respective cadet boys’ singles
and cadet girls’ singles winners.
July: 2019 Commonwealth Championships,
Cuttack – A full house
for India; Sharath Kamal Achanta,
Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and
Harmeet Desai secured the men’s
team title; at the final hurdle of
the women’s team event Manika
Batra, Archana Girish Kamath
and Madhurika Patkar flew the
flag. Harmeet Desai beat Sathiyan
Gnanasekaran to win the
men’s singles title; similarly in the
women’s singles event it was an
all Indian final, Ayhika Mukherjee
gained the verdict at the expense
of Madhurika Patkar. In addition,
Amalraj Anthony and Manav
Vikash Thakkar combined to win
the men’s doubles; Sreeja Akula
and Mousumi Paul emerged the
women’s doubles champions. The
mixed doubles was won by Sathiyan
Gnanasekaran and Archana
Girish Kamath.
ed for Kim Song Il to secure the
men’s singles top prize. Ham
Yu Song and Ri Kwang Myong
emerged the men’s doubles
champions, the women’s doubles
was won by Cha Hyo Sim and Kim
Nam Hae; the mixed doubles by
Ham Yu Song and Cha Hyo Sim.
Pyon Song Gyong was crowned
under 21 women’s singles champion.
August: 2019 ITTF Africa Cup,
Lagos – All Egyptian finals, Omar
Assar won the men’s event beating
Ahmed Ali Saleh in the final; Dina
Meshref secured the women’s title
August: 2019 Pan American Games,
Lima – Puerto Rico’s Adriana Diaz
emerged the most successful
player. Alongside sister Melanie
and Daniely Rios she won women’s
team gold, having earlier in
the week, in harness with Melanie,
secured the women’s doubles
top prize and clinched the women’s
singles title. In the final she
overcame Wue Yue of the United
States, the defending champion.
Similarly, Hugo Calderano joined
forces with Brazilian colleague,
Gustavo Tsuboi, to win the men’s
doubles title, before beating the
Dominican Republic’s Wu Jiaji to
secure the men’s singles top prize.
The United States represented
by Kanak Jha, Nikhil Kumar and
Nicholas Tio won the men’s team
title, the mixed doubles top prize
was claimed by Canada’s Eugene
Wang and Zhang Mo.
Omar Assar
at the expense of Yousra Helmy
(11-9, 11-9, 11-1, 11-8).
August: 2019 Oceania Junior &
Cadet Championships, Nuku’alofa
– New Zealand’s Nathan Xu beat
Lee Yonghun to gain the verdict in
the junior boys’ singles event and
thus prevented a clean sweep of
titles by Australia. Parleen Kaur
accounted for New Zealand’s Zhou
Jiayi to emerge the junior girls’
singles winner. Earlier alongside
Matilda Alexandersson and Michelle
Wu, she had clinched junior
girls’ team gold, a feat matched in
the boys’ team event by the combination
of Lee Yonghun, Hayden
Green and Nicholas Lum. In all
Australian finals Finn Luu beat
Nicholas Lum to win the cadet
boys’ singles titles; Chermaine
Quah secured the counterpart
cadet girls’ singles top prize at the
expense of Takaimaania Ngata-Henare.
August: 2019 ITTF Challenge Plus
Nigeria Open – The host nation’s
Quadri Aruna retained his men’s
singles title beating Austria’s
Robert Gardos in the final; Polina
Mikhailova accounted for Yana
Noskova in the women’s singles
final, having earlier partnered her
Russian colleague to women’s
doubles gold. The men’s doubles
was won by the combination of
Belgium’s Cédric Nuytinck and
Frenchman Quentin Robinot; Germany’s
Kilian Ort and Wang Yuan
emerged the mixed doubles champions.
In the under 21 events, it
was success for Romania; Cristian
Pletea won the men’s title, the
counterpart women’s crown was
donned by Andreea Dragoman.
July: T2 Diamond, Johor Bahru –
Lin Yun-Ju caused a major upset
by beating Fan Zhendong to win
the men’s singles title; Zhu Yuling
accounted for Wang Manyu to
claim the women’s singles crown.
Kim Song I
58
July: 2019 ITTF Challenge Plus
Pyongyang Open – Kim Song I
won the women’s singles title for a
fourth consecutive year, she beat
Pyon Song Gyong in the final, as
DPR Korea won all but the under
21 men’s singles event; that honour
belonging to Chinese Taipei’s.
Feng Yi-Hsin. An Ji Song account-
Puerto Rico women’s team - Adriana Diaz, Melanie Diaz, Daniely Rios.
Tomokazu Harimoto
August: 2019 ITTF World Tour
Bulgaria Open, Panagyurishte –
Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto beat
China’s Zhao Zihao to arrest the
59

men’s singles title; Chen Xingtong
prevailed in the all Chinese
women’s singles final overcoming
He Zhoujia. Gu Yuting and Mu Zi
added to Chinese success by winning
the women’s doubles event;
Jeoung Youngsik and Lee Sangsu
contributed to their collection of
men’s doubles titles, Jun Mizutani
and Mima Ito claimed the mixed
doubles top prize.
August: 2019 ITTF World Tour
Czech Open, Olomouc – Lin Yun-
Ju achieved another landmark,
he won his career first ITTF World
Tour men’s singles title beating
Dimitrij Ovtcharov in the final.
Chen Xingtong added to her success
in Panagyurishte as did Gu
Yuting and Mu Zi. Chen Xingtong
beat Japan’s Miu Hirano to claim
the women’s singles title; once
again Gu Yuting and Mu Zi enjoyed
women’s doubles success.
Korea Republic’s Cho Daeseong
won his first ever ITTF World Tour
titles; he partnered Shin Yubin
to mixed doubles success, Lee
Sangsu to the men’s doubles top
prize.
August: 2019 African Games, Rabat
– Nigeria’s Olajide Omotayo was
the schock winner of the men’s
singles event, at the final hurdle
beating colleague, Quadri Aruna.
Egypt’s Dina Meshref emerged the
most successful player; she beat
Cameroon’s Sarah Hanffou to win
the women’s singles title, after having
joined forces with Farah Abdel-Aziz
and Yousra Helmy to secure
women’s team gold. Later she
partnered compatriot Omar Assar
to mixed doubles success. The top
prize in the women’s team event
meant qualification for the Tokyo
2020 Olympic Games, as it did for
the men’s team who, with Omar
Assar, Khalid Assar and Ahmed
Ali Saleh on duty, had emerged
victorious. A surprise men’s singles
winner, it was the same in the
men’s doubles; Mohamed Boudjadja
and Sami Kherouf won the
first ever gold medal for Algeria
in the table tennis events at an
African Games. Nigeria’s Cecilia
Akpan and Offiong Edem won the
women’s doubles event.
60
Jun Mizutani and Mima Ito
Lin Yun-Ju
Chen Xingtong
Champions - Olajide Omotayo and Dina Meshref
September: 2019 Asian Junior &
Cadet Championships, Ulaanbaator
– China emerged successful
in the junior boys’ and junior girls’
team events; similarly in the cadet
boys’ and cadet girls’ competitions
they prevailed but in the individual
events life was somewhat different.
Xu Yingbin beat Xiang Peng
in a thrilling junior boys’ singles
final, after having partnered Shi
Xunyao to junior mixed doubles
success. Likewise, Chen Yuanyu
and Chen Yi won the respective
cadet boys’ singles and cadet
girls’ singles title but in the remaining
events it was success
for Japan. Miyu Nagasaki beat
colleague Kyoka Idesawa to claim
junior girls’ singles gold, after
having partnered Miyuu Kihara to
junior girls’ doubles title. Similarly,
Shunsuke Togami and Yukiya Uda
secured junior boys’ doubles
top prize.
September: Liebherr 2019 European
Team Championships, Nantes
– Germany and Romania retained
their respective titles, in both
events Portugal being the surprise
runners up. Timo Boll, Patrick
Franziska and Dimitrij Ovtcharov
went throughout the whole tournament
without conceding a single
individual match, accounting for
the combination of Tiago Apolonia,
Marcos Freitas and João Monteiro
in the final. In the women’s
event, Daniela Monteiro Dodean,
Elizabeta Samara and Bernadette
Szocs secured the title at the final
expense of Fu Yu, Shao Jieni and
Leila Oliveira. Similarly they won
in emphatic style surrendering just
one individual match en route
to gold.
September: 2019 Pan American
Championships, Asuncion – Lily
Zhang of the United States
emerged the most successful
player. She remained unbeaten
throughout the whole tournament.
She joined forces with Amy Wang,
Crystal Wang and Wu Yue to win
the women’s team title, before
partnering Zhang Kai to mixed
Men’s doubles winners - Liang Jingkun and Lin Gaoyuan
doubles success and Wu Yue to women’s doubles gold. She concluded
matters by overcoming Brazil’s Bruna Takahashi to win the women’s
singles title. Brazil’s Vitor Ishiy emerged the men’s singles champion,
having earlier clinched men’s team gold alongside Gustavo Tsuboi
and Eric Jouti. Argentina’s Gaston Alto and Horacio Cifuentes won the
men’s doubles event.
September: 2019 ITTF Challenge Plus Paraguay Open, Asuncion – Japan’s
Masataka Morizono and Maki Shiomi emerged the most successful
players. Masataka Morizono partnered Slovakia’s Lubomir Pistej to
men’s doubles gold, before overcoming Austria’s Robert Gardos to
secure the men’s singles title. Maki Shiomi won the under 21 women’s
singles title and joined forces with colleague Honoka Hashimoto
to claim women’s doubles gold. Honoka Hashimoto also reached the
women’s singles final, losing to Hina Hayata, also from Japan. Puerto
Rico’s Brian Afanador and Adriana Diaz secured the mixed doubles
title; the under 21 men’s singles event was won by Argentina’s Horacio
Cifuentes.
September: 2019 ITTF Asian Championships,
Yogyakarta – China
completed a clean sweep of titles;
they won both the men’s team
and women’s team events. In all
Chinese finals, Xu Xin beat Lin
Gaoyuan to emerge the men’s
singles champion; in the counterpart
women’s singles competition,
Sun Yingsha captured the top
prize at the expense of Liu Shiwen.
Liang Jingkun and Lin Gaoyuan
emerged the men’s doubles
champions, the women’s doubles
title was won by Ding Ning and
Zhu Yuling, the mixed doubles by
Xu Xin and Liu Shiwen.
Miyu Nagasaki
61

WORLDWIDE
Ping Pong
4 a Purpose
Staged at the Dodger Stadium,
Mike Meier was on umpiring duty
on Thursday 8th August for the
7th Annual Ping Pong 4 a Purpose
celebrity tournament. Over the years
the event has raised in excess of US$
7,000,000 for charities and organisations.
Proceedings were directed by
Clayton Kershaw, a pitcher for the Los
Angeles Dodgers, a United States
Major League baseball team.
Mike Meier
Li Jiawei returns
Silver medallist in the women’s team
event at the Beijing 2008 Olympic
Games and bronze medallist four
years later in London, Li Jiawei returned
to competitive action at the Toa
Payoh East-Novena Singapore Table
Tennis Association Veteran Championships
staged on Saturday 15th and
Sunday 16th June. Representing the
Chinese Swimming Club and partnering
Yap Kian Hann (right) the duo
finished in second place in the mixed
team event.
40 years on
Lining up alongside Pongi, the
celebrated Hungarians (left to right)
Istvan Jonyer, Tibor Klampar and
Gabor Gergely, the trio that secured
the men’s team title at the 1979 World
Championships in Pyongyang, were
back together again in Budapest in
April for Liebherr 2019 World Championships.
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