The international comeback of record winner Timo Boll has pushed the flawless start of the “Operation Title Defense” by both German teams into the background at the European Table Tennis Team Championships in Malmö.
Boll was hardly challenged in the Olympic silver medalist’s 3-0 compulsory win in the first preliminary round game of Group A against second-class international challenger Finland in his first tournament match in almost a year. He brought his team into the lead against the Finns with a befitting 3-0 win against his opponent Alex Naumi, who is ranked above 500th in the world rankings.
The remaining two points for the opening victory after the success of the Düsseldorf veteran, who was out of action for several months in the first half of the year due to an injury to the shoulder of his left hitting arm, were taken by the team runner-up world champions Benedikt Duda (Bergneustadt) and Ricardo Walther (Grünwettersbach). also sovereign.
Boll and his colleagues have to do without the usual coaching from national coach Jörg Roßkopf in Sweden. The former world champion is missing from the pits in Düsseldorf due to an intensive training course with national players who have recently been under increased strain. Roßkopf’s assistant Lars Hielscher will be responsible for the first time as team coach.
Also women with a clear victory
The German women’s national table tennis team had previously started the European team championships in Malmö with a clear win against England. The defending champions won their first group game 3-0 in less than an hour of play.
17-year-old Annett Kaufmann from TTC Böblingen won the decisive third point against Mollie Patterson in 3-0 sets. Previously, Nina Mittelham and Xiaona Shan from TTC Berlin Eastside also won their games without losing a set.
Thanks to this opening success, the German women are almost certain of qualifying for the round of 16, as two out of three teams in each group advance to the knockout round. The last opponent in the preliminary round is Austria on Monday (4 p.m.).
Direct Olympic qualification beckons
In Malmö, the DTTB teams have their first chance of direct Olympic qualification. However, this requires winning the title again. Otherwise, there will be further opportunities in the coming year.