“That would be a denial of reality”
Ex-national player fears for his career
January 17, 2025 – 8:40 a.mReading time: 2 minutes
A little more than ten years ago, Kilian Ort played at the Youth Olympic Games and was considered a great talent. But a long-term injury now leaves him worried about his career.
Former national table tennis player Kilian Ort is facing an uncertain sporting future. A slipped disc has kept the 28-year-old largely out of action for almost two years. “I have played little to no table tennis in the last 20 months,” Ort explained in an interview with the “Main-Post”. He believes it is unlikely that he will be able to take part in the game again soon: “I can’t say that I’ll be playing again in two months. That would be a denial of reality.”
The Lower Franconian left it open as to what would happen next and emphasized: “I can’t rule anything out, both in a positive and negative sense.”
Ort already has a long injury history behind him, which has had a lasting impact on his career. The former runner-up made his debut in the German national team around nine years ago, but did not play any further international matches due to health setbacks. He played his last match in the table tennis Bundesliga for his hometown club Bad Königshofen in April 2023, at the end of the season.
From his point of view, hopes of a comeback are low. “I’ve already had two operations – unfortunately with no improvement,” Ort reported. Unlike his shoulder injury in 2015, which got better after some time, he lacks a comparable feeling with the current problem: “I haven’t had this feeling with my current injury in the last two years.”
The future of the former hopeful remains unclear. An official statement from his club is not yet available.