The German table tennis star Dimitrij Ovtcharov lost his Olympic revenge against the Chinese Ma Long. At the WTT Champions tournament in Frankfurt, the former world number one lost to the three-time individual world champion on Friday evening (November 3rd, 2023) in the quarterfinals in 0:3 sets (7:11, 7:11, 7:11).
The 35-year-old Ovtcharov is still waiting for his first win against what he believes to be the best table tennis player in history. The balance between the two is 20-0 for Ma Long after 20 direct duels at international tournaments.
“Half of the rallies were at a very, very high level,” said Ovtcharov at the Sportschau microphone after the game. However, this time the opponent was clearly too strong. “He didn’t feel like he made a single mistake in the entire game. He was as strong today as I can hardly remember him ever playing like that,” said Ovtcharov.
Thrilling game at the 2021 Olympic Games
The most famous and best game between the two was the semifinals at the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021. Ma Long, also 35 years old, only won against Ovtcharov 11:9 in the seventh set.
His semi-final opponent in Frankfurt is now the 17-year-old Frenchman Felix Lebrun. After defending a match point, the number eight in the world rankings won 3-2 against the Timo Boll conqueror Lee Sang Su from South Korea.