Timo Boll has already taken part in six Olympic Games. A seventh time could be added in the summer. But he also cancels under certain conditions.
Even at the age of 42, Timo Boll is still the face of German table tennis. The list of his achievements is long. He became European champion eight times, won World Cup bronze twice and took part in six Olympic Games. And these are just the individual successes. Boll celebrated many other successes with the team and in doubles, including two silver medals at the 2008 Games in Beijing and 2021 in Tokyo.
The Olympics are coming up again next summer, this time in Paris. But Timo Boll has now made it clear: If he goes there, it won’t be as a substitute. But Boll told the German Press Agency: “I only want to play if I have the feeling that I can achieve something. I don’t want to take anyone’s place away just to be there. Then it would be better for a younger player to have the experience “I haven’t experienced the Olympics yet.”
Strongest German team in World Cup history?
Just like the former world number one Dimitrij Ovtcharov, individual European champion Dang Qiu and the two former team European champions Patrick Franziska and Benedikt Duda, Boll is part of the German squad for the team world championship in South Korea that begins on Friday. “I don’t know if Germany has ever taken such a strong team to a World Cup,” said Dang Qiu.
However, only three of these five top players plus one substitute can be part of the team at the Olympic Games in Paris in July. Boll wants to face this competition after recently fighting his way back to the top of the world after a long injury break. Participation in the Olympics at any price is out of the question for the German flag bearer of the 2016 Games.