The German table tennis national player Dimitrij Ovtcharov has celebrated a successful comeback after an eight-month injury break.
At the WTT tournament in the Peruvian capital Lima, the Olympic bronze medalist and former world number one defeated the Portuguese Joao Monteiro in the first main round on Thursday in 3:2 sets and thus made it into the round of 16.
The 33-year-old had to undergo ankle surgery in October and February. While out through injury, Kyiv-born Ovtcharov left long-time Russian club Fakel Orenburg in protest at Russia’s attack on Ukraine.