Right at the start of the Table Tennis World Championships in South Africa, Dimitrij Ovtcharov is about to be eliminated. A real tour de force and a double premiere give him courage for the further course of the tournament.
For four years, Dimitrij Ovtcharov did not play a single World Cup game. At the start of the Table Tennis World Championships in Durban, South Africa, there were two in one day.
Thanks to a remarkable race to catch up, the former world number one survived the first round in singles against Frenchman Can Akkuzu. A few hours later he also entered the second round of the doubles competition alongside Patrick Franziska Show of strength against battery.
“Lots of emotions left”
The 25-year-old Frenchman plays in the Bundesliga for four-time German champions TTF Ochsenhausen and already had Ovtcharov on the brink of defeat in the semi-finals of the TTBL Cup in January. On Saturday in Durban, Akkuzu was already leading by 3:1 sets and was also ahead by 5:1 and 9:7 in the fifth and sixth round. Nevertheless, Ovtcharov won in the end in 4:3 sets. “I left a lot of emotions in this game. That will help me in the next games,” said the Olympic bronze medalist.
Ovtcharov underwent two ankle surgeries after his bronze medal in Tokyo and therefore missed the 2021 and 2022 World Cup tournaments. Since his comeback, his performances have been extremely variable. But that’s exactly why the 34-year-old decided, unlike in previous years, to compete in doubles again at a major tournament.
“I told Rossi (national coach Jörg Roßkopf) early on that he should plan me for doubles,” said Ovtcharov. “If I have more matches, I’ll get stronger in both competitions – just to get more feeling for the game. It’s not easy here: there are many different halls, there’s a lot going on. That’s why these matches for both competitions are good for me. “
Source: Stern
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