Timo Boll’s international career is over. To say goodbye, there will be a star-studded line-up at the table tennis quarter-finals. Even a king will be watching.
The international career of table tennis star Timo Boll has ended in front of the eyes of Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf and basketball icon Dirk Nowitzki. Led by the former world number one, the German team lost its quarter-final against European champions Sweden 0-3 at the Olympic Games in Paris. Boll announced in May that he only wanted to play for his club Borussia Düsseldorf for one more year after his seventh Summer Games.
Only three sets won
The number of celebrities in the austere Arena Sud 4 in Paris was appropriate for the evening. Superstar Nowitzki, a close friend of Boll for years, and Sweden’s king and his wife Silvia took their seats in the main stands. Nowitzki had a good time alongside national player Patrick Franziska, while Silvia watched the games through mini binoculars. Meanwhile, her husband took photos with his smartphone.
However, there was only celebration on the Scandinavian side. Boll lost the doubles match 0:3 alongside European champion Dan Qiu, while Dimitrij Ovtcharov had to admit defeat to the Olympic silver medalist from Paris, Truls Möregardh, in a thrilling duel 2:3. Finally, Boll lost his singles match against Anton Källberg 1:3.
This means that one of the greatest German athletes in history is saying goodbye to the international stage. The Hesse native’s statistics include four team medals at the Olympics, two individual medals at the World Championships and eight European Championship titles. During his career, the 43-year-old was sometimes so strong that the all-powerful Chinese trained Boll clones who were supposed to perfectly imitate the game of the feared German.
Retirement plans with Nowitzki
Boll already has plans for part-time retirement – and these are closely linked to Nowitzki. “Dirk has been jokingly telling me for two or three years now that he should finally stop so that we can do something together. We have already talked about this topic several times,” the veteran told the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”.
Boll had visited the German basketball legend during his last season in Dallas and was also there for his induction into the Hall of Fame in August 2023. At the 2021 World Cup in Houston, Nowitzki was already in the car to watch Boll’s game against Wang Yang, which was canceled due to a positive corona test. So Nowitzki turned back empty-handed.
Women still involved
The German women will play their quarter-final on Wednesday morning (10 a.m.). The trio only narrowly beat the USA, but are now the favorites in their match against India.
Source: Stern
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