Benedikt Duda creates one of the biggest surprises in table tennis in recent years. The German outsider beats the European Championship favorite, his teammate Ovtcharov – and only loses in the final.
In the end, only the last step was missing. The German outsider Benedikt Duda caused one of the biggest surprises in recent years at the European Table Tennis Championships. The 30-year-old Bundesliga professional from TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt was only stopped in the final in Linz in 4-0 sets by Frenchman Alexis Lebrun. “Unfortunately that happened very quickly,” said Duda.
The day before, the German champions had thrown Lebrun’s younger brother and big European Championship favorite Felix Lebrun out of the tournament (4:3). In between, he swept past the former world number one Dimitrij Ovtcharov in the semifinals (4:2). “Benne played phenomenally,” said Ovtcharov after his own dream of a third European Championship gold after 2013 and 2015 unexpectedly shattered.
Duda himself said after the final: “I’m very proud of myself. I would have liked to go one step further. But Alexis was too strong for that.”
The number 28 in the world rankings has so far led a career in the shadow of the big names Ovtcharov, Timo Boll and Dang Qiu. But Duda was already one of the German teams that surprisingly won World Cup silver in China in 2022 and European Championship gold in Romania in 2021.
National coach Jörg Roßkopf always supported the man from the handball stronghold of Gummersbach, also because he recognized in Duda a lot of what made him a single European champion and double world champion: He is not a talent of the century like Boll, but a tough one , hardworking and highly concentrated worker.
Did he expect his breakthrough at this European Championship? “Of course not!” said Duda. “I was injured for a long time. The first Bundesliga appearances and the last international appearances weren’t so good. But ten days before the European Championships I felt very good in training. I trained very well and very hard.”
German dominance over
But this final appearance was not just the greatest success of his individual career to date. After the 2024 Olympic year, which has so far been so disappointing, it was also an important sign for the German Table Tennis Association.
For only the third time in the last 13 tournaments, the individual European champion is not from Germany. The time of great dominance is over. The Swedes and especially the French made a much better impression at the Olympic Games and partly at the Team World Championships in February. With players like Felix Lebrun (18), Alexis Lebrun (21) and Truls Möregardh (22), the future undoubtedly belongs to them.
Nevertheless, Germany’s European Championship results are not just a success because of Duda. Nina Mittelham won the bronze medal in her first tournament after a serious Olympic injury. Four of the six German men reached the quarterfinals. The 18-year-olds Annett Kaufmann (bronze in mixed doubles) and Andre Bertelsmeier (round of 16 in singles) also impressed. “It was a good tournament,” said women’s national coach Tamara Boros.
Source: Stern
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