Table Tennis Championships
Round of 16 entry: Boll and Ovtcharov convince
Reached the round of 16 in Munich: Timo Boll. photo
© Marius Becker/dpa
The German table tennis stars Dimitrij Ovtcharov and Timo Boll easily reached the round of 16 of the European Championships in Munich. Olympic bronze medalist Ovtcharov defeated Hungary’s Csaba Andras 4-0. Record European champion Boll also did not lose a set against the Czech Lubomir Jancarik.
The German table tennis stars Dimitrij Ovtcharov and Timo Boll easily reached the round of 16 of the European Championships in Munich. Olympic bronze medalist Ovtcharov defeated Hungary’s Csaba Andras 4-0. Record European champion Boll also did not lose a set against the Czech Lubomir Jancarik.
Patrick Franziska, Dang Qiu and Benedikt Duda also advanced to the next round, which will be held on Friday afternoon.
After his difficulties in the opening match (4:3 after 1:3 against Samuel Kulczycki from Poland), eight-time European Championship champion Boll had no problems against Jancarik. The 41-year-old prevailed after 27 minutes. “Every shot was of good quality, there was even a flash of joy in playing. This gives you self-confidence,” explained Boll, who will face Slovakia’s Wang Yang in the next round.
Ovtcharov needed 34 minutes to advance to the round of 16. The European champion of 2013 and 2015 has to deal with the Portuguese Marcos Freitas. “A strong opponent. I have to show my best performance,” said Ovtcharov.
In addition, there is a German duel in the round of the best 16. The world rankings 13. Dang Qiu, who defeated the Greek Ioannis Sgouropoulos 4-0, meets Benedikt Duda. The world number 36. prevailed against the Austrian Daniel Habesohn 4:3. Patrick Franziska (4:1 against Jakub Diyjas from Poland) has also reached the next round and is fighting against Tiago Apolonia from Portugal for a place in the quarter-finals.