- Ball with the table tennis team loose in the Olympic quarterfinals
Table Tennis Star Timo Boll has successfully kicked off his final Olympic Games, advancing to the quarterfinals with the German men's team. The 43-year-old, along with Dimitrij Ovtcharov and Dang Qiu, defeated underdog Canada 3-0 in the first round in Paris. The team will face Sweden on Tuesday (8:00 PM) for a chance to reach the semifinals, aiming once again for a medal. At the last Games in Tokyo three years ago, Germany won silver.
Boll and Dang started off strong in doubles, defeating Eugene Wang and Jeremy Hazin 3-1, facing only minor issues in the second set. Ovtcharov also won 3-1 against Edward Ly, and Boll secured a flawless victory 3-0 against Wang in his seventh Olympic Games.
Boll did not compete in the Olympic singles event.
The former world number one Boll is battling alongside his teammates to secure the fifth Olympic team medal of his career. He has previously won silver in Beijing 2008 and Tokyo 2021, and bronze in London 2012 and Rio de Janeiro 2016. After the Olympics, Boll will not retire but plans to continue playing for his club Borussia Düsseldorf in the Bundesliga until his contract ends in 2025.
Boll had already decided not to compete in the singles event in France. Teammate Ovtcharov was eliminated in the round of 16, and European champion Dang lost in the second round.
Timo Boll, hearing the crowd's excitement, asked, "- What? We're already in the quarterfinals?" His teammate Dang Qiu responded with a smile, "- Yes, Timo, we've got our sights set on another medal."
