- Leisure time, camping, tennis with Nowitzki: Boll's retirement plans
Timo Boll experienced a special Olympic moment after all his questions were answered. Following his final international match, the table tennis star entered a section of the hall cordoned off by temporary metal walls and suddenly found himself face-to-face with his close friend Dirk Nowitzki. The basketball legend applauded, bowed to Boll, and embraced him tightly.
It was a script that could hardly have been better for the friendship of two of Germany's greatest sportsmen in history. It all began in 2008 in Beijing - also at the Olympics. Now the circle was complete in Paris. "He's been saying for years, 'Finally, let's do something together.' I always resisted, but now it's finally happening," Boll said with his characteristic grin.
Tears through cheers
In the hall, the emotions after the 0:3 loss to Sweden had "overwhelmed him brutally." Tears flowed as the over 6000 fans refused to stop chanting "Timo, Timo." The evening's loser was the heart's winner. "He's an outstanding player, the greatest player we've ever had," said the not exactly unsuccessful national coach Jörg Rosskopf.
Others may be more decorated than Boll, but his great dream of an Olympic individual medal never came true. Yet, the 43-year-old maintained his deeply empathetic nature throughout his career. He is not only one of the greatest table tennis players of all time, as his long-time teammate Dimitrij Ovtcharov put it, but "also a very good person who always gives a lot."
Even today, Boll can hardly move freely in China. Being feted as a German in the land of table tennis is a unique achievement. During Boll's heyday, they even engaged several actors in the Middle Kingdom to perfectly mimic the Hessian's game in training. That's how great the respect was. Boll reached the top of the world rankings three times, won four team medals at the Olympics, won two individual medals at the World Championships, and eight European titles.
After a week of vacation, semi-retirement begins. Boll will play one more season with his club Düsseldorf, but he will have significantly more time without international tournaments. And he plans to use it. Spending time with his wife Rodelia and daughter Zoey Malaya, and playing tennis with friend Nowitzki are high on the list. The motorhome he lived in when in Düsseldorf will be used more often.
Above all, he wants to take his time. "I think I need a couple of years of peace to clear my head," Boll said. He wants to try out a few things and then decide which direction to go. "I need to figure that out for myself first," Boll said.
The German table tennis team is no longer a medal guarantee. Boll is gone, Ovtcharov will be 36 soon, and the clear defeat against Sweden showed that other nations have caught up - or even overtaken them. "We were always at the forefront for the last 25, 30 years," said Rosskopf. Now there are many more individual players, many more teams playing for the podium. They have good players, but getting another exceptional player like Boll "will definitely be difficult."
I'm not going to sugarcoat it, the loss to Sweden was a tough pill to swallow. Despite the setback, Boll remained humble and gracious, acknowledging, I'm not going to lie, it was overwhelming to see the outpouring of support from the crowds.
