It would have been rather unlikely a few years ago that national coach Jörg Roßkopf spoke of an “all-round successful event” at the end of an individual European table tennis championship, as he did in Linz, even though none of the German men won a title. No nation has dominated European table tennis in recent decades as much as Germany. Between 2002 and 2022, players from other nations were only able to triumph at individual European Championships four times, which is why Timo Boll once referred to the Germans as the “Chinese of Europe”.
In recent years, however, it has become increasingly obvious that this superiority has come to an end; at the latest at the Olympic Games in Paris it was no longer possible to deny it. For the first time, two European nations, Sweden and France, were on the podium in both the individual and team competitions, and for the first time the German team did not win a medal. It has been a long time since the European leaders were so close together and so strong compared to the rest of the world.
Even the high flyer is not invincible
But the end of dominance does not mean that Germany is no longer a top nation. Not only the partly very good results on the WTT tour speak against this, but also the performance in Linz. In Dang Qiu, Dimitrij Ovtcharov, Patrick Franziska and Benedikt Duda, four German starters reached the quarter-finals; no other nation was more strongly represented in the round of the last eight.
While Ovtcharov surprisingly won the German-German duel with Franziska 4-0, defending champion Qiu was eliminated by eventual European champion Alexis Lebrun 1-4. The fact that Duda was able to defeat his brother and title favorite Félix Lebrun 4-3 in the quarter-finals shows that even the great high-flyer of the past few months is not invincible. Although the 18-year-old Frenchman was able to withstand the enormous pressure at the Olympic Games and win bronze twice, his fuse burned out after he lost the match point and smashed his racket into the LED wall. The consequences: red card, disqualification, all world ranking points earned in this tournament are revoked, and he also has to pay for the damage.
“I’m already disappointed”
After the 4:2 semi-final victory over Ovtcharov, Duda found no means against Alexis Lebrun in the final and lost 0:4. But the silver medal is the greatest individual success for the 30-year-old. “Of course I would have liked to have gone one more step and I’m already disappointed,” he said after the final, but also emphasized: “I’m very proud of myself and will be very happy in a day or two.” Considering that Duda had to take a two-month break from competition in the summer due to a cartilage injury, making this achievement seem all the more impressive. Jörg Roßkopf was also satisfied with his protégé’s performance. “Such a clear result is bitter for ‘Benne’, but he really played a great tournament.”
But no player impressed more at this European Championship than Alexis Lebrun. The 21-year-old developed strongly over the course of the tournament, overcame one opponent after the other and also won the doubles title with his brother. His unexpected triumph is another indication of the broader European leadership. “Others would have been more likely to be taken into account,” said Roßkopf. “But that’s how it is in Europe: anything can happen.”
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Another German, Andre Bertelsmeier, caused another surprise. The only 18-year-old from the second division club 1. FC Köln not only mastered the qualification, but also reached the round of 16 thanks to courageous performances. That was the end against Félix Lebrun, but here too he impressed with spectacular rallies, such as a hit behind the back, where even Lebrun couldn’t help but smile.
Bertelsmeier’s appearance at this European Championship gives encouragement for the long-term future of German men’s table tennis. Problems such as aging, concerns about young talent and a lack of financial support obviously remain an enormous challenge for the German Table Tennis Association. Roßkopf said in an interview with “tischtennis” magazine a few weeks ago that we are still quite well positioned for 2028. “But finding a team for the 2032 Olympic Games will be a difficult task.”
In the long term, Sweden and especially France, with their young top players, are ahead in Europe. But the wider tip is good for European table tennis, it makes the title seem more valuable again. There is no need for European Chinese.
