STIGA - 70 years anniversary

STIGA HISTORY

STIGA History Synonymous with Quality, Respected Worldwide, Ever Seeking New Horizons During a press conference before the Swedish Open Championships in Stockholm in November 2011, Chinese men’s team national coach, Liu Guoliang, was asked how he regarded the threat from Germany. He answered that Germany was good but that the country he respected the most was still Sweden.

The answer may be considered as being a polite comment, paying respects to the host but it did show a mark of reverence to a small country in northern Europe which, from time to time, has overshadowed the huge country of China in its national sport.

Unquestionably, without STIGA this would not have happened. Without STIGA, Sweden would have had no world champions because it was STIGA, who back in 1944, started to produce their own table tennis equipment; always with the aim to do better and better, until they became number one. In close collaboration with the Swedish Table Tennis Association they made table tennis a sport for every Swede.

STIGA HISTORY

During a period of strong economic expansion in Sweden during the 1960s, more or less every school, every private house and every company had table tennis tables for pupils, families and employees on which to play. Furthermore by sponsoring big competitions with tables, the STIGA logo flew around the world and attracted media attention; world champions like Hans Alsér, Kjell Johansson and Stellan Bengtsson were contracted, the effect was the STIGA name was associated indelibly with table tennis, globally respected, an unrivalled reputation.

The name STIGA became synonymous with quality, progress, fun, and success; in addition the company seized the initiative. In their development work they employed Swedish stars and paid them the best salaries in the table tennis world at the time. Alsér, Johansson and Bengtsson left their mundane jobs and became the first professional athletes in Swedish national sport.

It was an opportunity which the players seized with passion; also they accepted the responsibility bestowed.

They trained better and harder than their competitors and, when their success peaked in the first half of the 1970s not only did a media fuss result, a standard had also been set.

It proved a major inspiration for the next generation, a new generation duly emerged, a generation who would continue the legacy in the 1980s and beyond.

No wonder Liu Guoliang said what he said before the Swedish Open and no wonder he choose to stay one week in the town Eskilstuna with his squad to practise when the

STIGA HISTORY

tournament had finished. The reason was that in Eskilstuna the STIGA heritage of making things better and better is now managed.

Today the links between STIGA and China are closer than ever; from the very beginning STIGA was very open to the world of table tennis and contracted young successful foreign players. STIGA continues the tradition and today has some of the very best young players from China are contracted; notably Xu Xin and Guo Yue and the 2013 rocket Fan Zhendong, born 1997, who already made his step into the top 10 in the World among seniors. The three youngsters follow an established tradition of playing with STIGA blades that started with Liu Guoliang himself, a legend in his own lifetime. He became the first male Chinese player ever to win singles gold at an Olympic Games when he succeeded in Atlanta in 1996; additionally three years later he was crowned Men’s Singles World champion. On both occasions he used a seven ply STIGA Clipper blade that incorporated red blocking veneers.

Interspersed between the training sessions in Eskilstuna, the Chinese team visited the STIGA factory in Eskilstuna where the blades are made. STIGA is the sponsor of blades to the Chinese National Team and Chief Executive Officer, Mats Bandstigen, had profound discussions with the Chinese on how to develop the blades even further in the future.

“Blade development and production is at the heart of all the table tennis equipment we sell”, Mats Bandstigen explained to the players. “It is a sort of scientific skill to

STIGA HISTORY

find the perfect balance between weight, speed and playing feeling. We have five to nine layers of veneers in our blades.

How fast the blade will be is very much decided by the middle veneer; then you have blocking veneer and outer veneers.” The final result of the product depends on thickness and the kind of woods that is to be used.

“To pick the very right trees at the very right moment is decisive”, Bandstigen continued. “We are very close to our raw material. We literally pick out the trees from all around the world that we want to use in our production and since we are financially strong, we also have the possibility to buy big quantities when the trees are exceptionally good but we are never satisfied. Everything we do, we want to do even better.”

Sweden and Northern Europe is still the home base for STIGA but never before in the company´s long history has it been as open to the world as it is today. The full table tennis assortment of STIGA equipment is sold in 140 countries!

In the fast-growing Chinese market STIGA has been very shrewd by contracting key players and key persons in the Chinese organization to start long term relations.

Recently STIGA choose to set up a subsidiary company in China, instead of working through single distributors.

The head office is situated in a fashion district of Beijing, where some 25 people work under the lead of former Chinese national player Huang Dawei. He has played table tennis and lived in Sweden for many years and is familiar in both cultures and languages.

STIGA HISTORY

The Chinese adventurer Bandstigen and his crew see a long and exciting journey into the future. The market has a tremendous potential in a country where some 15 to 40 million people are playing on an active regular competition basis and where the hobby market could involve a couple of hundred million people!

“We have a solid ground to build the future from”, Mats Bandstigen explains. “Not only in China but in all countries we are established. We are very proud of what we have achieved. We have had a good profit and have earned some money over the years but satisfied we are not.”

Some obvious proves that STIGA today is a brand with the future in mind are also a more active partner for sponsoring international tournaments. The important event World Team Classic will have STIGA as main sponsor for sure until 2015, and most likely also the time after. On the home market STIGA recently signed a long term agreement with the Swedish Table Tennis Association, an interesting development project since Sweden seems to have a bright future with a lot of really promising players, both boys and girls, in the younger ages.

To maintain an eager and dynamic STIGA, Bandstigen always engages competitive and passionate people as employees.

“That is what it takes to always be in the front line with all our products – blades, rubbers, nets, bags, balls, tables – everything. “

Production with tradition. Making table tennis blades since 1944.

Between 1957 and 1979 five World Championships was played on our Expert VM tables.

1963 Kjell Johansson (middle) started working for STIGA. 1967 and 1969 he won World Cha Double with Hans AlsĂŠr (right). 1973 he took the same title together with Stellan Bengtsson

ampions in n (left).

1964 STIGA Robot is launched and the European Championships in Malmo played on STIG

GA table.

During the 1960s, more or less every school, every private house and every company had table tennis tables.

The original Allround Classic was introduced in 1969.

The Allround Classic Carbon was released 2012.

Photo: Scanpix

Stellan Bengtsson, the first ever Swedish men’s singles World Champion (1971). At that time STIGA sponsored.

The original Offensive Classic was introduced in 1976.

The Offensive Classic Carbon was released 2012.

Liu Guoliang’s special weapon Clipper Wood was released 1981 and is still one of our most popular blades.

Bild Liu

Liu Guoliang has been in contract with STIGA since 1993.

In 1984 Bengt Bandstigen becomes CEO and the company is relocated to Eskilstuna.

Sweden’s current National Coach Ulf “Tickan” Carlsson won gold in Men’s doubles at the World Championships in Gothenburg 1985.

The STIGA sponsored Swedish National Team won three World Team Table Tennis Champ from the years 1989 and 1993. Beginning the era by winning with 5-0 against China in Dortm

Photo: TT

pionships in a row mund 1989.

STIGA Sports current CEO, Mats Bandstigen takes of the management after his father in 1999.

Xu Xin Guo Yue

In 2009 the Chinese players Xu Xin and Guo Yue signs with STIGA.

In 2003 STIGA signed a ten year contract with the Swedish National Team. That contract was extended with another seven years in 2013.

Photo: RĂŠmy Gros

In 2009 STIGA releases one of our high-end blades Ebenholz which immediately becomes a success.

In 2010 STIGA opens a daughter company in Beijing and former player Huang Dawei takes over as General Manager for STIGA Sports Beijing.

In 2012 the World Veteran Championships was held in Stockholm and played on a total of 133 STIGA tables.

Photo: Irving Karlsson

During 2013 the STIGA Head Office expand with a new 2 800m2 building resulting in a Head Office space measuring a total of 11 000m2.

Photo: Irving Karlsson

In 2013 thanks to STIGA’s close collaboration with the Chinese National Team the Swedish player Jens Lundquist and Xu Xin plays together and wins the Men’s doubles title at the Swedish Open.

In 2013 the Chinese superstar Fan Zhendong signs with STIGA.

STIGA SUPERSTARS

STIGA Superstars Six stars.

Six characters.

Six winners.

To portray six of all the stars in the table tennis heaven of STIGA is like standing under the sparkling firmament a clear, cold winter night and look for the Big Dipper.

They are there somewhere, the stars that together make a formation among incomprehensibly many others. You just have to bow your head up, fascinated by all the lights and focus your eyes. In this star-sweep we do it to Kjell Johansson, who became “The Hammer” with the entire Swedish population as he, during the childhood of the television, broke through. We do it on another swede, Ulf “Tickan” Carlsson and Jean-Michel Saive, the old European Champion and World Championship finalist from Belgium.

STIGA is not only a carrier of tradition. STIGA is a seventy year old with the future in the pipeline. Therefore, STIGA has also contracted the players who will win tomorrow’s gold medals: Xu Xin and Fan Zhengdong. Guo Yue is of course also included. She is a girl who has won ten gold medals at the World Championships and two at the Olympic Games. We will of course portray the brightest star of all times in the table tennis sport, Liu Guoliang.

The Master Teacher for today’s young STIGA stars.

Photo: RĂŠmy Gros

LIU GUOLIANG

Liu Guoliang “Greatest player of all time” At the table tennis table Liu Guoliang, contracted to STIGA since 1993, became China´s answer on Jan-Ove Waldner; the Swedish super star, the man won the Men’s Singles title at the World Championships twice and donned the same crown at the Olympic Games on one occasion.

He was the man who played hide and seek with the Chinese, he delighted in confusing them by developing new services, innovative strokes and a variety of playing combinations. Waldner enjoyed creating situations where the Chinese had puzzled brows as they turned to walk back to their coaches with heads bowed, seeking support and comfort in an air of confusion which doused confidence. Hours of tactical preparation, close attention to video analysis had proved to be of minimal or no value whatsoever. The innovative Swede destroyed his opponent’s plans by introducing something new, something unexpected, something the Chinese, nor anyone else, could handle.

However in 1995 times changed. In the round of the last 16 of the men’s singles event at the World Championships in the Chinese city of Tianjin, Jan-Ove Waldner received a taste his own medicine. At the other side of the table stood Liu Guoliang, a fast attacking right handed 19 year old penholder. He possessed an extremely good

LIU GUOLIANG

serving technique, very quick with a fast forehand attack directed to all points of the table. “The Wild Horse” was the name given to Liu Guoliang by the Chinese as a result of his seemingly wild way of playing table tennis, his table tennis thinking and his life outside the table tennis hall.

Liu Guoliang had been a member of the Chinese team at the World Championships in Gothenburg in 1993 but China´s coach at the time, Cai Zhenhua, had not dared to field his young charge in the final; a contest where the Chinese suffered defeat against Sweden.

The result in Gothenburg meant that China had been denied the men’s team title at a World Championships for the third consecutive year; a fate that had never befallen China since emerging as a table tennis super power in the 1960s. In Tianjin in 1995 China regained the title and a few days later Jan-Ove Waldner opposed the eleven years younger Liu Guoliang in the men’s singles event; alongside Kong Linghui, Liu Guoliang represented the new Chinese generation.

The match went to a fifth game; matches in the men’s singles event being best of five games, each game to 21 points. In the decisive fifth game, Jan-Ove Waldner held a narrow lead when the players changed ends. Then it happened! Liu Guoliang served and attacked, not using the pimples out rubber as he had done throughout; all of a sudden he turned the racket around and attacked with the other side which had the reversed smooth rubber.

The effect was more top spin was imparted on the ball.

LIU GUOLIANG

Throughout the match Liu Guoliang had never used this side of his racket. Jan-Ove Walder looked to his coach, he was bemused, the contest was in the balance; then Liu Guoliang mixed the weaponry; sometimes he attacked with the pimpled side of the racket, sometimes with the reversed smooth side. Jan-Ove Waldner was totally confused; he did not know what to do. He became passive, retreated from the table and lost the match by a narrow margin.

He was astonished but most of all impressed, by the way Liu Guoliang had played, it showed great bravery and a strong mental approach to wait so long before using his secret weapons. If the young Chinese star had revealed the hidden surprises earlier on in the match, Jan-Ove Waldner might had read the situation, coped and found solutions. Liu Guoliang was cool; he waited for the exact right moment, he won the match and progressed to the final where he lost to Kong Linghui. A 20 year old beat a 19 year old in an all-Chinese men’s singles final at a World Championship. On that very day the initiative returned to China.

The success of Liu Guoliang against Jan-Ove Waldner in Tianjin in 1995 was a turning point. Sweden had dominated the male table tennis since 1989 but when Liu Guoliang outfoxed Jan-Ove Waldner, just as previously the Swede had done when facing the Chinese, the Swedish sovereignty was over.

It was for Liu Guoliang, the beginning of a stunning career, firstly as a player, then as a coach. Liu Guoliang became the first Chinese man ever to win all the big

LIU GUOLIANG

titles – men’s singles and men’s doubles at the Olympics, men’s team, men’s singles, men’s doubles and mixed doubles at the World Championships. “The Clean Sweep” was achieved when Liu Guoliang won the men’s singles crown at the World Championships in Eindhoven in 1999.

The playing career ceased when only 25 years old and after university studies he assumed the responsibility of the Chinese men’s national team in 2003. In the role of coach, his success is total; under the guidance of Liu Guoliang the Chinese men has won all titles on offer at the Olympic Games and World Championships; it has been a sequence of clean sweeps with few exceptions.

The notable exemptions being the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004 when Korea’s Ryu Seungmin won the men’s singles title and at the Liebherr World Championships in Paris in 2013 when Chinese Taipei’s Chuang Chih-Yuan and Chen Chien-An secured the men’s doubles title.

Now since February 2013 Liu Guoliang has been responsible for the Chinese national teams as a whole, in the role of Sports Director, a position that had been vacant for eight years. However, he maintains his position with the men’s national team and has friend Kong Linghui alongside as the women’s national team coach.

Adversaries in the Men’s Singles final at the World Championships in Tianjin in 1995, they are now firmly at the same side of the table.

Liu Guoliang was appointed team captain of the Chinese men’s team when 27 years old,; the youngest national coach

LIU GUOLIANG

ever in China; as a player he had shown a rare innovative ability and intelligence. At a time when many table tennis experts stated that the Chinese pen-hold grip was dead, Liu Guoliang developed the idea to affix rubber to the backhand side of the racket and use during the matches thus creating a variety of attacking options.

Furthermore, Liu Guoliang is attributed with the idea of using the backhand side of the racket for the pen-holder. Prior to Liu Guoliang, the classical Chinese pen-hold method was to use the same side of the racket whether playing from the forehand or backhand; the backhand side of the racket having no rubber, just the plain wood. Only pimpled rubber on the racket, it meant there was a weakness, especially from the backhand, the Chinese were susceptible to the emerging powerful European style of play. It was this style that enabled the Hungarians to beat China to win the men’s team title at the World Championships in Hungary in 1979 and the Swedes to perform a similar feat ten years late.

However, Liu Guoliang saw new possibilities with the pen-hold grip; by using the backhand side of the racket he turned the disadvantage to an advantage. The new technique gave the pen-holder a new dimension from the backhand; it opened the same possibilities that were available to the shake-hands grip player. It meant that varying degrees of top spin and side spin could be imparted.

Perhaps surprisingly, the innovation introduced by Liu Guoliang was never integrated as a major component of

LIU GUOLIANG

his playing style; the greater use of the technique came with the dawn of the millennium in the guise of Ma Lin, who used the backhand to a greater extent and later with Wang Hao for whom it was a major aspect of his armory. He integrated the new backhand technique so well that he won the men’s singles title at the World Championships in 2009, a major reason being he had the strongest backhand in the world!

The new pen-holder backhand is only one in a sequence of technical innovations that has been devised during Liu Guoliang´s time as the man responsible for Chinese male table tennis. Another is the “Czech flick”, or “the banana flick” where the forearm is almost vertical, the wrist relaxed and bent to the maximum to enable the racket to circumnavigate the ball and return with a combination of sidespin and top spin. The positive method of receiving service places the server under pressure, the server has minimal time to react and is required to judge the degrees of spin on the ball.

An innovative flow of ideas has ensued; the Chinese playing style continually develops, as a result the rest of the world falls further behind. Continually, the Chinese explore, they create situations that enables them to move into the correct position to maximize their attacking play.

In the first instance with Liu Guoliang as player, then as a wise coach and innovator; China not only neutralized the weaponry of Sweden and other European countries, they turned what was perceived as a disadvantage to an advantage. The backhand, in the early 1960s, the strong

LIU GUOLIANG

Chinese weapon to beat the Japanese, became more limited over the next two decades as stronger top spin play developed. Eventually the backhand technique employed by the pen-holder, who used short pimples and one side of the racket only, was the death knell of tradition.

Add a very competitive selection process for international championships; the result is Chinese players are complete. Players, who turned and looked at the coach with heads bowed when not knowing how to handle a situation, no longer exist.

Physically, psychologically and technically, the Chinese are ready for every encounter, they are up-to-date; it is a system that has created characters like Liu Guoliang, intelligent, creative, mentally strong and above all, it has created winners.

Major Titles: Olympic Games (two): Men’s Singles and Men’s Doubles 1996 World Championships (seven): Men’s Team 1995, 1997, 2001; Men’s Singles 1999; Men’s Doubles 1997, 1999; Mixed Doubles 1997.

Photo: RĂŠmy Gros

XU XIN

Xu Xin A cool dude with a very personal style of play and a hip haircut; Xu Xin was raised at a private table tennis clinic.

He is the latest development in the traditional pen-hold grip technique.   Xu Xin is very much a product of modern Chinese table tennis development. The 23 year old from Jiangsu Province learned the basics of table tennis at Cao Yanhua´s private table tennis school in Shanghai, the school being a successful and competitive challenger to the schools of the Chinese Table Tennis Association. Cao Yanhua was the Women Singles World Champion in 1983 and 1985 and regards table tennis schools led by the national association as somewhat staid in their ideas. She believes that Xu Xin affords an example of how private initiatives have the potential to develop world champions.

XU XIN

The tall left hander made his debut at the World Championships in 2007 when only 17 years old; in 2009 he reached the Men’s Doubles final and in 2010 was a member of the gold medal winning team at the Liebherr World Championships in Moscow.

A most distinctive style, Xu Xin´s wide variety of services followed by a dynamic long forehand top spin has enabled him not only to gain success in singles events but also in men’s doubles. At the age of 20 he reached the top ten of the Men’s World Rankings but his backhand was not really sufficiently strong to make the next step. He was too dependent on his forehand; time and again he was forced to start the point with forehand from the backhand side of the table.

However, thanks to his cat-like sideways fast movement he was able to execute the stroke but there was a price to pay; he tended to be too far away from the table.

Therefore, Xu Xin worked hard to improve his backhand; the stroke executed using the reverse side of the racket, like Wang Hao, the first to master this extremely difficult way of playing. He possesses a wide variety of services but not only is Xu Xin outstanding when serving; he has deft touches when returning service. He is most adept at returning the service short and neutralizing his opponent’s efforts to attack. Furthermore, the improved backhand means he now stands closer to the table; the ability to top spin with varying degrees of sidespin causes great problems for his adversaries; especially right handers. Stubbornness and the hard work produced the desired result.

XU XIN

In December 2011 Xu Xin reached the top five of the Men’s World Rankings; in January 2013 the ultimate goal was achieved, he was number one.

Now Xu Xin works the details; to be ranked number one is one thing, to win big titles another. The task is to learn how to deal with the pressure being the favourite, of being the hunted one and not the one who hunts.

Will he ever become Men’s Singles World Champion and Olympic champion? Yes he will. Yes he can. It is only a matter of time, of when and where.

Major Titles: World Championships (three); Men’s Team 2010, 2012; Men’s Doubles 2011.

Extra: Multiple World Tour Winner.

Photo: RĂŠmy Gros

GUO YUE

Guo Yue There is no doubt, in the world of female table tennis, Anshan rules; arguably it is the most potent breeding ground for players on planet earth.

Both Guo Yue and Li Xiaoxia are from the town. Both have major titles to their credit; Li Xiaoxia is the reigning Olympic and World Women’s Singles champion, whilst in harness with Guo Yue, she owns the Women’s Doubles World Championship crown alongside Women’s Team titles at both the Olympic Games and World Championships.

Anshan is situated in Liaoning province in north east of China; the province that spawned the legendary Wang Nan, the player who has won more gold medals at World Championships and Olympic Games than anyone else in modern table tennis history.

GUO YUE

It is where the skills of STIGA’s Guo Yue were nurtured; the young lady who when only 19 years won the Women’s Singles title at the World Championships in 2007 beating Li Xiaoxia in the final. Success in 2007 in Zagreb, Guo Yue started her quest to equal or better the record of Wang Nan as the most successful player of all time. Now the record for Guo Yue stands at ten gold medals in World Championships and two at the Olympic Games; she is fifth on the list of title holders at the two major tournaments when taking into account achievements gained since table tennis made its debut at the Seoul Olympic Games in 1988.

She shares fifth place with Ma Lin, who comes from which province? Liaoning, of course! Incredibly three of the six most successful players of the modern era have learned their skills in Liaoning.

Wang Nan 15 World Championship Titles + 4 Olympic Gold Medals = 19 Zhang Yining 10 World Championship Titles + 4 Olympic Gold Medals = 14 Deng Yaping 9 World Championship Titles + 4 Olympic Gold Medals = 13 Wang Liqin 11 World Championship Titles + 2 Olympic Gold Medals = 13 Guo Yue 10 World Championship Titles + 2 Olympic Games Medals = 12 Ma Lin 9 World Championship Titles + 3 Olympic Gold Medals = 12

GUO YUE

Guo Yue has now turned 25 years of age; in pursuit there is a new generation of title hungry girls. However, the petite left hander from Anshan will still remain amongst the world’s top players for some time. She possesses rhythmical balanced footwork, pure technique, a cool tactical mind (always a new serve in the most tense match situations) and an aggressively fast forehand top spin. If not in singles, definitely in doubles, she will remain a major force.

During the whole her career Guo Yue has never experienced a worse result than a silver medal in the Women’s Doubles event at a World Championships and on the most recent three occasions it has been gold.

In Paris, at the Liebherr 2013 World Championships, Guo Yue explained the work behind the Women’s Doubles gold medal. “We know each other back and forth, me and Li. We have been playing together in doubles for ten years and we are from the same city; this experience gives us a security at the table. We also stayed up until one o’clock at night to watch video before the finals. We analyzed our own game and watched our opponents in the finals, Ding Ning and Liu Shiwen. It was important for our performance. We felt we had done everything we could in our preparation.”

Major Titles: Olympics Games (two): Women’s Team 2008, Women’s Team 2012 World Championships (10): Women’s Team 2004, 2006, 2008, 2012; Women’s Singles 2007; Women’s Doubles 2009, 2011, 2013; Mixed Doubles 2005, 2007.

Photo: RĂŠmy Gros

FAN ZHENDONG

Fan Zhendong “The wonderkid” Rumours were ripe there was a new super talent in China, the most powerful since Ma Long but very few outside China had seen him perform. At the Volkswagen World Junior Championships in Hyderabad, India in December 2012 he introduced himself: Fan Zhendong and how he introduced himself!

Only 15 years old; three years younger than most of his major adversaries, he returned home with three gold medals – Boys’ Singles, Boys’ Team, Mixed Doubles.

“His level is very high”, were the thoughts of Simon Gauzy, the hope of Europe. The French junior star was overwhelmed by Fan Zhendong when they met at the semi-final stage of the Boys’ Team event. Gauzy estimated the playing standard to be that of a player in the top 20 of the men’s world rankings.

FAN ZHENDONG

Following the success in Hyderabad, the progress of Fan Zhendong has been vertically jet propelled. He has signed with STIGA and is now in the exclusive elite group in the Chinese national team alongside the likes of Zhang Jike, Wang Hao, Ma Long and Xu Xin. A further indication of his quite meteoric rise is that he was one of the seven Chinese players selected to compete in the Men’s Singles event at the Liebherr World Championships in Paris in May 2013.

Furthermore, he acquitted himself well; he reached the round of the last 32 before losing to the champion elect, Zhang Jike.

Furthermore, at Asian Championships in July 2013 Fan Zhendong gained a vote of confidence from Liu Guoliang, the head coach of the Chinese men’s team. He was selected to play in the quarter-finals of the men’s team event against India and the final where Japan provided the opposition. China duly won the event beating Japan three-nil in the final. Fan Zhendong concluded matters by overcoming Seiya Kishikawa.

The effect was that when the Men’s World Rankings for July 2013 were issued, Fan Zhendong made the incredible leap from no.33 to no.9! Has any 16 year old every possessed to such an exalted high status, probably not!

Already, even though still a teenager, Fan Zhendong is very much the complete player. He is strong from both backhand and forehand; his honed leg muscles, powerful thighs enable him to explode mighty strokes from

FAN ZHENDONG

a well-balanced position. He evaluates the situation to perfection reacting with speed, power and precision as the situation requires.

In the very essence of table tennis he excels; he serves well and receives service will, always with high quality, either by imparting heavy backspin on the return or by employing the modern day banana flip return where the ball bounces sideways when making contacting at the opponent’s side of the table. There is more, he has a superb feeling for the ball and he is creative displaying a maturity beyond his years.

Equally, Fan Zhendong has a calculated mental approach; he remains calm, focused, unruffled and not vulnerable to psychological warfare. A strong self-confidence is evident, there are no signs of frustration when making an error; he displays a maturity beyond his years, he is a revelation.

Major Titles: World Junior Championships (three): Boys’ Team, Boys’ Singles and Mixed Doubles.

Extra Multiple World Tour Winner.

KJELL JOHANSSON

Kjell Johansson “The Hammer” Kjell “The Hammer” Johansson was the first Swedish table tennis super star. He made his breakthrough in 1964 in Malmö; 18 years old at the time, he won his first gold medal at the European Championships, the men’s singles title.

Hardly ever has the expression “breakthrough” suited an athlete in any discipline more accurately; Kjell Johansson possessed a forehand smash, the power of which the table tennis world had never previously witnessed. It was spectacular and devastating, in an era when many national team players and medal winners were primarily defensive in style, attacking only on rare occasions.

KJELL JOHANSSON

In Malmö, “The Hammer” not only broke through as a player; also, he jettisoned table tennis itself into a modern more attacking and speedy age. Furthermore, Kjell Johansson impinged himself in the consciousness of all sports interested Swedes. It was the infancy of television, at home sporting enthusiasts could witness at first-hand, how “The Hammer” unleashed blows that forced opponents to walk downcast to the edge of the court to retrieve the ball. The blows were so dynamic that the naked eye could not follow the ball, the impact noise on the court surround told the tale.

Malmö 1964 was the beginning of a very successful career for Kjell Johansson. At the World Championships “The Hammer” won the men’s doubles title on three occasions, whilst twice securing gold in the men’s team event. Equally at the European Championships his record has stood the test of time. He collected no less than ten gold medals, in addition to a whole host of titles in international tournaments.

At the beginning of the 1970s, he held the top spot on the men’s world rankings on more than one occasion; his popularity in Sweden was huge. He was a sportsman in the traditional mode and an idol of the young. Kjell Johansson was the role model for a whole generation of emerging table tennis players; in particular the posse of Swedes who won the men’s team event at the World Championships in 1989, beating China five-nil in the final.

Throughout the career of Kjell Johansson there was a close understanding with STIGA. The company started to co-operate with the Swedish Table Tennis Association the

KJELL JOHANSSON

1940s but it was during the first half of the 1970s that table tennis enjoyed an enormous boom in Sweden. The boom was due to three principal reasons. Economic progress played its role but the major injection came as a result of the success of Kjell Johansson and Stellan Bengtsson, allied to the high quality products produced by STIGA and its marketing strategies.

In almost every villa basement there was a STIGA table tennis table, as well as in schools and sports halls. Kjell Johansson was contracted by STIGA during whole his career and worked for the company when he retired from active play. During his halcyon years, the financial rewards in the contract were based on royalties, the number of rackets sold with his name on an annual basis. The racket with the straight handle proved a great success; it made Kjell Johansson one of the best paid sportsmen in Sweden.

Major Titles: World Championships (four): Men’s Team 1973; Men’s Doubles 1967, 1969, and 1973.

European Championships (ten): Men’s Team 1964, 1966, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1974; Men’s Singles 1964 and 1966; Men’s Doubles 1966 and 1976

Photo: Manfred Schillings

ULF CARLSSON

Ulf Carlsson “Tickan” Ulf Carlsson became nationally famous as “Tickan” when in front of live television cameras, aged only 19 years, he won the Men’s Singles title at the Swedish Open. Already contracted to STIGA, he beat China’s top player at the time Guo Yuehua, to arrest the title.

Five years later “Tickan” became the Men’s World Doubles champion, a fighter at heart, totally committed to the cause with a personality that exuded authority; straight talking, honest, sincere, a wry sense of humour but above all a natural leader.

ULF CARLSSON

A successful playing career, Ulf Carlsson has become one of the world´s most well respected table tennis coaches.

Time and again he has motivated his charges to climb greater heights than could have been anticipated. One of the best examples came in Manchester in 1977 when Jan-Ove Waldner played arguably the best table tennis of his career; he won the Men’s Singles title at the World Championships without surrendering a single individual game.

The motivational skills of Ulf Carlsson are also evident when team competition is in question; the total sum equals more than the individual’s recognized merits. In 1995 he led the Swedish women to a sensational fifth place at the team event at the World Championships, before five years later at the World Team Championships in Kuala Lumpur performing nothing short of a miracle.

He created a belief in the minds of Jan-Ove Waldner, Jörgen Persson and Peter Karlsson that enabled the golden trio to strain every sinew to breaking point, as they sensationally beat China in the men’s final. The success equaled that of Dortmund in 1989; in Kuala Lumpur China fielded a team whose members were at the very zenith of their careers. On the contrary, the Swedish trio had all passed the 30 year milestone; all were perceived to be past their best.

Now, once again “Tickan” is back at the helm; his task is to bring Swedish table tennis back to the top, to be amongst the very best; he has a big heart, no doubt he will succeed.

ULF CARLSSON

Major Titles: World Championships (one) : Men’s Doubles 1985 European Championships (two) : Men’s Team 1980 and 1986

Photo: RĂŠmy Gros

JEAN-MICHEL SAIVE

Jean-Michel Saive “The entertainer” Jean-Michel Saive has always been a fighter beyond the norm. At the peak of his career in the early 1990s, there was no player who exuded so much sweat and effort as fought for every point, often waging war from nearer the courts surrounds than the table. No-one was more vocal after winning important points, no-one leapt in the air in celebration in the extrovert manner of the Belgian legend.

Simply the crowd adored his efforts. Wherever he played the crowds flocked to applaud his efforts; when Jean-Michel Saive played it was always a show, always a spectacular. It could be fascinating balloon top spin lobs away from the table. It could be heavy explosive top spins from both backhand and forehand, blows that took the breath out of the ball when bouncing and flying in the air.

Most of all it was the expression, the honest, naked, true.

More than any other player Jean-Michel Saive has demonstrated to the crowd an air of humanity; sincere feelings, true to the heart.

JEAN-MICHEL SAIVE

Results came his way; he won the Men’s Singles title at the European Championships in 1994 in Birmingham, one year after his loss to Jean-Philippe in the World Championships final in Gothenburg. It was a popular win in England’s second city and back home in Belgium he became even more popular, not only amongst the table tennis fraternity but in the wider gambit of sport; he ascended to the status of celebrity.

He was named Sports Personality of the Year in 1994.

It was a year when he was extremely difficult to beat.

The list of titles is remarkable. In addition to securing the top step of the podium in the men’s singles event at the European Championships, he enjoyed success at the Europe Top 12, in the European League with Belgium and in the Europe Club Cup of Champions with La Villette Charleroi. The success lifted him to the very top position on the Men’s World Rankings; he rose to the pole position in February 1994 and maintained the exalted position until June 1995.

Meanwhile in 1996 and 2004 at the Olympic Games, Jean-Michel Saive carried the Belgium flag at the opening ceremony. He has participated at all seven Olympics since table tennis became an official Olympic sport in 1988. It is an achievement matched by only three players, Sweden’s Jörgen Persson and Croatia’s Zoran Primorac, Croatia.

Jörgen Persson has now definitely ended his active playing career but both Saive and Primorac continue. Will it be an eight Olympics for Saive?

JEAN-MICHEL SAIVE

“I love the sport and I still enjoy playing”, said the 44 year old, who now works as technical director for the French section of the Belgian Table Tennis Federation. “It is a good feeling for me to give something back to Belgian table tennis but the job also means a lot of meetings, meetings over and over again; these meetings make me restless.

If I do not get an opportunity to move I go crazy!”

Jean-Michel Saive still plays some three or four times each week and follows a physical training routine. Will it be one more Olympics? “I have not decided yet; last time before London I felt under heavy pressure in the qualification stage and that bad feeling I would not like to experience again”, said Jean-Michel Saive. “Frankly, I do not think I am ready for such a decision yet, I continue to play and then we will see; anyway, I do not want to feel that if I eat some chocolate cakes I have a bad conscious!”

Major Titles: European Championships (one): Men’s Singles 1994.

Extra: 25 times Belgium men’s single Champion..