Ovtcharov optimistic to beat China at world team championships

By Oliver Trust

BERLIN, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- World No. 1 Dimitrij Ovtcharov is confident to possibly beat title holders China at the 2018 World Table Tennis Championships in Halmstadt, Sweden, at the end of April.

"Maybe we have a much better chance to beat the Chinese team this year than we had in the last five or six years," the 29-year-old German said in an interview with the Nuremberg based sports magazine "kicker."

To beat the exceptional quality of the Chinese, usually three top players are needed, Ovtcharov commented. "But when Timo Boll and I can give 120 percent in such a tournament we might be able to achieve a surprising success," he was quoted as saying.

The Kiev-born 2017 World Cup winner emphasized he is still amazed by the Chinese level and the people's enthusiasm about table tennis and its stars.

Ovtcharov confirmed he is relying on Chinese support when preparing for the championships as he invites Chinese players ranked narrowly below the national team level for his training sessions.

"Sometimes I get help from the German association to get Chinese training partners. But I know many of them since I played in the Chinese Super League. Therefore I am happy to invite them to train," Ovtcharov said.

He admitted benefiting widely from training with Chinese partners. "You can adjust your own game to their catchy racket coverings. You get to know their training system better and their training frequency. They know all about table tennis and training. It's not by chance that China is the leading nation in table tennis," he stressed.

Ovtcharov said he is extremely proud to be the world's number one. He is the second German after Timo Boll conquered the top position in 2013.

To be at the top feels like an essential international title to him. Having beaten China's Fan Zhendong at the 2017 German Open was a kind of breakthrough. "He is one of the best and is regarded as nearly unbeatable. To beat such an institution gave me the confidence to be near that outstanding level and proved I can make it."

Despite the recent success, changes might be needed to improve public interest in table tennis in Germany, Ovtcharov stressed. "Other than Chinese stars, we can more or less walk on the street and live a normal life. Chinese stars can't just walk out on the street as fans know them well," the top German player commented.

To cause more attention, it might be necessary to implement a "sudden death" finish in the future. "To have a sudden death situation at 10-10 could cause more attention and make the game more interesting for German fans," he assumed. He does not support plans to change table tennis entirely but favors slight innovation. Ovtcharov demanded more TV time in Germany.

"Maybe we have to address the needs of modern times and provide more entertainment. On the other hand, the current table tennis is working well in China and Japan," he said.

Ovtcharov said he was always happy about a lot of training when he was young. When he made progress, his father rewarded him with a bouncy ball. "I was smaller than most of my friends and started to practice on the kitchen table with smaller books in the middle replacing the net. Later we had a regular table in the basement, but my father still had to lower it considering my height."