The coming to an end of 2021 has a special meaning for many people, such as the 45-year-old Belarusian table tennis world champion and the old rival and old friend of the national table tennis - Samsonov.
On the eve of the opening of this year's Tokyo Olympics, the veteran who has been fighting with China for nearly three decades suddenly announced his retirement from the international arena, and just a few months ago, he said in an interview: "I have always wanted to win an Olympic medal, although I have not yet realized this dream, but perhaps this dream has given me the motivation to continue to persevere." 」 ”
Due to the report of the Belarusian Table Tennis Association, many people at that time mistakenly thought that Lao Sa was ready to retire completely, but he quickly denied this statement himself, because he was still in the battle sequence of the European Table Tennis League: it is clear that 2021 is not the end of his career!
Speaking of Samsonov, I believe it can evoke the precious memories of countless old fans. Yes, the veteran born in 1976 is the same age as Liu Guoliang, who rode the international arena as early as the early 1990s, and then participated in international competitions such as the World Table Tennis Championships, the World Cup, and the Olympic Games, winning countless honors.
Once upon a time, Samsonov was also seen as the successor of grand slam Waldner.
He has won four consecutive national table tennis main players (Ma Lin, Wang Liqin, Ding Song, Kong Linghui) to reach the final of the Men's Singles Of the World Table Tennis Championships, and has also defeated chinese and foreign masters (including Kong Linghui, Wang Liqin, Ma Long and others) three times to win the World Cup men's singles gold medal, and even reached the Olympic Men's Singles Final Four at the age of 40, and at the age of 44, he could beat lin Gaoyuan, the world champion of national table tennis.
So after the arrival of 2021, everyone believes that Samsonov will once again go to Tokyo to storm the Olympic medal as the only singles world champion born before 1980, but unfortunately, the sudden injury in early 2021 made him have to make an important choice in his life:
Is it to drag the sick body to continue to compete, or to turn around and leave the stage for the juniors?
Samsonov eventually chose the latter – perhaps he was not after results, but the feeling on the field, so he did not want to participate in the Olympics without even meeting the normal training and competition requirements: meticulous, it was Samsonov's attitude towards table tennis.
But Samsonov did not choose to retire, because table tennis has become a part of his life, so he continued to stay in the European business league.
Did he continue to play because he lacked money? Obviously not, after all, as a world champion-level athlete, Samsonov has a very high reputation in table tennis, has long been worry-free, and his club even bluntly said that the contract with Samsonov is "permanent".
So is he there to brush up on the sense of existence? Obviously not, after all, Samsonov has always been known as a "gentleman in the table tennis world", with a non-contentious personality, an extremely low-key behavior, and definitely not the kind of person who loves to be in the limelight.
Therefore, Lao Sa's persistence only has one reason, and only needs one reason, that is, the love of table tennis!
Although even in the Europa League, it is difficult for the old Sa to find his former prestige and lose a lot of goals, but no one will look down on him because of this - Samsonov won the European championship at the age of 20, became the world champion at the age of 23, and once stood at the peak of the continent and the world table tennis, why should we care about his current loss to age?
Veterans don't die, they just slowly wither.
There is no doubt that Samsonov's career is slowly withering away and will eventually come to an end. However, the classic shots and legends he created will be passed down, and these have become valuable assets in the table tennis world.
A tribute to Lao Sa, a tribute to all the legends of table tennis.