At the age of 44 and 17, two European players with a huge age difference, entered the Paris Olympics
With the Paris 2024 Olympic Games just around the corner, many table tennis players around the world are racing to qualify for the Olympics.
At the Olympic European Singles Qualifying Tournament, four players stood out. A 44-year-old dentist, a 17-year-old guy who has just been sick for a week, and a new Dutch mom player who has finished maternity leave, it is commendable to get tickets.
Britt Elland of the Netherlands returned from maternity leave to compete in the Olympics for the third time.
Anna Hussey of England, 17, will be competing in the Olympics for the first time.
The first two tickets for the men's singles at the European European Singles Qualifying Tournament were booked by Greece's Panagiotis Gionis and Poland's Miłosz Rezmski. For Gionis, it will be his sixth Olympics, while the 17-year-old Rezmsky is playing in his first Olympics.
In the Olympic ticket match, the 44-year-old dentist Gionis defeated Slovakia's Wang Yang in straight games (12:10, 11:5, 11:8, 14:12). He also defeated Ireland's Alexander Guillen, Italy's Niago Stoyanov and Belgium's Martin Allegro without a loss. Belgium's Cedric NUYTINICK took a round from the Greek, while only Ukraine's Yaroslav ZHMUDENKO forced him to finish the race.
In 2004, Gionis competed in the Athens Olympics for the first time. In order to compete in the Olympics again in 2024, Gionis carried the same flag used by the Greek team to win silver at the 2013 European Championships in Schwechat before the qualifying round: "Maybe I'm a little superstitious, but it's always nice to see the Greek flag. ”
Gionis: "This match in Sarajevo was the most difficult qualification for me. First because of my age, then because I had a very difficult season. I've had a lot of injuries in the last two years. I was forced to stop for four months, then another five. I was left out of the world rankings and my chances of competing in the Olympics were very slim. I tried to play in the tournament but I couldn't catch up. We had a very intense day here and I can say it was the most exciting race for me. However, I knew it was my only chance, so I prepared a good strategy with my coach Kostas VATSAKLIS. I trained in Düsseldorf for a while. Most importantly, experience has taught me that you have to release stress; Otherwise, playing seven games in three days is a very difficult task. ”
Rezmsky admits that he doesn't have much hope for qualifying: "Coming here, I've been sick for a week. I didn't practice and was in terrible physical condition. But I pulled myself together. ”
Poland's 17-year-old Milosz REDZIMSKI will make his Olympic debut later this summer. During the match, the Polish player showed no fear and showed the maturity needed to secure his place in Paris. In the final match of the event, he defeated Spain's Alvaro ROBLES in five games (5:11, 11:5, 11:7, 11:9, 14:12).
Rezmski: "Yesterday I was stressed out and knew what was going to happen next, but I managed to get a good night's sleep and come to the venue early to warm up. I'm glad I managed to turn my fortunes around. I started out exactly like the fights I lost, and I ended up forcing myself to change my tactics to get the comeback victory. ”
Ping Pong Hu Qingyuan