Yesterday, Moregard was eliminated by Xiang Peng 3-4, ending this Grand Slam tour. At the same time, the head coach of the Sweden men's team, Jörgen · Perssen, who accompanied him in the game, announced his departure and ended his coaching career with the Sweden national team.
As a meritorious coach who accompanied Xiao Mo to win two silver medals in the Olympics and the runner-up in the World Table Tennis Championships, he accompanied Moregard for a long time. Therefore, many fans are curious, where will Xiao Mo go after the head coach leaves?
Persson is not renewing his contract with Sweden
Persson has won the 91 World Table Tennis Championships and the World Cup singles championship, and is also the first world No. 1 (men's table tennis) after the introduction of the ranking system in table tennis, and is only one Olympic champion away from the Grand Slam.
His achievements in the past few years have been equally impressive, making outstanding contributions to Sweden table tennis and breaking a long-dormant record.
Persson officially started his coaching career in 19, but initially as an assistant coach before taking over as Sweden head coach a year later. Unfortunately, when he took over, it happened to catch up with the epidemic, and the game was cut back a lot.
This is his fourth year as a head coach, and he has always felt that the best time to be a coach is three or four years, and all kinds of problems will come out if there are more. So before the Paris Olympics, he was ready to retire after the games.
As an external coach of table tennis, he has achieved achievements that countless coaches have not been able to achieve. Table tennis is a sport that is "monopolized" by China, and it is even more difficult for foreigners to win the championship, and even winning the runner-up is a luxury for them.
Persson took Moregard to shine in Paris, watching him defeat the world's first king Chuqin and defeat Hugo to reach the men's singles final.
The last time Sweden reached the men's singles semi-finals was at the '08 Beijing Olympics, 16 years ago, and it was this coach who reached the semi-finals, which is also his best result in seven Olympic games.
This time in the Paris Olympics, Xiao Mo not only broke into the men's singles semifinals, but also went all the way to the final and won the runner-up.
Later, he teamed up with his teammates to defeat the Japan team, leading Sweden men's table tennis to the team final for the first time in history, and finally won the valuable team silver medal.
In this Chinese Grand Slam, Moregaard, an athlete trained by Persson, became the last foreign player, and almost won Xiang Peng to enter the men's singles semifinals, and the two once scored 20-18 yesterday.
Compared with other foreign coaches, Persson has won the highest glory of his coaching career, which has made many foreign assistants cast envious eyes.
Give a farewell speech
Before the start of this Grand Slam, Persson said that he would not renew his contract with the Sweden team, so this Grand Slam is not only his last stop with Xiao Mo and other Sweden players, but also his farewell match.
Because of this, the Sweden players fought hard in this China competition, perhaps to leave the best memory for Persson.
When Xiao Mo played in the men's singles 1/4 match last night, he stood outside the court to guide. With Xiao Mo missing the semi-finals, his coaching career also came to a successful end. At that time, the audience stood up and applauded the great "meritorious coach" to say goodbye.
Before stepping down, he gave a farewell speech on the WTT stage, admitting that he was tired of being the head coach and almost exhausted all his energy, so he wanted to relax and relax and not renew his contract (which expires on September 30).
However, Persson also said bluntly: Although he is no longer the head coach of Sweden, he cannot do without table tennis, so he may hold relevant positions in the Sweden Table Tennis Association in the future, and may also participate in the table tennis training of Sweden youth, cultivate more excellent players for Sweden, and also maintain the table tennis project for a long time.
Sometimes I wonder, will these outsourcing coaches and athletes love table tennis more than we do?
They know that they can't win against China, and they know that they are hitting stones with eggs, but they still rush forward again and again, if they don't really love anyone, how can they persist for a few years, more than ten years, or even decades.
Fortunately, the last game of his coaching career ended in China, and Chinese fans know the ball and love the ball, and they also respect and admire every opponent who plays cleanly.
That's why so many people were reluctant when he left office, and he also threw the signed rubber sheet to the audience before leaving, and also sent a parting gift to the audience, leaving the last blessings and expectations in China.
What's next for Moregard?
After Persson's departure, fans are most worried about Moregard's future, after all, under Persson's guidance, his skills are getting better and better, and he has repeatedly refreshed his best record.
What athletes are most afraid of is to change coaches frequently, especially top players, and every time a coach changes it means that they have to re-run in, re-cultivate feelings and trust, which will more or less affect the state of athletes.
Now is the time for Moregard to emerge at an important juncture, and losing Persson is definitely a big loss for him. If the coach who succeeded him in the future does not have a real level, then it may be difficult for Xiao Mo to play in the Paris Olympics or even this Grand Slam tournament.
After the end of this competition, Xiao Mo will be like a child without parents for a period of time in the future, which Sun Yingsha deeply feels.
After Sun Yingsha's former head coach left, she had no coach for nearly a year and a half, so she could only record the game by herself and then review it, and it was then that she developed the habit of coaching herself.
If it weren't for the enlightenment coach of the Hebei team a year and a half later, she ran to the national team to ask for Coach Qiu Yike, I don't know how long she would have to fight alone.
In the same way, Xiao Mo may also face a period of "coaching window". But now he's a good player, it's better to have a coach, it's not too bad to have it.
Persson: Let the Chinese team feel the pressure
The Sino-Swiss confrontation in the Olympic men's singles final was not only the first time that Sweden had reached the final, but also the most tense for the national table tennis team.
China and Switzerland face each other on the field, but the two coaches Persson and Liu Guoliang are sympathetic, and the two played each other 24 years ago. This time, the Parisian two hugged each other tightly in the players' tunnel, and at this time they were not only rivals but also friends.
In an interview after the game, Persson said that Sweden had made the Chinese team feel the pressure, and he saw that Liu Guoliang was soaked in the final, and sweat was more than the athletes on the field. Fortunately, in the end, China withstood the pressure and won 3-0 Sweden and achieved five consecutive Olympic team championships.
In fact, most of the foreign associations love and hate China, and without China, there would be no table tennis today, but with China, their road to promotion is always a little difficult.
However, with the emergence of "wolf raising tactics", the foreign association has become more and more powerful in recent years, which has also put huge pressure on national table tennis. Only there is pressure to be motivated, and only healthy competition can push table tennis to have a longer-term future.