Samsonov, 45, decided to retire, just two days after he announced his retirement from the Tokyo Olympics.
Samsonov retired, in fact, he already had a premonition, and he did not participate in the previous European Championships. Not long ago, Samsonov won a men's singles ticket to the Tokyo Olympics with the advantage of rankings, and many people were waiting for the 45-year-old veteran to play in the Olympic Games for the seventh time. From Atlanta in 1996 to Tokyo in 2021, it is an honor to play in the Olympic Games seven times in 25 years.
However, in the end, Samsonov lost to injury and age, and he failed to complete the feat of participating in the Olympic Games seven times like Croatia's Primorats, Sweden's Person, Belgium's Sever and Nigeria's Toriola.
Samsonov first competed at the Olympics in 1996, when he was only 20 years old. In June, Samsonov said: "I have always wanted to win an Olympic medal, and although this dream has not yet been realized, perhaps this dream has given me the motivation to continue to persevere." If you want to achieve something, you have to work hard, there is no other way. Samsonov, 45, also said that as he gets older, he may lose some strength and speed, but on the other hand, he has also learned other things, such as how to adapt to the game environment faster.
At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Samsonov was just one step away from the medal, and he lost to Mizutani Hayabusa in the men's singles bronze medal match, which was his closest to the medal. There are always some regrets in life, but Samsonov's career can still be described as brilliant, as the former "Three Tigers of Europe", he single-handedly fought against several generations of national table tennis players, experienced Wang Tao, Kong Linghui, Liu Guoliang, Wang Liqin, Ma Lin, Zhang Jike, Ma Long, Xu Xin, Fan Zhendong... Several generations of Chinese players have also survived from "Xiao Sa" to "Lao Sa".
Beginning in 1995, Samsonov won the Men's Table Tennis World Cup three times in his 26-year career, with marlene and Fan Zhendong winning more than him. Samsonov has 27 tour titles, and only Marlon is the one who has more than him. Samsonov's world rankings also came to the top spot in the world at one point. Under the impact of generations of national table tennis players, Samsonov has always been the backbone of Europe, and in 2009, at the age of 33, he was able to win the World Cup. In 2019, the 43-year-old Samsonov also won the European Round of 16 championship, which can be said to be old and strong.
Samsonov's retirement evokes many memories of Waldner, Primorats, Person, Roskov, Sever, Szlag, Jushih, Yoo Seung-min and other former national table tennis opponents. Many players in Europe have a long career, and Waldner, Perlson, etc. also insisted until they could no longer continue to play before choosing to leave. At the Tokyo Olympics, 40-year-old German veteran Bohr will play for the Olympics for the sixth time, and he has just won the European Championships men's singles title for the eighth time not long ago. Ball has also been away from the international arena for more than a year, but his long participation at the club has guaranteed competitive status, and although Bohr has not performed well in the Olympic singles field, he still hopes to win a medal in Tokyo.
Some people say that all persistence does not necessarily pay off, but there is nothing wrong with persistence. But there should be another interpretation of this sentence, persistence will definitely have a result, and according to the result, the next persistence will be decided. For example, 58-year-old Ni Xialian once again stood on the stage of the Olympic Games.