(by Steve Hopkins)

Last week, 43 year old German table tennis star Timo Boll announced his retirement.  Boll will represent Germany this summer in Paris – his seventh Olympic Games.  He has already pocketed four medals, and will have opportunity to earn a fifth as he takes part in the team competition.

There has already been a passing of the torch in Germany with Dimitrij Ovtcharov, Dang Qiu, and Patrick Franziska all ranked ahead of him (and all younger).  Still, when creating a short list of the best non-Chinese players of the last fifty years, Boll will be near the top of most lists.  He was World No. 1, won the European Championships eight times, played 9 times at the World Championships, and the Borussia Dusseldorf squad that he has anchored for nearly two decades in both German League and Champions League play has had a run of success that rivals any dynasty across all sports.

Boll was a part of changing the game.  He was a two-winged looper at a time when most players were more focused on attacks from one side.  He uses an aggressive block, and many times has referenced his high-spin slow loop as a dangerous weapon.  Add in tricky serves, and the ability to make preserve rallies and make strong shots from all positions, and you have one of the best all-around table players of this era.  Boll has been a Butterfly players since 1997 (when he was the Table Tennis Junior Player of the Year), and has remained an important partner of the brand for his entire career.  He plans to continue to play next year with his Borussia Dusseldorf squad – but does not plan to compete in international competitions in the future.

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