Germany wins gold medal in table tennis men’s team tournament
Germany beat Sweden 3-1 and succesfully defended European Games title that they won 4 years ago at previous Games in Minsk. Third place belonged to France who beat Portugal 3-2.
Only the first match of the final was won by Sweden – it was a double. Next three singles fell to Germany who were the best side in men’s table tennis tournament during European Games Kraków – Małopolska 2023.
National coach Jörg ROSSKOPF commented, “The doubles match very close. All the matches were at a very high level, with great rallies. Franz’s match against Kristian was particularly important, and Dang also played with great focus after the doubles. Dima certainly played his best match here in Krakow against Anton. It was a great final and it demonstrates that we are still the number one team in Europe.”
Dang QIU remarked, “It was the tough match we expected against Sweden. I believe Franz’s win was incredibly important, and it was highly competitive. Sweden deserved to win as well. However, in the end, Dima did what he does best, which is to close the game! We are very happy that we won. We are the number one team in Europe and we wanted to maintain our position!”
Truls MOREGARDH, Sweden’s leader said it was not their day: „As a team we want to forget about this final as soon as possible. Germany are always a strong team, stronger than us unforunately. We will look forward to beating them in Malmo in European Championship“.
Germany – Sweden 3-1
Dmitrij OVTCHAROV / Patrick FRANZISKA – Truls MOREGARDH / Kristian KARSLSSON 1-3 (11-3, 9-11, 13-15, 8-11)
Danq QIU – Anton KALLBERG 3-0 (11-5, 11-9, 11-9)
Patrick FRANZISKA – Kristian KARLSSON 3-2 (6-11, 11-5, 11-13, 11-8, 11-9)
Dmitrij OVTCHAROV – Anton KALLBERG 3-0 (11-7, 11-8, 11-8)
France beat Portugal in a closely contested 3rd place-off 3-2.
France – Portugal 3-2
Alexis LEBRUN / Simon GAUZY – Marco FREITAS / Tiago APOLONIA 0-3 (10-12, 10-12, 3-11)
Felix LEBRUN – Joao GERALDO 3-0 (11-6, 11-6, 13-11)
Alexis LEBRUN – Tiago APOLONIA 1-3 (8-11, 11-4, 9-11, 11-13)
Felix LEBRUN – Marco FREITAS 3-1 (11-8, 9-11, 13-11, 11-7)
Simon GAUZY – Joao GERALDO 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-6)