In the history of national table tennis, I have encountered many opponents. Among them, the strongest is the Grand Slam Waldner, but there is another person beside old . Ignored top athletes, he has won the world championship 7 times and beat Chen Longcan, Wang Tao, Liu Guoliang, Kong Linghui, Ma Lin Liuspan, , etc. China The main force of the team, the strength is obvious to all.
But unfortunately, such a master has never won an Olympic medal. Even though he has participated in 7 competitions, 2 of which reached the semi-finals, he eventually lost to the national table tennis player. The Grand Slam is only one step away, and finally left with eternal regret.
This former mega-table tennis player is from Sweden and his name is Jörgen Persson (Jörgen PERSSON)-do you remember him?
On April 22, 1966, Persson was born in Halmstad, southern Sweden. At that time, the Swedish table tennis team had gradually risen with the help of the Japanese. As a result, Persson was exposed to the sport at a very young age, and soon showed extraordinary talents, and then won the world champion Johansson (foreign) Under the guidance of "Hammer"), technology has developed by leaps and bounds.
Just when Waldner, who was 1 year older than himself, began to gain fame, Persson also became a star of hope in the Swedish table tennis world, and the two were also from the north and south of Sweden, quite Jin Yong_ The taste of "Southern Emperor and Northern Beggar" in span6span martial arts novels.
At the age of 18, after witnessing Sweden’s repeated defeats to the Chinese team, Persson made a bold statement: "Chinese players are not invincible.If I can get the best use of my skills, if I can draw a good lot in the group, if I have better luck in the game, I can become a world champion!
Persson’s promise became a reality when he was 23 years old-in 1989 Dortmund World Table Tennis Championships, the Swedish team beat the national table tennis 5-0 in the men’s team competition, Won the championship gold medal; shortly afterwards, Persson won four consecutive Chinese team players in the men’s singles competition, and finally met with Waldner in the final, staged a wonderful 5-games battle (the year was five sets of three. Winning system).
Although Persson lost to his brother that time, but two years later, he made a comeback, swept Lao 3-0 at the 1991 World Table Tennis Championships in Chiba to win the championship, and also won the World Cup singles in the same year. The champion, just one step away from the Grand Slam title, and at the same time became the world's number one player, and the well-deserved "strongest on the surface" table tennis player.
But soon, he flourished and declined.
As early as 1988, when Persson participated in the Olympics for the first time, he fell into the sand, and lost to the later champion Liu Nankui in the quarter-finals. In the 1992 Olympics, he was also defeated by the national table tennis player Ma Wenge. Swept the elimination 3-0; In the 1996 Olympics, Persson lost even more horribly, losing to Brazil's Hugo in the group stage, and ultimately failed to reach the top 16.
In 2000, Persson ushered in his career. In his second climax, he won Kong Linghui and Liu Guoliang in a row at the team World Table Tennis Championships, and scored 2 points to help the Swedish team defeat the National Table Tennis Championship again. A few months later, he reversed and eliminated the National Table Tennis star 3-1 at the Sydney Olympics. Liu Guozheng made it to the semi-finals of the men's singles for the first time.
Unfortunately, Persson failed to regain his prestige. First he lost 1-3 to Kong Linghui, then lost 1-3 to Liu Guoliang, and finally watched. With the above two people and Lao Wa on the last podium in the 38mm small ball era. At this time, Persson is 34 years old and is considered a veteran of the veterans, so if nothing else, he should never have a chance to get involved. Olympic medals.
However, the "accident" finally happened.
From 2000 to 2008, Persson did not achieve any decent results in 8 years, but he made it into the men's singles semi-finals again at the Beijing Olympics. At this time, he was 42 years old and was in the semi-finals at the time. Three of them are national table tennis players. No one thought that it was Persson who stood in the end against the Chinese team. It was incredible!
But at this time, Persson was also at the end of the battle. Faced with the obstacles of Wang Hao and Wang Liqin , he was really helpless, and finally passed the medal. In the battle between the third and fourth place, Person struggled to support his leg strain and fell to the ground in pain and did not give up. The audience also responded with warm applause to him: although he did not win. Competition, but he is honored to lose!
In 2012, Persson appeared in the Olympics for the 7th time. Even though he was eliminated without making any waves this time, who cares about the result? Persson has touched all table tennis fans with his persistence, and in the end he also waved goodbye to applause without taking away a cloud.
In 2021, Persson led the team for the first time in the Olympic Games as the head coach of the Swedish team, but failed to achieve good results. And before and after this, he also broke out serious conflicts with his subordinates: As a former veteran representative, Persson insisted on reusing young players, but was questioned by veteran K. Carlsson, and as of the date of publication, the two The antagonism between them has not disappeared.
Perhaps Persson no longer wants the situation of "no general in the military, and Liao Hua as the vanguard" once again, perhaps he hopes to become the last "evergreen tree" of his team, and he hopes that the Swedish men's table tennis will also There can be countless young teenagers emerging like the Chinese team, so will all this be realized? Let us wait and see together: Come on, old rivals, old friends!
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