German star Dimitrij Ovtcharov speaks during a press conference held in Doha yesterday.
DOHA: Germany’s Dimitrij Ovtcharov said competing at Qatar Open provided players the perfect platform to prepare for next month’s ITTF World Championships in Budapest.
The ongoing Qatar Open event at Ali Bin Al Attiyah Arena is featuring the cream of the table tennis world in singles, doubles and the mixed doubles competitions.
The 2019 World Table Tennis Championships will be held in Budapest from April 21 to 28.
It will be the 55th edition of the championships and the fourth time to be staged in Budapest.
“This is a mini-world championship before the World Championships in Budapest next month and I’m ready to compete,” Ovtcharov, ranked 14 in the world, said ahead of day three of the Qatar Open.
“I’m ready to face all the challenges and I expect to be in advanced stages of the competition,” he said. Last month Ovtrachov won the ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup in Montreux in Switzerland.
“I hope all teams qualify for the World Cup, but in my personal opinion, the fewer the World Cup qualifiers, the better the success of the game in general,” he added.
On the superiority of the German players in recent times, Ovtcharov said: “The best year for the German team was in 2017 when we were able to achieve a lot. Germany wishes to maintain this classification but the injuries to players have denied us. I wish I can regain that winning form soon.”
Ovtcharov said the Chinese grip on the game is loosening after many decades.
“The great Chinese superiority in this game has been broken in several tournaments in recent years and I personally achieved the world title last year. This helped relatively break the Chinese hegemony in the sport,” Ovtcharov said.
“I think the next generation teams include Korea Republic, Japan and some of the European teams can truly break the Chinese dominance,” he added.
“I really like to pay tribute to the Chinese table tennis family - the way the players prepare for the tournaments, the processing of including young players for all competitions and its great efforts to reach the highest levels in this game,” Ovtcharov said.
“This is something that counts a lot in the way they dominate the sport,” he said.
“This dominance is a double-edged sword because it has a negative view as it sometimes cuts the way for the rest of the teams, and a positive point of view, because last year when two Chinese players were in the final, everyone saw a great game that was the best publicity for the game,” he said.
Ovtcharov said Qatar’s hospitality made things easier in the ‘tough competition.
“I am very happy to be in Qatar because it is the best country in the world to organize these tours. I always have a good sense of it through the facilities I get to see, the overall organization and the hospitality from the hosts makes it a memorable experience for all the delegates,” Ovtcharov said.
When asked if Doha could host the World Championships in the future, he said: “Qatar can host the next World Cup in table tennis and I really hope it returns to Doha again. I’m not exaggerating when I say that I dream about it. I have talked about this with many officials that Qatar can host World Championships so why not. I personally wish to see this big event here as soon as possible.”
Meanwhile, Croatia’s Andrej Gacina, ranked 61 in the world, was thrilled to have reached the round of 32 at the five-day championship.
“I am looking to go as far as possible,” Gacina said. “We have extremely strong competition here but I and my team mates are looking forward to going further in the championship,” the 32-yera-old added.
“Having said that, I must add that I take a step-by-step approach for each game. That’s how you tackle a high level competition like this,” he said. “Qatar Open is one of the best events and it feels good to play here. Doha can certainly host top events, especially the World Championships, at any time,” he added.
