Dimitrij OVTCHAROV canceled his participation at PERFECT World Championships

Dimitrij’s substitute in Kuala Lumpur is Steffen MENGEL,

 

Only week before the start of the PERFECT 2016 World Team TT Championships in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (28 February – 6 March 2016) German team faced big upset. Dimitrij OVTCHAROV canceled his participation because of back problems – to be precise he pulled back muscle and has nerves irritation starting from the sacroiliac joint.

“In the next three weeks I will undergo an intensive rehab programme, hoping that Ill again be fully resilient afterwards, said Ovtcharov.

” In the next three weeks I will undergo an intensive rehab programme, hoping that again I will be fully resilient afterwards,” said OVTCHAROV.

The best ranked European player added:

“That is one of the toughest moments for me in my sporting career. After winning three silver medals in a row and great experiences at World Team Championships, this one is the first World Championships that I have to cancel since I debuted in 2007. This is, of course very sad moment for the team and for me , but I do not want to jeopardize my participation at the Olympics Games. Health is an absolute priority. Now is still very early and I hope to be in good shape for Rio”.

Dimitrij’s substitute is Steffen MENGEL who was part of the German silver medal-team in Tokyo two years ago.

Team of Germany

Timo BOLL (club: Borussia Düsseldorf, World Ranking: 9)
Bastian STEGER (SV Werder Bremen, 39)
Ruwen FILUS (TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell, 42)
Patrick FRANZISKA (Borussia Düsseldorf, 43)
Steffen MENGEL (TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt, 57), substituting Dimitrij Ovtcharov

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The European Table Tennis Union (ETTU) is the governing body of the sport of table tennis in Europe, and is the only authority recognized for this purpose by the International Table Tennis Federation. The ETTU deals with all matters relating to table tennis at a European level, including the development and promotion of the sport in the territories controlled by its 58 member associations, and the organization of continental table tennis competitions, including the European Championships.

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