Member Associations | 18 Mar 2019

European champion from 1984 Ulf BENGTSSON passes away

It is with great sadness that the death of Ulf BENGTSSON is announced. Ulf BENGTSSON was born on 26 January 1960 and he passes away on Sunday morning 17 March following a period of illness.

 

BENGTSSON had a long and very successful career and to a great extent he has contributed to what is usually called "the Swedish ping wonder".

 

From 1983 to 1988 he won several medals in singles, doubles, and team events at the European Championships, two silver medals with the Swedish team in the World Table Tennis Championships, he also achieved the third place at the Table Tennis World Cup in 1984

 

At the European Championship in Moscow in 1984 BENGTSSON created a sensational upset in the final where he was opposed to Poland's great star, Andrzej GRUBBA (1958-2005). GRUBBA was a clear favorite beforehand but BENGTSSON played brilliantly and also showed the nerves of steal by managing to beat a wildly struggling and increasingly frustrated Grubba. The table tennis classic concluded by 21-19 in the fifth and crucial game.

 

Although he was a European champion, Ulf Bengtsson never managed to win gold in Sweden’s National Championships, which says very much about the incredible competition that prevailed in Swedish table tennis at that time. However, BENGTSSON at home was considered as a very strong and good team player.