European Championships | 18 Sep 2023

Germany Maintains Dominance in European Table Tennis Team Event

Even without three of the strongest German male players, Germany remains the leading nation in the European Championships team event. The Germans have continued their streak of having at least one team in the final, which started in 1994 and was only interrupted in 2005 in Aarhus (DEN) when both the men's and women's teams were halted in the quarterfinals, both defeated by Romania.

Since 2013, Romania has been the only team to defeat the German women at a European team Championship. Having won the last three in a row, the German women are one step closer to equaling the all-time record of four consecutive wins by a women's team. This record is currently held by the Netherlands, winners in 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011. The record for the men is still held by Sweden, who won six in a row from 1964 to 1972 and another four in a row from 1984 to 1992.

In a team event, it is challenging to determine who the best individual player is. At the 2023 STUPA European Table Tennis Championships in Malmö, nine players remained unbeaten in at least three individual matches. The best record was achieved by Felix LEBRUN (France, 7-0), followed by Nina MITTELHAM (Germany), Shan Xiaona (Germany), and Tamas LAKATOS (Hungary), all with 6-0, and Jonathan GROTH (Denmark, 5-0). NI Xialian (Luxembourg), Martin ALLEGRO (Belgium), and HAN Ying (Germany) all had a 4-0 record. Remarkable results were also achieved by Truls MOREGAARD (Sweden, 9-1), Bernadette SZOCS (Romania, 8-1), and SHAO Jieni (Portugal, 8-1).

Photo: Manfred SCHILLINGS, DTTB