Germany’s men’s table tennis team, led by the legendary Timo Boll, had been a consistent performer at the Olympics since the sport was introduced in Beijing in 2008. However, their streak of winning medals came to an end at the Paris Games. On August 6, the team faced Sweden and lost a close 3-2 match, which prevented them from reaching the semifinals. This loss also marked the end of Timo Boll’s distinguished career. Sweden, having won both the doubles match and a thrilling singles game against Germany, advanced to the semifinals where they competed against Japan. Japan had earlier secured their spot by overcoming a tough challenge from Taiwan with a 3-1 victory.

In a dramatic turn of events, the 43-year-old Boll showed remarkable resilience during his singles match against Sweden’s Anton Kallberg. Despite Kallberg winning the first two games, Boll fought back to win the fourth game and equalize the score. However, Kallberg ultimately secured the final game with a score of 11-9. An emotional Boll expressed respect for Sweden’s performance and admitted his disappointment at the early exit. Meanwhile, Japan’s success was highlighted by Shunsuke Togami and Hiroto Shinozuka’s win in the doubles and Tomokazu Harimoto’s crucial victory against Taiwan’s Lin Yun-Ju. However, Japan lost their semifinal match to Sweden, preventing them from advancing to the final. In other news, Germany’s women’s team progressed to the quarterfinals after a hard-fought 3-2 win against the United States. Additionally, China’s Ma Long and Wang Chuqin won their doubles match, and South Korea’s teams advanced with impressive 3-0 victories.