Germany's top table tennis player Timo Boll has geared up for tough competition at the forthcoming Beijing tournament slated for Aug. 13-23.
As the European champion and two-time World Cup winner, Boll is tipped as one of the biggest threats to the star-studded Chinese squad, especially in the men's singles event.
After the draw for the team event was made Thursday, German head coach Dirk Shimmelpfennig said that Boll was in good form in the run-up to the Beijing Games.
"He worked very hard and has been practicing from February to now without any break," Shimmelpfennig said.
He added that Boll has been practicing with other top European players such as Michael Maze, Jorgen Persson and Zoran Primorac.
"We have good preparation and all the players have good performance. They are strong and motivated," he said.
Boll's best weapon is his forehand topspin drive. He is also noted for his extremely quick backhand loop.
In the 2005 World Cup in Liege, the left-handed Boll beat Chinese Olympic silver medalist Wang Hao in the final, after overpowering defending champion Ma Lin.
In 2006, Boll also outperformed Wang Liqin in China Open.
China's head coach Liu Guoliang has singled out Germany and South Korea as threats to the Chinese Olympic campaign.
"Germany and South Korea are the strongest opponents of our team at the Olympics, especially at the men's singles," Liu warned
At this year's world championships, the German team, which lost Boll to injuries, was outgunned by Japan and South Korea, falling to the seventh place from the previous third.
Starting to play table tennis at 4, Boll won the World Cup title in 2002. He rose to world No. 1 in 2003 and was regarded the successor to legendary Jan-Ove Waldner of Sweden.
In March, Boll put a blog on the internet, sharing his feelings with fervent Chinese fans. In his view, the most challenging thing for European who visit China is to get accustomed to Chinese food.
Boll, currently ranked sixth in the world, said he was deeply impressed with the kindness of Chinese people and Chinese players' devotion to the sport.
"Chinese coaches train their players very strictly, and their aspiration for success is something we need to learn," said the 27-year-old.
(Xinhua News Agency August 7, 2008)