Paris 2024: Timo Boll's last Olympic dance

The 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Germany's chance to go for a gold medal came down to a match point in the fifth set. Timo Boll's opponent: Seiya Kishikawa of Japan.

"I was very nervous. Playing for the team is always more exciting (than the singles)," Boll recently told DW.

"When I scored the decisive point, I fell to the floor and wept. The guys came over and jumped on me," he recalled." That was the most emotional moment of my career. I love thinking back to it.”

In the final, though, Germany were defeated by an overpowered China – and wound up having to settle for silver.

Boll then went on to win another Olympic silver medal (2021) and two bronze medals (2012 and 2016) in the team event. Today, the former world No. 1 is 43 years old and is embarking upon his seventh Olympic tournament. No German athlete has taken part in more Summer Games than Boll.

One last Olympics

This time he will only be competing in the team event, his favorite discipline, and he has made it known that this will be his last Olympic Games.

"It already feels different. You can say to yourself: Just one last time. You only have to torture yourself one more time," he said. "That helps."

The left-hander has had to fight his way back for the Olympic Games in Paris. He was kept out of action for a long time due to a shoulder injury. Boll also missed the Team World Championships in South Korea last February – due to an eye infection. Now he is back.

"The idea of ending my career at the Olympics feels right. Winning a medal would make it perfect," Boll said. "It's an ambitious goal."

He has already plotted a possible path to get there. The way the bracket is set up, Germany can only meet the dominant team from China in the final. Just like in 2008.

Eagle eye and fair play

Boll is known for his above-average eyesight. He can recognize the manufacturer's stamp on the ball, which can reach speeds of up to 150 km/h (93 mph), and can therefore read the spin.

Another moment that says all you need to know about Boll was at the 2005 World Table Tennis Championships in Shanghai. His opponent: Liu Gouzheng from China. Match point for Boll. Gouzheng's shot appears to miss the table – putting  Boll through to the quarterfinals. But Boll tells the referee that he clearly saw the ball graze the board. The referee reverses his decision as a result and Boll is eliminated.

"We play sport because we love it, and you don't cheat on a great love,” Boll said later.

This case was no exception, Boll has repeatedly told referees when he knew they had wrongly given a point in this favor. This spirit of fair play is part of the reason Boll was given the honor of being Germany's flag bearer at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

While Boll can walk around virtually unnoticed in any given city in Germany, it's a different story in table-tennis-mad China. There he is a household name – and face, regularly appearing in advertising campaigns. There, he was once voted the "most attractive athlete in the world." A YouTube video in which Boll played against a table tennis robot has more than 14 million views.

Warming up with push-ups

Germany's current No. 1 in men's table tennis, Dang Qiu, is competing at his first Olympic tournament in Paris and in three disciplines: singles, team and mixed. He's learned a lot from Boll, but "the most important thing I learned from him is how to stay relaxed and keep calm," the 2022 European champion told DW.

To ensure that Boll himself remains calm at the last Olympic Games of his long career, he will – as always – do a few push-ups before each competition.

"I do that to get the tension up," Boll explained. "If you lose tension during the match, you're in big trouble."

This article was originally published in German.