Jan-Ove Waldner and Chinese Table Tennis – Rivals as well as Friends

Twenty-one years or six generations of the Chinese players have been rivals of Jan-Ove Waldner.

According to the Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG) the forty-two year old Swede, who is still active in the German Table Tennis League for Fulda-Maberzell, now is to leave Sweden and settling in China.

Though Waldner is a Chinese table tennis rival, he takes the Chinese people as his life-long friends, and the Chinese people love him. This may be the best reason for Waldner's love of China.

Waldner at the Games but not as a Player
In the Viking Sweden Bar opened by Waldner in Beijing, the owner's love of China is everywhere. The bar is the best excuse for Waldner to leave Sweden and live in China, since in China he has friends, his beloved table tennis, respect and friendliness.

For the Beijing Olympic Games, Waldner said he would definitely come but not as a player. He will attend the Games as an officer of the Swedish Olympic Committee.

Impressed by Wang Hao’s Progress
When asked about whether he is China's rival or friend, Waldner said amused: "Since we are rivals in competition, I'm a friend of China. I'm always missing China."

"The Chinese table tennis men's team has many good players and I've played some of them", he said. Waldner believed that Wang Hao has made great progress over the past years and still has much potential.

He thought that after the Games Wang Hao might be the real number one in the world's table tennis field.