On the last day of the European Championships, German table tennis pro Dang Qiu was crowned European Champion. In the sold out Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle he defeated the Slovenian Darko Jorgic in a high class match with 4:1 (10:12, 14:12, 11:8, 11:9, 11:2) after sets. In the women's final, however, it was not enough for a German victory. Nina Mittelham had to give up the match in tears in the third set due to injury. Thus the gold medal went to Sofia Polcanova from Austria (9:11, 2:11, Mittelham retired at 0:3).
Dang Qiu was not nervous in the final, he took an early 5:1 lead in the first set. But his opponent managed to break the momentum and still turned the first set in his favor with 10:12. In the second set, the match became even more exciting and intense. With his fourth set point, the player from Nöttingen was able to decide the set in his favor (14:12) and thus force the equalizer. The atmosphere in the hall reached its peak and noticeably boosted the German's game. The 25-year-old also won the third and fourth sets. Thus, Qiu had the opportunity to win his first European singles title in the fifth set. He did not let this chance slip away and secured the gold medal at the home European Championships with a commanding 11:2 in the fifth set. "Now I am speechless for the time being. I still can't believe it," Qiu said immediately afterwards.
For Nina Mittelham, on the other hand, things were anything but ideal. The 25-year-old had to bury her chances early on due to a shoulder injury. After she was able to even the first set (9:11), the second set was clearly lost (2:11). It was already noticeable that Mittelham could not play to her full potential. In the course of the second set loss, she had to take the opportunity of a medical time-out and left the hall for ten minutes. She then came back for the third set, but ultimately had to retire after three points played due to her injury. With tears on her face, the player from Willich congratulated the new European Champion Polcanova and said goodbye to the applauding Munich audience.
Text: Noah Eberhardt, Jan Cederic Mann & Paul Treutwein
Photos: Paul Treutwein