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I get your point, definitely. But I think you slightly misunderstand what I'm getting at. Were they world number 5 for a couple of months because they played a bunch of tournaments? Sure. Are they a flagbearer for European table tennis, and does even a very casual fan know their name? Probably...

Yes, they are in their mid-30s now, but their decline started long ago. You can't say with a straight face that Ovtcharov has ever been the true world no.1🤣

It's true but I can't help feeling they just hit a wall and then can't advance further, and fall into irrelevance. I always think of players like Adrien Mattenet, Marcos Frietas, Ovtcharov soon (perhaps even Harimoto in the future), who had a similar path.

I used to love watching table tennis matches on YouTube etc. But I've started to feel that international table tennis in general is past its peak. However, there are 3 main trends that I see, all interlinked, that have been happening for a while, but it seems more pronounced after covid: - I...