Michael Maze and Kalinikos Kreanga confirmed for WTTC

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It's been a while to see these two competing at WTTC, but for me, even if they won't get far in any competition it's a pleasure two watch these two legends again. 2 years before in Germany i gave up hope to watch them live at a wttc again....

Do you have any player you wish to, or will see at WTTC ?

Unfortunately i didn't find joo sae hyuk on the list, but didnt think so as the pressure on top of the national team in Korea is such intense.
 
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It is fun to watch that these guys still fight on! But i find it a bit sad when players that used to be very good play not so good anymore. But it is nice to see their love for the sport.
 
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Yeah i think the Same, I watched Kreanga on many preliminary rounds last year, and the Results werent very good. But we ve Seen Many upsets by old Legends in the past, i think if he can Go past Qualification, i‘d Love to See him Play Timo once again.

Maze is Quite active on Social Media, i dont know which attempt this is right now from hirs Comebacks, but there were quite a few
 
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where do you see that Kreanga is confirmed ? it seems to me he was in the preliminary list but he is NOT confirmed

https://oes.ittf.com/view/event/entries/e33449f4-4cc0-4383-b6a2-d151aa14e33c/detail


    • Konstantinos ANGELAKIS
    • M
      [*=right]05-jun-1997
    • Panagiotis GIONIS
    • M
      [*=right]07-jan-1980
    • Anastasios RINIOTIS
    • M
      [*=right]17-apr-1983
    • Ioannis SGOUROPOULOS
    • M
      [*=right]08-may-2000

[h=6]
GRE.png
Greece (9)[/h]

    • Aikaterini TOLIOU
    • F
    • 21-aug-1995
    • Konstantina PARIDI
    • F
    • 31-may-1996
    • Maria CHRISTOFORAKI
    • F
    • 31-oct-1989
    • Anastasios RINIOTIS
    • M
    • 17-apr-1983
    • Ioannis SGOUROPOULOS
    • M
    • 08-may-2000
    • Kalinikos KREANGA
    • M
    • 08-mar-1972
    • Konstantinos ANGELAKIS
    • M
    • 05-jun-1997
    • Konstantinos KONSTANTINOPOULOS
    • M
    • 07-jun-1994
    • Panagiotis GIONIS
    • M
    • 07-jan-1980
 
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´yes Tony he was on the preliminary list but he didn’t make it further. If you look at all events page singles and doubles there isn’t his name

well, to me, it doesn't make sense that a retiree comes back after so many years
also saw greece mens double is missing a player too...
 
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well, to me, it doesn't make sense that a retiree comes back after so many years
also saw greece mens double is missing a player too...

How old was Persson when he did his Olympic comeback and made it to the semifinals? Was that 2008 at 42? (Or is memory playing tricks on me, and that never happened?)
 
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How old was Persson when he did his Olympic comeback and made it to the semifinals? Was that 2008 at 42? (Or is memory playing tricks on me, and that never happened?)

did your memory saw what happen to Sweden with no next generation to fill the gap?
I guess your memory is okay if you want players to play forever and no generation to follow.
 
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did your memory saw what happen to Sweden with no next generation to fill the gap?
I guess your memory is okay if you want players to play forever and no generation to follow.

Yes, I recall that as well. Do you see a causal relationship between having players with longevity and lack of development in young players?

I don't, necessarily. However, perhaps it does take a great one like Stellan Bengtsson to nourish a next generation of players, and be eclipsed by them even while still at the top yourself.

Maybe there just isn't always a next generation ready to take over the torch. Would you say those over thirty years should retire anyway, even if the heirs apparent haven't made waves yet?
 
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Yes, I recall that as well. Do you see a causal relationship between having players with longevity and lack of development in young players?

I don't, necessarily. However, perhaps it does take a great one like Stellan Bengtsson to nourish a next generation of players, and be eclipsed by them even while still at the top yourself.

Maybe there just isn't always a next generation ready to take over the torch. Would you say those over thirty years should retire anyway, even if the heirs apparent haven't made waves yet?

It is very simple to understand.
new generation comes up and if good enough, they kindof force the old generation into retirement. The team is only 5 players and eventually replacement/transitions will occur.
If new generation is weak, then old generation can stay on for a long long long long long long time.
This shows me and the world that the new generation is weaker and cannot take over - this should raise an alarm bell. Don't you agree???

There is nothing wrong for a player to play on forever, but in the bigger picture, that one good = many major issues going on in his/her country.

When last did Kreanga play world events?
I would say he kindof retired already, and now coming back.
Why? is he still able to beat fellow Greeks? what happened to the next gen/ next next gen/ next next next gen?
Maze I know retired and coming back to world events.
What happen to his next gens?

I guess there is a different between my view and your view.
you see the player, I see the entire table tennis structure.

Sweden's fall of TT today is because they relied way too much on 1 or few players, and when those greats moved on, there was no one to pick it up.
A sad reality that Sweden has less than 10k registered players today. Compared to rising countries like Taiwan with 200k

I guess for most fans, they just care about the action, and not too worreid about the entire eco system.
For TT to strive on a global scale of things, the TT eco system needs to be healthy.
Old players taking limited spots in WTTC is also not a good sign to have....
 
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I actually think we agree. I also cheer if there is a new batch of young, hungry players raising the game to a next level.

It's also what happens. Things come and go. Tennis used to be popular, now it's less so, and the waiting lists have migrated over to hockey. Sweden had its stretch a few decades ago, then also with a relatively small population base. They did exceptionally well, with a surprisingly wide gang of players at the absolute top, and I would argue still has an overrepresentative amount of high-level players. Belgium had the exceptional Jean-Mi, and I wouldn't think it all that reasonable to expect there to be a belgian player to supplant him at 30.

Kreanga isn't greek, in the end; his TT roots are roumenian. As far as I know he isn't competing in Greece or against greek players, and hasn't been for a while; I get the impression that in the twilight of his career he has become a TT mercenary, playing here and there. He's played in the Dutch competion, for crying out loud, which might be respectable in a way but it's not top-tier.

Ecosystems don't do stasis. They are dynamic. Things change. Some things vanish, new things appear. There's never a real balance, just the semblance of one, for brief moments in time. So yes, structure, but structure is a bigger thing than relative popularity and prowess in particular geographic regions.

There is every reason to worry about the vitality of TT as a whole, but the vibrancy of TT in a single country at a given moment means little in that context — and the term in which we should think about this exceeds the span of a mere few decades. And requires hindsight.
 
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TT is already so small, we can't afford 1 step forward and 3 step backwards, especially in Europe.
We need 3 more Mazes from Denmark and 3 more Kreangas from Greece (or what ever his roots is)

If these countries has no contingency plans, then sad
better hope the uncle and grand dad can play on forever
 
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TT is already so small, we can't afford 1 step forward and 3 step backwards, especially in Europe.
We need 3 more Mazes from Denmark and 3 more Kreangas from Greece (or what ever his roots is)

If these countries has no contingency plans, then sad
better hope the uncle and grand dad can play on forever

I believe a lot in sgouropoulos, its the 3rd time he won a european championship, although it does not matter much for his later growth. He needs to be exposed to world class level play asap in order to develop fast

As for kreanga, I didnt see any official announcement here in greece, but I dont like it if he plays. Room should be created for youngsters
 
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