BOLL Timo

Grip
Shakehand (ITTF, 02 Aug 2016)

Style of play
Attack (ITTF, 02 Aug 2016)

General
LIFE WITHOUT TABLE TENNIS
At age 38 in 2019, he said he was finding it difficult to contemplate life without table tennis. "I am not yet ready to deal with the end of my career. On the contrary, the thought of it scares me. At age 16 I became a table tennis professional and have hardly done anything else since then. I have no idea what life without table tennis will look like. I never really missed the things that I did without - wild parties in my youth, for example. But I know I will miss table tennis terribly. I hope I can continue playing for a while longer." To help preserve his longevity, he took part in his last German national championships in 2019. "[2019] is my farewell to the national title fights, my last participation in this tournament, which was always very important to me. The ITTF demands more and more from us. To be well placed in the world rankings you have to play so many tournaments. In addition, I have many goals with Borussia Dusseldorf. I want to play as long as I enjoy and the body can cope. That may take a few more years." (ettu.org, 27 Feb 2019; zeit.de, 26 Jun 2019)

SECOND HOME IN CHINA
He describes the People's Republic of China as his "second home" and says it contrasts with his life in Germany. "It's a nice switch. It's a perfect life balance, I would say, to be a star in one country [People's Republic of China] and to have a quiet, normal life in your country [Germany] where you live most of the time. As one of the main opponents for the Chinese players, I'm quite popular there. The [Chinese] are like the Germans. They're hard-working people, and I think they're very friendly to foreigners once you know them a little bit. I have many Chinese friends and we work quite well, the Germans and the Chinese. I started to learn a little bit of Chinese a few years ago, but I cannot communicate in a real way. [I am old enough to have competed against] four or five generations [of Chinese players]. The style has changed over the years but I can still compete. Every time when I play in China, that's the biggest motivation for me. To go there and play against the young guys." (olympicchannel.com, 25 Jun 2019)

OLYMPICS EASIER THAN WORLDS
Contrary to most other sports, he believes it is easier to become Olympic champion in table tennis than it is to win a world championship title, due to the limited number of Chinese players in an Olympic tournament. "In our normal tournaments there are 12 to 14 Chinese players competing and two or three of them are always in such strong form that they are very difficult to beat. You will only be able to beat them if you are in top shape, and even then it is very difficult. At the Olympics, you have the big advantage that only two players from China can compete [in singles] and they have to be in top shape and have to withstand all that pressure. Many factors come into play, and that's why it's almost easier to become an Olympic champion than it is to become a world champion or even a German Open winner." (wz.de, 13 Feb 2020)

In February 2018, at age 36 years and 356 days, he became the oldest men's player to be ranked number one in the ITTF world rankings. In 2003 he became the first German player to be ranked number one in the world rankings. (ittf.com, 06 Mar 2018; berliner-zeitung.de, 20 Mar 2020; NOC, 2004)

At the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro he became the third athlete from Germany to compete in table tennis at five Olympic Games, equalling the record of men's player Jorg Rosskopf and women's player Elke Schall-Suss. If he plays at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo he will become the first German athlete to compete in table tennis at six Olympic Games. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Mar 2020)

His bronze medal in the men's team event at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro made him the oldest table tennis player of either gender representing Germany to win an Olympic medal, at age 35 years and 162 days. His silver medal in the men's team event at the world championships in 2018 at age 37 years and 59 days made him the oldest male German table tennis player to win a world championship medal. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Mar 2020)

He was the first German table tennis player to compete in more than 15 editions of the world championships, with the 2019 edition marking his 19th appearance at the world championships. As of 2019 he had won eight world championships medals, the most for a German male player, and one behind the record of German women's players Hilde Bussman and Astrid Kebsbach who each have nine world championship medals. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Mar 2020)