Young European prospects

Kai Stumper has really improved this season and might still make it to the top 20 if things go his way. 

Looking at the younger players, there are a few that are either already getting there or looking really promising.  In no particular order: . . .

Felix Lebrun--- I hope he will be next penhold superstar

piligrim wrote: Duda

lgxb wrote: Felix Lebrun--- I hope he will be next penhold superstar

If we broaden the topic to non-Asian-continent "European-like" players, then Mr. Calderano should be mentioned.  He, at age 24 (I think), has declared his career objectives to include defeating the Chinese.  It is oh so rare to hear that publicly for the obvious reason of its difficulty.

Truls is a great talent but imho he looses too much on the backhand side because he has a problem to consistently produce strong topspin there. The best players just blow him away at the bh side. I think it is his unusual grip that is the culprit and personally would like him to slightly alter his grip to overcome that weakness. 

Edited by TTslurp - 11/15/2021 at 5:25pm

It shows how weak Europe is, which I've been preaching for years, when Calderano and Harimoto get mentioned in a thread about young European prospects.

The only young prospect from Europe worth keeping an eye on is Lebrun. Forget the other ones over 20. They should be competing against the world's best by now and looking ready to replace "Ovtcharov, Franziska, Gauzy, Falck, Pitchford, Freitas, etc."

zeio wrote: It shows how weak Europe is, which I've been preaching for years, when Calderano and Harimoto get mentioned in a thread about young European prospects. The only young prospect from Europe worth keeping an eye on is Lebrun. Forget the other ones over 20. They should be competing against the world's best by now and looking ready to replace "Ovtcharov, Franziska, Gauzy, Falck, Pitchford, Freitas, etc."

zeio wrote: It shows how weak Europe is, which I've been preaching for years, when Calderano and Harimoto get mentioned in a thread about young European prospects. The only young prospect from Europe worth keeping an eye on is Lebrun. Forget the other ones over 20. They should be competing against the world's best by now and looking ready to replace "Ovtcharov, Franziska, Gauzy, Falck, Pitchford, Freitas, etc."

We'd be lying to ourselves if we keep saying that. Care to look up the age of those European legends in the 80s and 90s when they became world class players? The majority were between 18 and 23 at Seoul 1988. By Barcelona 1992, quite a few of them were already winning medals in the majors. By Atlanta 1996, several of them were already World Champs and/or World Cup holders. By Sydney 2000, they had already achieved enough to cement their status in table tennis history when they were washed up in their 30s.

The impression that European players mature later stems from the educational system reform, as pointed out by Rosskopf in 2019. And that's what makes Lebrun worthy of attention because he's not bogged down by that. He's on a similar trajectory as Harimoto and LYJ by starting really young, competing against players many years his senior, even scoring wins and making the main draw at 15 years and 2 months old in a senior event, which is very difficult after the World Ranking reform in 2018.

For comparison, Harimoto(then 15 and 3) and LYJ(then 17 and 1) stopped competing in junior events after the Youth Olympic Games 2018. Moregard is going to compete at the World Youth Championships this December, in the U19 event at the age of 19 and 9. Come on. To add insult to injury, Moregard is ranked even lower than Februn in the U19.

Calderano, who didn't switch to table tennis until 14, was already making a name for himself at WJTTC 2014, YOG 2014 and Rio 2016. He also stopped competing in U21 events after that Olympic games when he was eligible for another year. Think about it.

https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/forum/showthread.php?21060-Germany-in-Decline-Rosskopf-Working-to-Revert-It

TTW: The German team is still recognized as the most powerful team in Europe. What is the current status in terms of the echelon? Rosskopf: We have Boll and Ovtcharov on the team for the time being, so we are still a strong team in Europe and in the world, but beyond them, the German team actually has a generation gap. Due to the reform of the educational system, the enlightenment period and growth period of German teenagers are now postponed, so the younger generation of players generally lack sufficient training time. Most people start their careers after graduating at 18 years old. Boll and I both joined the Bundesliga when we were 14 years old. The training of the reserve echelon is not only a problem for the German team, but also a problem for the entire European table tennis. Nowadays, young players have a lot of hobbies, and they all hope to get early results, but they have neglected hard training and techniques. We are actively working in hopes of changing this situation.

zeio wrote: For comparison, Harimoto(then 15 and 3) and LYJ(then 17 and 1) stopped competing in junior events after the Youth Olympic Games 2018. Moregard is going to compete at the World Youth Championships this December, in the U19 event at the age of 19 and 9. Come on. To add insult to injury, Moregard is ranked even lower than Februn in the U19.

Edited by king_pong - 11/30/2021 at 10:23pm

Have you even read the rules?

https://www.ittf.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/2021-ITTF-Table-Tennis-Youth-Ranking-Regulation-20210412.pdf

[All Senior events sanctioned in the ITTF Table Tennis World Ranking are awarded 5x times their points at the ITTF Table Tennis Youth Ranking]

For Moregard, 6 out of 6 results are senior events, for crying out loud. For Lebrun, only 2 out of 7 results are senior events. Care to check how many senior events the others have?

If we take out the multiplier for senior events, Moregard would still rank below Lebrun by a wide margin. Moregard is 19 years, 9 months, and 2 weeks old, so his U19 ranking will only "age well" for another 2 months and 2 weeks, hence my previous post.

If you want something that aged well, check out my comments back at WJTTC 2017 and MWC 2019. I was already expecting the following 5 to make regular appearances in the majors. WTTC 2021 was the first major these 5 competed together in the MS after Buenos Aires 2018.

https://www.mytabletennis.net/Forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=81019&PID=1007603&title=2017-wjttc-nov-26-to-dec-3-2017#1007603

It'll be interesting to observe Moregard's development as a reincarnated Waldner.

https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/forum/showthread.php?22360-Men-s-World-Cup-2019&p=297694&viewfull=1#post297694

Harimoto, LYJ and Kanak: WTH are you 2, WCQ and Moregard?

Why do you think Jorgen Persson didn't place his trust in Moregard[1, 2] for Tokyo 2020?

Interestingly enough Sweden's biggest talent right now is not Moregard, but a girl named Siri Benjegard that is 10-years-old. Sure it's too early to say anything at that age and she's not Harimoto level of talent, but she's winning against most of her 3-5-year-older opponents in tournaments.

Edited by manwithabigmission - 12/02/2021 at 4:51am

zeio wrote: As if I didn't know about his knee. I provided the links to Persson's comments behind his decisions in those posts. Care to read? "Moregard hasn't properly competed in any Junior event since 2019?" You gotta be kidding me. https://ranking.ittf.com/#/players/profile/122044/tournaments Swedish Junior & Cadet Open - Feb 20-24, 2019 European Youth Championships - Jul 7-16, 2019 World Junior Table Tennis Championships - Nov 24-Dec 1, 2019

Edited by manwithabigmission - 12/02/2021 at 5:16am