"Uncle Ball”, as the 44-year-old is called in China, is loved in the world's largest table tennis nation. Therefore, it was no surprise that his last match in his career attracted great attention.
On Weibo, the Chinese version of X, millions of accounts expressed their reverence for the German.
One wrote, among other things, ”Farewell, comrade Boll. We wave goodbye with both smiles and tears”, according to AFP.
”Thanks for your deep affection that transcended national borders. From Ma Lin to Fan Zhendong, every encounter with a great opponent has been my best experiences”, Boll wrote on his Weibo account.
China has a habit of honoring old legends. For example, Jan-Ove Waldner, ”The Evergreen Tree”, is still widely idolized in the table tennis-crazy country.
Timo Boll has, among other things, two silver and two bronze in Olympic Games team events, two World Cup titles, and a whole bunch of medals of various values in World Championship and European Championship, on his list of merits.
The German has also been ranked number one in the world on three occasions, most recently in 2018 when he became the oldest world number one in history – 36 years old.
