{"id":77223,"date":"2025-06-16T16:31:21","date_gmt":"2025-06-16T08:31:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/?p=77223"},"modified":"2025-06-16T17:22:02","modified_gmt":"2025-06-16T09:22:02","slug":"farewell-to-a-legend-44%e2%80%91year%e2%80%91old-table-tennis-icon-timo-boll-officially-retires-once-defeated-15-chinese-world-champions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/farewell-to-a-legend-44%e2%80%91year%e2%80%91old-table-tennis-icon-timo-boll-officially-retires-once-defeated-15-chinese-world-champions\/","title":{"rendered":"Farewell to a Legend! 44\u2011Year\u2011Old Table Tennis Icon Timo Boll Officially Retires, Once Defeated 15 Chinese World Champions"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"77223\" class=\"elementor elementor-77223\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-11195ae e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"11195ae\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-22a06f1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"22a06f1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p data-start=\"172\" data-end=\"727\">On June 15, following the conclusion of the 2024\/25 German Bundesliga men\u2019s team final, 44\u2011year\u2011old German legend and former world champion Timo Boll announced his retirement after losing his final two matches and his team falling short. After more than twenty years of competing against China\u2019s national team\u2014and defeating <strong data-start=\"523\" data-end=\"553\">15 Chinese world champions<\/strong>\u2014the man who once kept<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Liu_Guoliang\"> Liu Guoliang<\/a> up at night is hanging up his paddle. Fans worldwide wished him well: \u201cAll the best for the future!\u201d<\/p><p data-start=\"729\" data-end=\"766\"><span class=\"relative -mx-px my-[-0.2rem] rounded px-px py-[0.2rem] transition-colors duration-100 ease-in-out\">Born March 8, 1981, in Obernfeld, Germany, Boll emerged as a national star in the 1990s and rose to global prominence in the early 2000s.<\/span><\/p><p data-start=\"768\" data-end=\"844\"><span class=\"relative -mx-px my-[-0.2rem] rounded px-px py-[0.2rem] transition-colors duration-100 ease-in-out\">In 2002, Boll reached the pinnacle of his career by winning the World Cup, European Championships, and Europe Cup singles titles\u2014<strong data-start=\"129\" data-end=\"205\">including victories over top Chinese players Wang Liqin and Kong Linghui<\/strong>. He reclaimed the World Cup in 2005, defeating three Chinese mainstays\u2014Wang Liqin, Ma Lin, and Wang Hao\u2014to win the tournament<\/span>\u00a0<\/p><p data-start=\"846\" data-end=\"922\"><span class=\"relative -mx-px my-[-0.2rem] rounded px-px py-[0.2rem] transition-colors duration-100 ease-in-out\">Remarkably, at the 2017 World Cup, the 36\u2011year\u2011old Boll still managed to defeat Chinese star Lin Gaoyuan and <strong data-start=\"109\" data-end=\"120\">Ma Long<\/strong>, before losing in the final to teammate Dimitrij Ovtcharov, in a performance that reverberated across the table tennis world<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9f10c91 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"9f10c91\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/q5.itc.cn\/images01\/20250616\/3765360dc13f40508389ef9c2bae6baf.png\" title=\"\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-fa56acf elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"fa56acf\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-72fc4e0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"72fc4e0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\"><div class=\"elementor-widget-container\"><h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Sanweisport-Professional Table Tennis Equipment Provider<\/h3><\/div><\/div><div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5c0f088 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"5c0f088\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\"><div class=\"elementor-widget-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/best-ping-pong-paddle-for-beginners-1024x1024.jpg.webp\" \/><\/div><\/div><div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7863c99 elementor-align-center elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"7863c99\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\"><div class=\"elementor-widget-container\"><div class=\"elementor-button-wrapper\"><a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-sm\" href=\"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/product\/bats\/taiji-series\/taiji-210\/\"><span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\"><span class=\"elementor-button-text\">Learn More<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-02fd525 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"02fd525\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\"><div class=\"elementor-widget-container\"><h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Only 11.9 USD<\/h2><\/div><\/div><div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-99f72a0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"99f72a0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\"><div class=\"elementor-widget-container\"><ul><li>Taiji 210 bat is an allround premade high quality table tennis bat for the starters, it\u2019s the best seller and the most popular bat of the Taiji Bat series.<\/li><li>The blade is made by 7 layers of decent pure wood, coated by two sides of ITTF approved rubber makes it useable for competition, with a comfortable flared handle.<\/li><li>It saves your time for selecting from thousands of combinations and just gives you the right one with great quality\/price ratio.<\/li><li>2-Stars Table Tennis Bat is perfect for amateur gamers !<\/li><li>If you are interested in table tennis equipment, you can visit our Sanweisport homepage to select the most professional table tennis equipment. We will provide you with the best\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/product-category\/blade\/\">table tennis blades<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/product-category\/rubber\/\">rubbers<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/product-category\/bats\/taiji-series\/\">bat<\/a>, and other products!<\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-920e656 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"920e656\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p data-start=\"924\" data-end=\"1000\"><span class=\"relative -mx-px my-[-0.2rem] rounded px-px py-[0.2rem] transition-colors duration-100 ease-in-out\">By 2025, Boll had accumulated wins over 15 Chinese world champions\u2014including Kong Linghui, Wang Liqin, Ma Lin, Wang Hao, Liu Guozheng, Chen Qi, Hao Shuai, Qiu Yike, Zhang Chao, Zhang Jike, Ma Long, Xu Xin, Fang Bo, Lin Gaoyuan, and Yu Ziyang\u2014making him the most successful non\u2011Chinese player against China since Waldner<\/span><\/p><p data-start=\"1002\" data-end=\"1080\"><span class=\"relative -mx-px my-[-0.2rem] rounded px-px py-[0.2rem] transition-colors duration-100 ease-in-out\">However, age gradually took its toll: from the last Olympic cycle, Boll\u2019s world ranking dropped, though in 2024 he still scored notable international wins\u2014such as beating Tomokazu Harimoto and Lin Yun\u2011ju\u2014but ultimately missed selection for the Paris Olympics singles, playing only in the team event. Afterward, he stepped away from international ranking and global tournaments<\/span> .<\/p><p data-start=\"1082\" data-end=\"1121\"><span class=\"relative -mx-px my-[-0.2rem] rounded px-px py-[0.2rem] transition-colors duration-100 ease-in-out\">He chose to conclude his career in club leagues, extending his competitive run by a few months\u2014but in June 2025, it was time for one final bow.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-34506be elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"34506be\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/q6.itc.cn\/images01\/20250616\/54a35c21540e435ab38d61a5860306b1.png\" title=\"\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-852811c elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"852811c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span class=\"relative -mx-px my-[-0.2rem] rounded px-px py-[0.2rem] transition-colors duration-100 ease-in-out\">On June 1, Boll played in the European Champions League final with Borussia D\u00fcsseldorf, losing 1\u20133 to Saarbr\u00fccken after falling 1\u20133 to Darko Jorgic in singles<\/span> <span class=\"relative -mx-px my-[-0.2rem] rounded px-px py-[0.2rem] transition-colors duration-100 ease-in-out\">On June 15, in the Bundesliga final in Frankfurt, he faced Brazil\u2019s Hugo Calderano in a gripping 2\u20133 loss, then teamed with Anton K\u00e4llberg in doubles where D\u00fcsseldorf fell 0\u20133 to Shunsuke Togami (Japan) and Simon Gauzy (France). Final score: D\u00fcsseldorf 2\u20133 Ochsenhausen<\/span><\/p><p data-start=\"1286\" data-end=\"1366\"><span class=\"relative -mx-px my-[-0.2rem] rounded px-px py-[0.2rem] transition-colors duration-100 ease-in-out\">During his farewell match, he received a standing ovation from around 5,000 spectators, visibly moved as he thanked fans, friends, and family at the S\u00fcwag Energie Arena<\/span><\/p><p data-start=\"1368\" data-end=\"1407\"><span class=\"relative -mx-px my-[-0.2rem] rounded px-px py-[0.2rem] transition-colors duration-100 ease-in-out\">Throughout his career, Boll was celebrated not just for his achievements, but also for his gracious sportsmanship\u2014earning the nickname \u201cthe Gentleman of Table Tennis.\u201d He developed deep friendships with players including Fan Zhendong and Ma Long, symbolizing goodwill between nations.<\/span><\/p><p data-start=\"1409\" data-end=\"1489\"><span class=\"relative -mx-px my-[-0.2rem] rounded px-px py-[0.2rem] transition-colors duration-100 ease-in-out\">Although Boll is retiring from professional competition, he\u2019s not leaving the sport. On June 11, the European Table Tennis Union announced he will become an ambassador for German table tennis, working alongside Borussia D\u00fcsseldorf and sponsors like ARAG to promote the sport\u2014especially among youth<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d83c8a1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"d83c8a1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/q1.itc.cn\/images01\/20250616\/b1a0a0aa9b1646169428fdbfc80de4d6.png\" title=\"\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On June 15, following the conclusion of the 2024\/25 German Bundesliga men\u2019s team final, 44\u2011year\u2011old German legend and former world champion Timo Boll announced his retirement after losing his final two matches and his team falling short. After more than twenty years of competing against China\u2019s national team\u2014and defeating 15 Chinese world champions\u2014the man who [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1024,"featured_media":77224,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[192],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-77223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.5 (Yoast SEO v26.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Farewell to a Legend! 44\u2011Year\u2011Old Table Tennis Icon Timo Boll Officially Retires, Once Defeated 15 Chinese World Champions - SANWEI Sport<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/farewell-to-a-legend-44\u2011year\u2011old-table-tennis-icon-timo-boll-officially-retires-once-defeated-15-chinese-world-champions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Farewell to a Legend! 44\u2011Year\u2011Old Table Tennis Icon Timo Boll Officially Retires, Once Defeated 15 Chinese World Champions\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On June 15, following the conclusion of the 2024\/25 German Bundesliga men\u2019s team final, 44\u2011year\u2011old German legend and former world champion Timo Boll announced his retirement after losing his final two matches and his team falling short. After more than twenty years of competing against China\u2019s national team\u2014and defeating 15 Chinese world champions\u2014the man who [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/farewell-to-a-legend-44\u2011year\u2011old-table-tennis-icon-timo-boll-officially-retires-once-defeated-15-chinese-world-champions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SANWEI Sport\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SANWEISPORT\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-06-16T08:31:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-16T09:22:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Timo-Boll.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"766\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"624\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Gareth Chen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@sanwei_official\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@sanwei_official\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Gareth Chen\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/farewell-to-a-legend-44%e2%80%91year%e2%80%91old-table-tennis-icon-timo-boll-officially-retires-once-defeated-15-chinese-world-champions\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/farewell-to-a-legend-44%e2%80%91year%e2%80%91old-table-tennis-icon-timo-boll-officially-retires-once-defeated-15-chinese-world-champions\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Gareth Chen\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/c04a7bc786e497c4e178a3f5c266d3a3\"},\"headline\":\"Farewell to a Legend! 44\u2011Year\u2011Old Table Tennis Icon Timo Boll Officially Retires, Once Defeated 15 Chinese World Champions\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-16T08:31:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-16T09:22:02+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/farewell-to-a-legend-44%e2%80%91year%e2%80%91old-table-tennis-icon-timo-boll-officially-retires-once-defeated-15-chinese-world-champions\/\"},\"wordCount\":666,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/farewell-to-a-legend-44%e2%80%91year%e2%80%91old-table-tennis-icon-timo-boll-officially-retires-once-defeated-15-chinese-world-champions\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Timo-Boll.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Blog\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/farewell-to-a-legend-44%e2%80%91year%e2%80%91old-table-tennis-icon-timo-boll-officially-retires-once-defeated-15-chinese-world-champions\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/farewell-to-a-legend-44%e2%80%91year%e2%80%91old-table-tennis-icon-timo-boll-officially-retires-once-defeated-15-chinese-world-champions\/\",\"name\":\"Farewell to a Legend! 44\u2011Year\u2011Old Table Tennis Icon Timo Boll Officially Retires, Once Defeated 15 Chinese World Champions - SANWEI Sport\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/farewell-to-a-legend-44%e2%80%91year%e2%80%91old-table-tennis-icon-timo-boll-officially-retires-once-defeated-15-chinese-world-champions\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/farewell-to-a-legend-44%e2%80%91year%e2%80%91old-table-tennis-icon-timo-boll-officially-retires-once-defeated-15-chinese-world-champions\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Timo-Boll.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-16T08:31:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-16T09:22:02+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/farewell-to-a-legend-44%e2%80%91year%e2%80%91old-table-tennis-icon-timo-boll-officially-retires-once-defeated-15-chinese-world-champions\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/farewell-to-a-legend-44%e2%80%91year%e2%80%91old-table-tennis-icon-timo-boll-officially-retires-once-defeated-15-chinese-world-champions\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/farewell-to-a-legend-44%e2%80%91year%e2%80%91old-table-tennis-icon-timo-boll-officially-retires-once-defeated-15-chinese-world-champions\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Timo-Boll.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Timo-Boll.jpg\",\"width\":766,\"height\":624},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/farewell-to-a-legend-44%e2%80%91year%e2%80%91old-table-tennis-icon-timo-boll-officially-retires-once-defeated-15-chinese-world-champions\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Farewell to a Legend! 44\u2011Year\u2011Old Table Tennis Icon Timo Boll Officially Retires, Once Defeated 15 Chinese World Champions\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/\",\"name\":\"SANWEI Sport\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"SANWEI\",\"alternateName\":\"BEIJING SANWEI SPORTING GOODS CO., LTD\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/logo-email.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/logo-email.png\",\"width\":190,\"height\":40,\"caption\":\"SANWEI\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SANWEISPORT\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/sanwei_official\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/sanweisport\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/sanweiofficial\",\"https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/sanweisport\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/c04a7bc786e497c4e178a3f5c266d3a3\",\"name\":\"Gareth Chen\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/wp-content\/litespeed\/avatar\/56a3da634ebdab827e0ea742db1dbd52.jpg?ver=1776739694\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/wp-content\/litespeed\/avatar\/56a3da634ebdab827e0ea742db1dbd52.jpg?ver=1776739694\",\"caption\":\"Gareth Chen\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/author\/gareth-chen\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Farewell to a Legend! 44\u2011Year\u2011Old Table Tennis Icon Timo Boll Officially Retires, Once Defeated 15 Chinese World Champions - SANWEI Sport","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/farewell-to-a-legend-44\u2011year\u2011old-table-tennis-icon-timo-boll-officially-retires-once-defeated-15-chinese-world-champions\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Farewell to a Legend! 44\u2011Year\u2011Old Table Tennis Icon Timo Boll Officially Retires, Once Defeated 15 Chinese World Champions","og_description":"On June 15, following the conclusion of the 2024\/25 German Bundesliga men\u2019s team final, 44\u2011year\u2011old German legend and former world champion Timo Boll announced his retirement after losing his final two matches and his team falling short. After more than twenty years of competing against China\u2019s national team\u2014and defeating 15 Chinese world champions\u2014the man who [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/farewell-to-a-legend-44\u2011year\u2011old-table-tennis-icon-timo-boll-officially-retires-once-defeated-15-chinese-world-champions\/","og_site_name":"SANWEI Sport","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SANWEISPORT\/","article_published_time":"2025-06-16T08:31:21+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-06-16T09:22:02+00:00","og_image":[{"width":766,"height":624,"url":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Timo-Boll.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Gareth Chen","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@sanwei_official","twitter_site":"@sanwei_official","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Gareth Chen","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/farewell-to-a-legend-44%e2%80%91year%e2%80%91old-table-tennis-icon-timo-boll-officially-retires-once-defeated-15-chinese-world-champions\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/farewell-to-a-legend-44%e2%80%91year%e2%80%91old-table-tennis-icon-timo-boll-officially-retires-once-defeated-15-chinese-world-champions\/"},"author":{"name":"Gareth Chen","@id":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/c04a7bc786e497c4e178a3f5c266d3a3"},"headline":"Farewell to a Legend! 44\u2011Year\u2011Old Table Tennis Icon Timo Boll Officially Retires, Once Defeated 15 Chinese World Champions","datePublished":"2025-06-16T08:31:21+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-16T09:22:02+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/farewell-to-a-legend-44%e2%80%91year%e2%80%91old-table-tennis-icon-timo-boll-officially-retires-once-defeated-15-chinese-world-champions\/"},"wordCount":666,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/farewell-to-a-legend-44%e2%80%91year%e2%80%91old-table-tennis-icon-timo-boll-officially-retires-once-defeated-15-chinese-world-champions\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Timo-Boll.jpg","articleSection":["Blog"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/farewell-to-a-legend-44%e2%80%91year%e2%80%91old-table-tennis-icon-timo-boll-officially-retires-once-defeated-15-chinese-world-champions\/","url":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/farewell-to-a-legend-44%e2%80%91year%e2%80%91old-table-tennis-icon-timo-boll-officially-retires-once-defeated-15-chinese-world-champions\/","name":"Farewell to a Legend! 44\u2011Year\u2011Old Table Tennis Icon Timo Boll Officially Retires, Once Defeated 15 Chinese World Champions - SANWEI Sport","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/farewell-to-a-legend-44%e2%80%91year%e2%80%91old-table-tennis-icon-timo-boll-officially-retires-once-defeated-15-chinese-world-champions\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/farewell-to-a-legend-44%e2%80%91year%e2%80%91old-table-tennis-icon-timo-boll-officially-retires-once-defeated-15-chinese-world-champions\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Timo-Boll.jpg","datePublished":"2025-06-16T08:31:21+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-16T09:22:02+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/farewell-to-a-legend-44%e2%80%91year%e2%80%91old-table-tennis-icon-timo-boll-officially-retires-once-defeated-15-chinese-world-champions\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/farewell-to-a-legend-44%e2%80%91year%e2%80%91old-table-tennis-icon-timo-boll-officially-retires-once-defeated-15-chinese-world-champions\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/farewell-to-a-legend-44%e2%80%91year%e2%80%91old-table-tennis-icon-timo-boll-officially-retires-once-defeated-15-chinese-world-champions\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Timo-Boll.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Timo-Boll.jpg","width":766,"height":624},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/farewell-to-a-legend-44%e2%80%91year%e2%80%91old-table-tennis-icon-timo-boll-officially-retires-once-defeated-15-chinese-world-champions\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Farewell to a Legend! 44\u2011Year\u2011Old Table Tennis Icon Timo Boll Officially Retires, Once Defeated 15 Chinese World Champions"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/","name":"SANWEI Sport","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/#organization","name":"SANWEI","alternateName":"BEIJING SANWEI SPORTING GOODS CO., LTD","url":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/logo-email.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/logo-email.png","width":190,"height":40,"caption":"SANWEI"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SANWEISPORT\/","https:\/\/x.com\/sanwei_official","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/sanweisport\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/sanweiofficial","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/sanweisport\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/c04a7bc786e497c4e178a3f5c266d3a3","name":"Gareth Chen","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/wp-content\/litespeed\/avatar\/56a3da634ebdab827e0ea742db1dbd52.jpg?ver=1776739694","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/wp-content\/litespeed\/avatar\/56a3da634ebdab827e0ea742db1dbd52.jpg?ver=1776739694","caption":"Gareth Chen"},"url":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/author\/gareth-chen\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77223","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1024"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77223"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77223\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":77243,"href":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77223\/revisions\/77243"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77224"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sanweisport.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}