According to the vernacular, everything used to be better. Really? As off May 29, when the first balls will be hit over the net at the LIEBHERR 2017 World Table Tennis Championships in Düsseldorf, the world's best table tennis players will get together for the seventh time in Germany. In 1930, for the first time Germany was host of the continental championships. Since then, a lot has changed. World championships do not take place in stores or halls without heating any more. Neither are foam rubbers frowned upon any more.
During the overall fourth World Championships and the first in Germany in Berlin in 1930, the Tagesspiegel wrote: "What you get to watch here, this has nothing to do with sports." The newspaper named table tennis players pitiful, weak physiques whose hearts one has to fear for during a cross country run. Table tennis used to be at least far from any kind of professionalism. In total, ten nations participated, 18 out of 28 women were German players. During the day they played in a department store, in the evenings in a club house in the Kurfürstenstraße. Hungary won all six titles. After the initial scolding the media and the public at least realized that "ping-pong" made some progress.
It took nearly 30 years until the world's elite came back to Germany. The dimension of such events had obviously changed. 400 players from 47 nations participated at Dortmunder Westfalenhallen in 1959. These World Championships did not make history because of athletic reasons. Sigrun Kunz from the DDR was the best German player and reached the round of sixteen. Except for the men's singles, Japan won all titles. The focus of the discussion was on the implementation and the prohibition of foam rubbers, the so-called sponge today. In the end, the ITTF congress which took place during the WTTC permitted "sandwich rackets". This induced disputes in Dortmund. One official resigningly complained about a ball that had not been seen on the edge: "Because of all the foam rubbers you cannot even hear an edge ball any more."
Only ten years later, the city of Munich was host of the 30th World Table Tennis Championships. The venue was the ice arena which was the first hall complex that had already been completed for the 1972 Olympic Games. The hall had a capacity for 7,000 spectator, but it did not have any heating. And because spring did not come even in the middle of April, during the WTTC spectators and players had to freeze. However, for the DTTB it was the most successful WTTC till now. The men's team consisting of Eberhard Schöler, Wilfried Lieck, Bernt Jansen and Martin Ness won the silver medal for the first time ever. "Mr. Pokerface" Eberhard Schöler nearly became eternized when he was leading 2:0 in sets against Shigeo Ita from Japan in the men's singles final. But then he lost in five sets. Up until today this counts as one of the most legendary WTTC finals and, temporarily, it made Schöler the most popular athlete in Germany back then. Another reason for that was that in the moment of his defeat he showed human greatness and modesty: "It was not meant to be. Ito was the better player." And he did not want to know anything about his opponent doing doping. The "Zeit" wrote at that time that spectators had watched Ito take a "quick bottle" in front of millions of TV spectators after the third set. Besides, Gabriele Geissler from East Berlin won the silver medal for the DDR. For the DTTB the success meant an unprecedented boom - until 1973 the number of members increased by 68 percent.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, you have just become witnesses of a historical moment!" This was the announcement by venue speaker Jörg Wontorra after the second milestone in German WTTC history after Schöler's success in 1969. At Dortmunder Westfalenhallen, Jörg Rosskopf and Steffen Fetzner had just won the first - and until today the only - gold medal for Germany at World Championships in Germany. Acclaimed by 10,000 spectators they beat Zoran Kalinic and Leszek Kucharski in the final set of the men's doubles final. Former ITTF President Roy Evans described the atmosphere in the Westfalenhalle 1 during the doubles final: "It was like in an English soccer stadium." The WTTC title outshone the otherwise moderate performance of the German teams as well as the 5:0-victory of Sweden's team over China in the men's team final. Similar to 1969 the title caused a little table tennis boom in Germany.The WTTC was also the basis for the modernization of the sport. In Dortmund, for the first time a center court athmosphere was created, the "red floor" that is normal today was set-up and computers were used for the first time. Such things that are common practice on today's World Tour and at other table tennis events. In general, the sport was enhanced to a professional level and the opportunities to earn money were clearly improved: "Our title was the start for many structures and ideas which moved table tennis forward", summarizes World Champion Steffen Fetzner more than two decades later.
The last two World Championships in Germany are not too far away in history. In 2006, the city of Bremen was host of the World Team Championships. With 10,500 spectators in the hall on the final days Bremen featured a giant setting. However, the draw frustrated a men's dream final with Germany and China. Boll, Rosskopf, Süß & Co. lost already in the semi final against the players from the Middle Kingdom.
It was unequally more tough for the women who lost in the round of sixteen against Austria and finished eleventh place in the end. Nicole Struse caused the outrage of the WTTC. During the match versus the Austrian Li Qiangbing she was penalised for excessive elation and in the end she lost. The Chinese players had long dominated the table tennis world. Their formerly strongest opponent and the so-called Mozart of table tennis Jan-Ove Waldner terminated his international career.
Only six years later German table tennis fans were looking forward to another home WTTC, for the third time in Dortmund - and again World Team Championships. Especially the German men's team was determined to finally steal the table tennis crown from the superior Chinese players. Jörg Rosskopf, coach of Germany's men's team, of all people said: "We want to make history in this hall." Boll, Ovtcharov and Baum reached the final convincingly. Each match was close, but in the end, however, they lost 0:3. The emotional highlight of the 51st World Championships was given by Germany's women's team when they played against Singapore in the quarterfinal. Kristin Silbereisen failed by two points against the defending champion from Singapore. Otherwise, they would have reached the semifinal by a 3:0 victory. Instead they lost the match 2:3. But the caldron Westfalenhalle was boiling. Anyway, just like in 1989, the last home WTTC in Dortmund will be remembered primarily because of the terrific atmosphere. On each of the last two days there were 11,000 spectators. Altogether, there were more than 55,000 spectators. Even Zhang Jike stated that he had never played in such an athmosphere. And ITTF President Thomas Weikert still gets goose bumps when remembering the WTTC2012.
This year in Düsseldorf, hardly anything will remind us of the beginnings of the World Table Tennis Championships in Berlin. 700 players from 100 nations, hundreds of journalists, LED surrounds, light show, music, a separate arena inside a fair hall - in nearly 90 years a lot has changed and quite the contrary: Not everything used to be better! But one thing has remained the same: Up until today each World Championship in Germany was a table tennis festival of its own kind. A festival with a unique and enthusiastic atmosphere that has yet to be matched in our sport. In Düsseldorf as well, 50,000 spectators are expected on the days from May 29 until June 5, 2017. Though it is still unknown whether someone will be able to upset the Chinese players, or who will become a secret star and favorite of the audience, or where the journey will lead our stars, but one thing is for sure: The LIEBHERR 2017 World Table Tennis Championships will become an unforgettable experience - for spectators and players.