Vladimir Samsonov

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Vladimir Samsonov
Uładzimir Samsonaŭ
Vladimir Samsonov 2013.jpg
Samsonov at the 2013 World Championships
Personal information
Full nameVladimir Viktorovich Samsonov; Uładzimir Viktaravich Samsonaŭ
Nickname(s)Vladi
Nationality Belarus
Born (1976-04-17) April 17, 1976 (age 45)[1]
Minsk, Belarus[2]
Playing styleRight-handed, shakehand grip
Equipment(s)Tibhar: blade – Samsonov Force Pro Black Edition, rubbers – Evolution MX-S
Highest ranking1[3]
Current ranking27 (March 2021)
ClubRoyal Villette Charleroi[2]
Height190 cm (6 ft 3 in)[4]
Weight83 kg (183 lb)
Medal record

Vladimir Samsonov or Uładzimir Samsonaŭ (Belarusian: Уладзімір Віктаравіч Самсонаў, Russian: Владимир Викторович Самсонов, born April 17, 1976) is a former Belarusian professional table tennis player, ranked 18th as of December 2017.[5][1] He is known in China as the "Tai Chi Master" because of his superb all-around style, both offensive and defensive.[6] Samsonov competed at six consecutive Olympics between 1996 and 2016, placing fourth individually in 2000 and 2016.[2]

Career[]

Samsonov is also known as Mr. ECL (European Champions League) for participating in the tournament for at least 15 years straight and because he currently holds twelve ECL winner titles – three with Borussia, five with Charleroi, and four with Fakel Orenburg. He began his European club career when he joined Borussia Düsseldorf in 1994, then seven years later moved to Royal Charleroi in Belgium. In 2008 he moved to Spain to play for Cajagranada, but two years later he moved to the Russian superleague club Fakel Orenburg.

Samsonov is famous for being a top-10 player longer than anyone else in official ranking history save for the legend of table tennis Jan-Ove Waldner. He first joined the top-10 in 1996, then climbed to the top position in 1998. He stayed in the top-10 for 15 years until November 2011. He is ranked #18 as of December 2017.[5] He used to hold the distinction of being the player with most ITTF ProTour titles (27[7]) until Ma Long surpassed him (28). He was runner-up in the 1997 World championships, and is also a three-time European champion (1998, 2003, 2005) and three-time World Cup winner (1999, 2001, 2009).

Samsonov was awarded the Richard Bergmann Fair Play Trophy at the world championships a record three times, in 2003, 2007 and 2013.[8]

In 2021, despite qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics, his seventh time qualifying for the Olympics, Samsonov withdrew from the tournament and shortly after announced his retirement.[9]

Personal life[]

Since the age of seven, Samsonov has been coached by Alexandre Petkevich.

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "ITTF player's profile". International Table Tennis Federation. Archived from the original on June 16, 2011. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Vladimir Samsonov". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved August 18, 2010.
  3. ^ "ITTF Museum". International Table Tennis Federation. Retrieved December 26, 2010.
  4. ^ Vladimir Samsonov Archived October 13, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. rio2016.com
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b "ITTF Ranking List (Men)". International Table Tennis Federation.
  6. ^ Vladimir Samsonov. nbcolympics.com
  7. ^ 27th Gold for Samsonov ittf.com
  8. ^ Award Winners Archived April 18, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. ittf.com
  9. ^ "Timo Boll and Dimitrij Ovtcharov Withdraw From Internal Olympic Scrimmage Due To Injuries". edgesandnets.com. July 12, 2021. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
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