Dimitrij Ovtcharov

Dimitrij Ovtcharov
Дмитро Овчаров

Ovtcharov at the 2008 Olympics
Personal information
Nationality  Germany
Residence Düsseldorf, Germany
Hamelin, Germany
Born (1988-09-02) 2 September 1988
Kiev, Ukraine[1]
Playing style Right-handed, shakehand grip
Highest ranking 4 (April 2014)[2]
Current ranking 6 (October 2016)
Club GAZPROM Fakel Orenburg
(Russia)[3]
Height 186 cm (6 ft 1 in)[4]
Weight 78 kg (172 lb)

Dimitrij Ovtcharov (Russian: Дмитрий Овчаров) or Dmytro Ovtcharov (Ukrainian: Дмитро Овчаров; born 2 September 1988) is a Ukrainian-born German table tennis player.[5] His father Mikhail, a Soviet table tennis champion in 1982, has moved his family to Germany shortly after Dimitrij was born.

Ovtcharov won one silver and three bronze medals at the Olympics between 2008 and 2016. As of October 2016, he is ranked sixth in the world by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).[2]

Career

At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Ovtcharov won the silver medal as part of the German men's team, together with Timo Boll and Christian Süß.[1][6]

He used a special technique in his serves, which was later picked by TIME as one of the top 50 innovations of 2008.[7]

On 22 September 2010 Ovtcharov had been suspended by the German Table Tennis Federation (DTTB) due to a positive A-sample test for Clenbuterol that may be used as a performance-enhancing substance.[8] Ovtcharov himself denied the doping accusation and requested a B-sample analysis which still tested positive.[9][10] After hearings and further investigations, the hair sample voluntarily offered by Ovtcharov showed no evidence of clenbuterol and its abuse. DTTB later unanimously decided to abolish the suspension on 15 October 2010.[11] The decision was endorsed by ITTF.[12]

At the 2012 Summer Olympics Ovcharov won bronze medals in singles and team events. In June 2015, he won a gold medal at the inaugural European Games. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, he was defeated by Vladimir Samsonov in the singles quarter-final. He then won a team bronze medal.[4]

Equipment

Ovtcharov is right-handed and uses the shakehand grip. He is also a DONIC sponsored athlete. His blade is a Donic Ovtcharov Original Senso Carbon with Butterfly Tenergy 05 on both sides.

Personal life

Ovtcharov married Jenny Mellström in 2013. They had a daughter, Emma after the Rio Olympics.[13]

Career records

Singles (as of 6 July 2013)[14]

Men's Doubles

Mixed Doubles

Team

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dimitrij Ovtcharov.
  1. 1 2 3 "Olympic results". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 19 August 2010.
  2. 1 2 "ITTF world ranking". International Table Tennis Federation. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  3. "European Champions League". European Table Tennis Union. Retrieved 17 October 2010.
  4. 1 2 Dimitrij Ovtcharov. rio2016.com
  5. "OVTCHAROV Dimitrij". Players' Biographies. International Table Tennis Federation. Retrieved 18 August 2008.
  6. Guériau, Hubert; Marius Widmer (18 August 2008). "Chinese Players Merciless with German Challengers". ITTF News. International Table Tennis Federation. Retrieved 18 August 2008.
  7. "The new ping-pong serve". TIME. 29 October 2008. Retrieved 16 January 2009.
  8. "Dimitrij OVTCHAROV suspended because of positive doping test". European Table Tennis Union (ETTU). 22 September 2010. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  9. Miletic, Alex (23 September 2010). "Dima interviewed by ZDF: "The worst day in whole my life"". ETTU. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  10. Hinz, Simone (30 September 2010). "Positive B sample doping test for Dimitrij OVTCHAROV". ETTU. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  11. "OVTCHAROV's suspension is over: "Huge stone fell from my heart"". ETTU. 15 October 2010. Retrieved 17 October 2010.
  12. Marshall, Ian (15 October 2010). "Good News for Ovtcharov". ITTF. Retrieved 17 October 2010.
  13. (28 August 2016) "Dimitrij Ovtcharov becomes a father", ITTF, Retrieved 14 October 2016
  14. "ITTF Statistics". International Table Tennis Federation. Retrieved 26 February 2011.
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