by Simon Daish

Germany’s Dimitrij Ovtcharov made multiple appearances at the event, and left the 2005 and 2006 competitions with silverware to his name.

Now occupying fourth position in the world rankings list and regarded as one of the world’s top players, Dimitrij Ovtcharov praised the continental youth tournament and claimed his success at the event provided him with a much-needed confidence boost.

“This was actually the first big tournament I ever won and gave me confidence for further tournaments. You play against all the best players from Europe and I think it’s even tougher to win that one than the Europeans. For me I would say it was one of my most favourite tournaments”, Dimitrij Ovtcharov.

Vladimir Samsonov is considered to be one of the all-time great table tennis legends, achieving a silver medal finish at the 1998 World Championships and has been competing right at the top of the sport ever since.

The Belarusian also has experience of participating at what was previously known as the Europe Junior Top 12 and has fond memories of the event.

“In my youth (many many years ago!)  the Junior Top 12 was the most important competition after the Junior European Championships. Of course, we all wanted to win it very much and had special preparations – great tournament and an amazing experience for participants and spectators”, Vladimir Samsonov.

Source: Table Tennis England