Dimitrij Ovtcharov
Germany
Germany
Dimitrij Ovtcharov is a famous German table tennis player who was born in Ukraine in 1988. He had since risen to fame throughout his long and successful career that began in 2007 when he moved from his local table tennis club to the reigning champions at the time, Borussia Dusseldorf.
After that, he went on to change clubs several times and win multiple gold medals while competing at an international level. Throughout all of this time, he has had one main competitor who he has been unable to best: Ma Long. Ma Long is an extremely successful Chinese table tennis player, and the two have gone head to head for over a decade. In the rest of this article, you will learn more about Dimitrij Ovtcharov’s journey to becoming one of the most successful German tennis players in the world. This article goes over his early life and career, as well as the teachers and influences that have been key to his success in the table tennis world.
Quick Facts
Biography
Dimitrij is a German table tennis player who was originally born in the capital of Ukraine, Kyiv, on the 2nd of September, 1988. He was born to his mother, Tatjana, and his father, Mikhail, who was also a very successful table tennis player in Ukraine. After the accident in Chornobyl, his family decided to uproot and move to Germany to get farther away from the danger zone. They ended up leaving Ukraine for Germany in 1992 when Dimitrij was only four years old. Once they reached Germany, they settled down in the district of Tündern, where he began to learn to play table tennis.
Career
While in Tündern, Dimitrij began to play for the club TSV Schwalbe where he played until 2007. It was with this club that he first began to make a name for himself as a professional German table tennis player. In 2007 he decided to make a move from TSV Schwalbe to Borussia Dusseldorf, who were the table tennis champions at the time. With this team, Dimitrij Ovtcharov was able to win his first German table tennis championships. 2008 was also the year that Dimitrij played in his first Olympic games in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. It was there that he won the silver medal as part of the German table tennis team. Since then, he has remained a constant presence in international table tennis competitions. After his successful streak with Dusseldorf, he decided to move on to a new table tennis club in Belgium, Royal Villette Charleroi. He only played with this team for one year and during that time the team came in second in the Champions League.
10 Years In Russia
After a year with the club in Belgium, Dimitrij Ovtcharov decided to go back to his roots and transferred to a Russian table tennis club located in Orenburg. He ended up staying at that club for over ten years from 2010 to 2021 and was extremely successful during that time. During that time he won the European championships twice in 2013 and 2015. He also came second place in the tournament once in 2020. During those ten years, he also won 9 world tours including the India Open, the China Open, and the German Open.
He also participated in three more Olympic games during his time with the club competing in the 2012, 2016, and 2020 Summer Olympics. Unfortunately, after more than ten years of competing and training with the club, tragedy struck and the Ukraine native was forced to leave the club.
Russian Invasion
In 2022, Russia began to invade Ukraine, which created a deadly war between the two countries. That is still ongoing in 2022. Due to this war, Dimitrij decided to leave his Russian table tennis club and go back to his country, Germany.
New Club
Once back in Germany, Dimitrij Ovtcharov joined a new table tennis club, TTC Neu-Ulm, with which he will compete in the Champions League this year.
Play Style
With a shakehand grip, the player is using their entire arm which allows for more flexibility and ease of motion. This lets the player adjust more easily to hit a backhand.
Dimitrij uses a classic shakehand grip that is commonly seen among table tennis players in Europe and is generally thought of as the most popular grip in the world. One of the biggest advantages of using this grip is that it allows the player to have more power in every stroke. Since the power and motion of the racket come from the entire arm in a shakehand grip, the player can strike the ball with more force. A shakehand grip also allows the player to have a solid backhand, something that is missing in most other grips. With a penhold grip where the paddle is held between the fingers, it is more difficult for the player to rotate the paddle enough to get a solid backhand stroke.
His Serves
Dimitrij is also particularly well-known for his tomahawk serve. The tomahawk serve allows the player to create a range of spins depending on how they strike the ball. This makes it more difficult for the opponent to predict how the ball is going to move. In addition to the tomahawk serve, he is known for an extremely powerful backhand serve that is difficult for the opponent to counter. His technique gives the ball significant side spin, which helps to make it difficult for the opponent to effectively respond to.
Teachers and Influences
Dimitrij Ovtcharov’s earliest influence in the table tennis world was his father. His father, Mikhail Ovtcharov, was a very successful table tennis player for the Soviet Union. He was the person who originally pushed Dimitrij to pursue table tennis and was the first person to train him. Over the years, Dimitrij has trained with many different clubs, including three in Germany, one in Belgium, and one in Russia, and each has influenced molding him into the player that he is today. However, throughout all the years of him moving around and playing for different clubs, his father has been by his side as his trainer.
Most Famous Opponent: Ma Long
Throughout his career, Dimitrij has never managed to beat Ma Long.
For the entirety of Dimitrij’s career, there has been one constant headline, Ma Long vs. Dimitrij Ovtcharov. Ma Long was born in 1988, just like Dimitrij Ovtcharov. However, instead of being born in Ukraine, Ma Long was born in China. He is the top player in China and is the reigning Olympic champion in the men’s singles division. Despite also being one of the top players in the world, Dimitrij has never been able to beat him, which supports the widely held belief that Ma Long is the greatest table tennis player of all time. The pair first played against one another in 2007 at the World Table Tennis Championships where Ma Long began his long streak of beating Dimitrij Ovtcharov.
In the Olympic games, which were held in 2021, Ma Long was champion over Dimitrij once again. He broke a record when he, along with his team, received a gold medal for the team division in table tennis. This brought his total medal count up to five gold medals, more than any table tennis player has previously won. Germany ended up coming second to the Chinese team in the Olympics, continuing Ma Long’s seemingly impermeable winning streak.
Net Worth
According to multiple sources, it is estimated that Dimitrij Ovtcharov’s net worth is approximately 16 million dollars. However, it is difficult to be entirely sure of his net worth as it is not something that he publishes. He has had a successful career in table tennis and has maintained many sponsorships over the years. However, table tennis is not the most lucrative sport and since giving up his place in his Russian club, he has had to move his life to Germany and start over in a lot of ways.
Dimitrij Ovtcharov Equipment
Videos
Final Thoughts
Dimitrij Ovtcharov is one of the top table tennis players in the world, currently ranking top ten. He has been actively competing on the international level since 2008 when he won a silver medal in his first Olympic games in Beijing, China. From there, his success only continued to grow. He has gone on to be a part of several successful table tennis clubs, including three German clubs, one club from Belgium, and a Russian club which he decided to leave following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He is currently part of the German national team, where he is one of their key players and consistently helps the team rank in top competitions.