On December 11, Swedish star Persson announced that he has decided to retire from the national team after the next Worlds. His coach, Ulf Carlsson, said that he hoped Persson would not rush into a decision, because he is still a world class player.
At the Denmark Open semifinals, 34-year-old Persson lost to Schlager 1-3. After that match Persson made his announcement. He also said that because of the long training and the many tournaments, it was hard for him to feel any more passion for international competition. He hopes to spend more time with his family.
Persson joined the national team in 1983, and has played 198 international matches. He has won the Worlds singles title, as well as 4 team titles with his teammates.
The year 2000 saw the Swedish team come back from lows to reach the peak, and then quickly descend to great depths. After the 1999 Worlds, Persson and Waldner had lost confidence in the team's future, and had announced their retirements after the Olympics. But then in Malaysia, their success had caught them by surprise. They thought that they were reaching another plateau in their careers, and said that they would play for a long time.
But the younger players now have asserted themselves. In the Olympics, Kong put on a great show. Both Waldner and Persson were defeated decisively. Then the big ball era began. In the World Cup and the Pro Tours, the two players have not been able to make the adjustment. Their string of losses, coupled with the Chinese players' successes, have diminished theor hopes for the future. So it is not surprising that Persson feels it is time to retire.
With Persson gone, Waldner will find it hard to continue the Swedish success. He withdrew from the Denmark Open because of injuries, and lost his chance of making the Pro-Tour finals. This will be the first time Waldner misses the grand finals. It appears that Waldner is not far from retirement.
The Waldner and Persson led Swedish team had been at the top for almost 20 years, and faced 5 generations of players from China, from Cai Zhenhua, to Jiang, and finally to Liu. Persson's retirment will mean that the rivalry between China and Sweden could be coming to an end.
"They are our most valuable opponents. Without them, the table tennis world would not have made such progress, and the China team would not have reached such a high standard", Liu Guliang and Kong commented on the Swedes.
1st round: 11-25-2000. Saive vs Liu. Liu won 3-2 (10, -17, -21, 18, 19)
2nd round: 2-3-2001. Keen (Netherlands) vs China (To Be Determined)
3rd round: 2-10-2001. Persson vs China (TBD)
4th round: 2-17-2001. Primorac vs China (TBD)
5th round: 3-3-2001. Samsonov vs China (TBD)
Because of my shoulder injury, I only played 2 matches each in the singles and the doubles events in the Denmark Open. The quarterfinal match against Persson would have been a great chance to learn how well he has adjusted to the big ball, but my swollen shoulder forced me to withdraw. The first two matches I played against so-so players, and therefore it was hard to know what kind of technical problems I still have. Overall I felt that I did OK, but I am still not used to my forehand sponge; I still need to adjust. From this tournament, I see that the Europeans have got sued to the big ball. The top players like Persson, Rosskopf and Schlager are playing just like they did with the small ball.
Our younger players have done very well and reached the elimination rounds. They did better than in Poland and Sweden, perhaps due to the fact that the level of play is a little lower in the Denmark Open, and also because these players have their own specialties. For example, Hou Yingchao's chopping style is very difficult for the Europeans. Also, Shan Mingjie, Wang Jianjun and Liu Heng were all playing very well in China recently. They have the ability to compete.
After the Denmark Open, we came back to Beijing on December 12. The next day I went to Beijing Number 3 Hospital which specializes in sports injuries. The doctor said that my shoulder injury was related to the muscles. So now I will only do physical training and not technical training. I will miss the league match on December 16, but I hope to play on December 20 and 23.
Many fans asked me how serious my injury is. This injury is actually about 5 or 6 years old. Back then I did not have enough power in my shoulder, and my forehand looping motion was not correct, so after a while one of my shoulder muscles started to harden. This hardened muscle was attached to several others, so whenever it acts up, my whole shoulder will swell. It does not take very long to recover, and right now it is not hurting anymore, but it is stiff. To cure the problem is difficult; I will need a lot of massaging and stretching to loosen that shoulder muscle and get it to a relaxed state. Last year I had the same injury in Copenhagenm and that was very bad. I had to use electrical stimulation on that muscle. The injury is more likely to recur under 2 sets of conditions: when I play against choppers, or if I have not played for a long time.