Granny in Kyiv, left the club
For Dimitrij Ovtcharov, table tennis was far away
04/26/2022, 10:07 am
The attack on Ukraine in February changed many lives, including that of German table tennis star Dimitrij Ovtcharov. Born in Kyiv, he has to get his grandmother from Kyiv and then make a decision that will affect his further path.
Table tennis national player Dimitrij Ovtcharov experienced dramatic days at the beginning of the war in Ukraine. “It took a long time before we were able to get my 85-year-old grandmother from her apartment in Kyiv,” said the 33-year-old in an interview with the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”: “Friends spontaneously took her in the car, she only had her purse and her passport.”
Born in Kyiv and the son of a former Soviet international, Ovtcharov was deeply shocked by Russia’s war of aggression. “First of all, I couldn’t even think about table tennis for days. The time was exhausting,” said the Olympic bronze medalist: “Here in Düsseldorf we also looked after families from the Ukraine, for example we organized apartments for them.”
Ovtcharov canceled his contract with the Russian club Fakel Orenburg after twelve years. “On the first day of the war it was clear to us: Now it’s no longer possible,” he said: “Although the people in the club have nothing to do with the war, we had to take a clear position. (…) Even if it’s only one tiny part in bringing the war to an end, it was worth it.”
In the coming season, Ovtcharov will mainly play in the Champions League and in the cup for TTC Neu-Ulm. However, he is not quite fit yet given a long-term ankle problem. “I play with protection on my foot as a precaution and I don’t move as much as I can yet because I really want to avoid another setback,” he said. He plans his comeback for early July.
With Orenburg, which is largely financed by the Russian gas company Gazprom, the two-time European champion won the Champions League six times in addition to several national titles. Because of the war, the club is now excluded from all international competitions until further notice.