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The Rise and Fall and Rise of the Swedish Table Tennis Team

Being one of the most successful countries in the table tennis scene, Sweden has produced many legends like Jan Ove Waldner, Jorgen Persson and Mikael Appelgren. They have also been relatively successful in the last 5 years with players like Mattias Falck, Kristian Karlsson and more recently Truls Moregardh going to the finals of major tournaments. However, it wasn't always like this as there was a period of time in which there was not a single Swedish player ranked in the top 20. Looking at the graph below, we can split the table tennis history into 3 main eras. The rise and dominance of the Golden Generation (1985-1995), the fall and dark ages (1996-2015) and the comeback (2016-today). 




The Rise and Dominance of the Golden Generation (1985-1995)

During this time, table tennis was becoming more and more popular with the first World Cup being held in 1980 and table tennis being recognised as a sport at the 1988 Olympics. As the then 30 years old Stellan Bengtsson slowly faded away from the table tennis scene in 1983, an 18 year old Jan Ove Waldner and 22 year old Mikael Appelgren broke through the top 10 in the world and thus starting the 'Golden Generation'. Jorgen Persson joined the top 10 in 1986 with fellow teammate Erik Lindh joining as well in 1987. 


(L to R) Jorgen Persson, Mikael Appelgren and Jan Ove Waldner, the main players of the Golden Generation


At their peak, they won 3 World Team Championships in a row in 1989, 1991 and 1993. Additionally, all 4 of Waldner, Lindh, Appelgren and Persson were ranked in the top 10 for almost 3 years in a row with Waldner and Persson sitting on the top 2 places for 3 years as well. In the European scene, they completely dominated winning the European Team Championship 4 times in a row in 1986, 1988, 1990 and 1992. As Mikael Appelgren and Erik Lindh slowly faded away from the game, both Persson and Waldner stayed at the top of their game. 

The Downfall and Dark Ages (1996-2015)

Having career lengths that were longer than the average table tennis player, both Persson and Waldner were still representing Sweden at the highest level. Waldner stayed in the top 10 comfortably until 2002 whilst Persson constantly jumped up and down the rankings. Peter Karlsson was also among the best in the world at one point but also slowly faded away from the table tennis scene. All 3 players started to slow down and by 2012 all of them had completely retired from the game with Waldner and Peter going in 2008 and Persson in 2012 after the Olympics. 

Par Gerell, one of the best players for Sweden during the early 2010s

During this period of time, there were no younger Swedish players to continue the legacy that the generation before had left. From 2012 to 2014, not a single Swedish player managed to break the top 40 in the world. Par Garrel and Jens Lundqvist who were the 2 highest ranked Swedish players at the time just couldn't play at the highest level and establish themselves among the best in the world. The table tennis powerhouse Sweden didn't have a single player ranked in the top 10 for almost 15 years and Germany slowly overtook them as the dominant country in Europe. 

The Comeback (2016-today)

In the year of 2016 and 2017, 2 Swedish players were slowly climbing up the ranks. Producing consistent results, Kristian Karlsson and Mattias Falck made it into the top 25. Mattias Falck slowly climbed up the rankings before breaking the top 10 in the world and solidifying himself up there after winning second place in the World Table Tennis Championship. Kristian Karlsson also managed to peak at number 18 in 2018. Both Karlsson and Flack also played very important roles in ending the 19 year podium drought for Sweden. 

Truls Moregardh celebrating after beating Timo Boll in last years World Championship semi finals

Today, both Karlsson and Falck are joined by the youngsters Truls Moregardh and Anton Kallberg. Both Moregardh and Kallberg have proved themselves on the international stage with Moregardh winning second at the World Championships last year and Kallberg qualifying for the 2020 Olympics. With Moregardh and Kallberg, the Swedish Table Tennis Team has a very bright future ahead of them. 
  

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Image Sources:

Jan Ove Waldner, Mikael Appelgren and Jorgen Persson: 
https://www.donic.com/donic/en/schwedische-legenden

Par Gerell:
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/what-ticked-off-swedish-table-tennis-star-par-gerell/articleshow/60202956.cms

Truls Moregardh
https://www.ettu.org/en/n/news/2021/november/boll--moregarad-and-two-european-doubles-secured-the-place-at-the-medal-rostrum/
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