When all questions had been answered, Timo Boll experienced another special Olympic moment. After the last international match of his career, the table tennis star entered a part of the hall that was separated by makeshift metal walls and suddenly found himself face to face with his close friend Dirk Nowitzki. The basketball legend applauded, bowed to Boll – and hugged him tightly.

There could hardly have been a better script for the friendship between two of the greatest German athletes in history. After all, it all began in 2008 in Beijing – also at the Olympics. Now the circle has come full circle in Paris. “He’s been saying for years, finally stop, that we can do a bit more together. I’ve always resisted it, but now the time has come,” said Boll with his typical grin.

Tears through chants

In the hall, he was “brutally overwhelmed” by his emotions after the 0:3 defeat against Sweden. Tears flowed as the more than 6,000 fans just couldn’t stop chanting “Timo, Timo”. The loser of the evening was the winner of hearts. He was an “outstanding player, the greatest player we’ve ever had,” said the not exactly unsuccessful national coach Jörg Roßkopf.

Others may be more highly decorated than Boll. His big dream of an individual Olympic medal never came true. But the 43-year-old has retained his deeply empathetic nature despite all his highs. He is not only one of the greatest table tennis players of all time, as his long-time teammate Dimitrij Ovtcharov said, but “also a very good person who always gives a lot.”

Even today, Boll is practically unable to move freely in China. To be idolized as a German in the land of table tennis is a life achievement that is unlikely to be repeated. In Boll’s best days, the Middle Kingdom even commissioned a whole series of players to imitate the Hessian’s game perfectly in training. That’s how great the respect was. Boll climbed to the top of the world rankings three times, won four team medals at the Olympics, won two individual medals at the World Championships and eight European Championship titles.

One week vacation

After a week’s vacation, his part-time retirement begins. Boll will play one more season with his club Düsseldorf. But without international tournaments, he will have considerably more time. And he wants to make the most of it. Spending time with his wife Rodelia and daughter Zoey Malaya and playing tennis with his friend Nowitzki are high on his list. The mobile home he recently lived in when he was in Düsseldorf will be used more often.

Above all, he wants to take his time. “I think I need a year or two of peace and quiet to clear my head,” said Boll. He wants to try out a few things and then decide which direction to go in. “I have to find that out for myself first,” said Boll.

Table tennis team no longer a medal guarantee

Nowitzki has already made the idea of ​​a future without competitive sport appealing to him. “There are many good times ahead of him,” the 46-year-old told the German Press Agency. “We athletes are always a little afraid of giving up. When you’ve done something for 20, 25, 30 years – there’s a certain emptiness that comes with it. But life afterward isn’t as bad as it sounds.”

The much bigger problem is looming for German table tennis. Boll is gone, Ovtcharov will soon be 36 years old and the clear defeat against Sweden revealed that other nations have caught up – or even overtaken. “We have always been somewhere near the front for the last 25, 30 years,” said Roßkopf. Now there are many more individual players, many more teams playing for the podium. There are good players. But getting an exceptional player like Boll again “will definitely be difficult.”