Table tennis legend Jan-Ove Waldner from Sweden was beaten in four straight1 sets by the new European champion Vladimir Samsonov from Belarus on May 3, 2005 at the World Championship in Shanghai.
Waldner didn't feel regret for losing the game, saying that Samsonov played very well and that playing in the main hall was an honor for him though he had to meet Samsonov because of the unideal2 draw3 due to his 21st rank.
The World Championship in Shanghai is the latest important sport event that Waldner has been taken part in during his legendary4 career of more than twenty years as a table tennis player.
The living legend5
Waldner began playing table tennis at the age of five. He began professional training when he was 9 years old.
On the 5th October 1977, Waldner made his debut6 in the top division of the Swedish League. A few weeks later he won his first singles match. His unfortunate victim7, Dennis Pettersson, lost to a boy who was only 140 cm tall and asked his team mates, “How can one beat someone one cannot see?”
In the summer of 1980, Waldner visited China for the first time. The boy played against many Chinese teenagers and lost many matches. Nevertheless, he learned from every game. He stored techniques, tactics8 and countless details in his brain. Deep in his mind burned the passion9 of this small boy, “I'll show them! I'll beat the lot of them!”
In 1982 at the European Championships in Budapest, the sixteen year old defeated the former World Champion Stellan Bengtsson as well as the local Star Tibor Klampar. At this stage Waldner was only ranked No. 30 in Europe. Despite this, he forced his countryman Mikael Appelgren to the brink of defeat in the Final. Waldner, the youngest European finalist of all time, led 2-0 in sets but lost a very close match. Waldner, not Appelgren, became the centre of attention.
At the 1987 World Championships in New Delhi, Waldner played for Sweden. But he was sick and had a high fever of 40°. He dragged10 himself to the table—and won. In the quarter final against Chen Longcan and in the semi final against Teng Yi he knocked out China's number two and three. Waldner led 1-0 and 9-3 in the final against World Champion Jiang Jialiang, but final victory eluded11 him. The 21 year old promised: “My time will come. I will have my revenge.12”
Waldner kept his promise. In 1989 in Dortmund he became World Champion for the first time. The Chinese Team was outclassed13, as Sweden secured14 a 5-0 victory in the final. He achieved his first singles title against his fellow countryman Jorgen Persson. Now Waldner had become “the man to beat”.
Waldner was Olympic Champion in Barcelona in the summer of 1992. In 1997, he won his second World Singles title without dropping a single set. This is a record that is unlikely to be broken. He lost to 19-year-old Chinese Ma Lin in the 1999 semi-finals, but returned to a convincing15 semi-final victory over talented Chinese Liu Guoliang in the 2000 Olympic Games and played five games with the Chinese player Kong Linghui before losing the final.
Though Waldner suffered a big loss to Samsonov during the game in Shanghai, audience in the stands always made extra efforts for him and applauded for every point he gained.
Retirement?
In his 20-year-long legendary career in the sport, Waldner had many times misled16 the world to believe that he was aging and fading out17 before he won big again.
At 39, Waldner refused to give a hint about his retirement from international competitions though rumors18 had been around for months that the Shanghai would be the last for the Swede.
“I'm asked everywhere about the date of my retirement,” said Waldner. “I don't know, I've not decided yet, not this afternoon, maybe tomorrow, next week or three months later. I'll take a rest firstly and think about it later.”
“It will be a pity for me if he retires,” said Samsonov. “For me, he's the greatest table tennis player ever, and of course he's a very talented player and on the other hand he works very very hard all his life.”
What other people say about him
Jiang Jialiang, former world champion:
I have watched Waldner very closely since I became a TV commentator19 in the 1988 Olympics. His games are pearls in my most cherished20 memory. He is more like an orchestra conductor than an athlete and he bemuses21 his rivals and amuses22 spectators.
Wang Tao, former Olympic doubles champion:
He had single-handedly confronted six generations of Chinese players. Wherever he is, he is a brand of table tennis. People give him applause no matter he wins or loses. He is a legend, an example, a symbol.
Lu Lin, former Olympic doubles champion, China coach:
Waldner is born for table tennis. He is an ordinary man off the table tennis court, no girlfriend, unable to drive, busy with competing and making money, yet leaving his finances to his elder brother. Except table tennis, he is good at almost nothing.
Liu Guoliang, former Olympic and world champion, Chinese men's team head coach:
For a long time Europeans had been afraid of Chinese players but Waldner proved Chinese were not invincible23.
Kong Linghui, former world and Olympic champion:
He can easily see through his opponents and baffle24 them with his ever-changing styles. I was deeply moved when I saw he wore a lumbar25 pad26. He had received operations and had a steel tube planted in his injured leg. Many spectators27 rooted28 for Waldner in his bronze medal match against Wang Liqin. He is a table tennis legend.
Did you know?
Waldner opened a bar in Beijing in November 2004. The bar is called the W Sports and Music Restaurant and Bar, the theme of which is “sports and music”.
Talking about the plans about his bar, Waldner is in high spirits: “I am myself familiar with the city; another reason for choosing Beijing to open our bar is my love for this city itself. I want to employ it as a means to repay my Chinese fans hospitality29 and kindness. Equipped with a lot of sports equipment, my bar is in a sense a sports bar. We also have a large screen projection TV to make it convenient to watch live broadcast sports programs. My ultimate30 goal is to bring comprehensive31 enjoyment to my fans.”
2005年5月3日上海世乒赛上，瑞典传奇乒乓选手瓦尔德内尔直落四盘输给了来自白俄罗斯的新科欧洲冠军弗萨姆索诺夫。
输掉比赛瓦尔德内尔并不感到遗憾，他称赞萨姆索诺夫打得很好。由于自己的世界排名跌至21位，他抽签不理想，碰上了萨姆索诺夫，导致自己过早出局，尽管如此，他说能够在上海世乒赛主赛场打球是一种荣幸。
上海世乒赛是瓦尔德内尔20多年传奇运动生涯中最近参加的一次重要比赛。
传奇人生
瓦尔德内尔5岁开始打乒乓球，9岁开始接受专业训练。
1977年10月5日，瓦尔德内尔首次参加瑞典乒乓球联赛的顶级赛事，几个星期之后获得第一个单打冠军。不幸的丹尼斯·皮德森输给了这位身高只有1.4m的小男孩，皮德森向他的队友发出这样的疑问：“你怎么能战胜一个矮得你都看不见的人呢？”
1980年夏，瓦尔德内尔首次来到中国，他和许多中国少年选手交过手，输多赢少。然而，每一场比赛他都有所收获，乒乓球的技巧、战术和大量的细节等等，他都一一铭记在心。这个孩子的内心深处充满着火样激情：“我要露一手!我要击败他们所有人!”
1982年在布达佩斯举办的欧洲乒乓球锦标赛上，16岁的瓦尔德内尔战胜了前世界冠军斯塔兰·本格森和匈牙利本土球星科兰帕尔。此时，瓦尔德内尔在欧洲仅排30名。尽管如此，作为迄今为止欧洲最年轻的晋级决赛的选手，他在决赛中迫使同胞阿佩伊伦差一点输掉，但自己在以2：0领先的情况下还是很遗憾地输掉了这场比分接近的比赛。瓦尔德内尔成为了众人瞩目的焦点，而堂堂冠军阿佩伊伦却无人问津。
1987年新德里世乒赛上，瓦尔德内尔代表瑞典队参赛，可是他病倒了，高烧40度。他拖着病躯参加比赛，结果赢了。在四分之一决赛和半决赛时他先后击败了中国的2号和3号选手陈龙灿和滕义。但是，瓦尔德内尔在以1：0领先并在决胜局以9：3领先的大好形势下输给了世锦赛冠军江嘉良。21岁的瓦尔德内尔立下誓言：“我的时代就要来临，我会报仇雪恨的。”
瓦尔德内尔信守了自己的承诺。1989年在德国多特蒙德他首次获得世界冠军。在决赛中瑞典队以5：0的比分击败中国队获胜。在战胜自己的同胞佩尔森后，他第一次获得单打世界冠军。此时，瓦尔德内尔成了“人人想战胜的人”。
1992年夏，瓦尔德内尔获得巴塞罗那奥运会冠军。1997年，他一局未失第二次获得单打世界冠军，这是一项不太可能被打破的纪录。在1999年的半决赛中，他输给了19岁的中国选手马林，但是在2000年奥运会的半决赛上令人信服地战胜了中国天才选手刘国梁，在决赛中他激战五回合，才败给中国选手孔令辉。
尽管瓦尔德内尔在上海世乒赛上惨败给萨姆索诺夫，但是，看台上的观众总是为他鼓劲加油，他每赢一分观众都报以热烈的掌声。
告别乒坛？
在他长达20年的传奇运动生涯中，有很多次世人都误以为瓦尔德内尔宝刀已老，不会再有大的建树，要退出乒坛了。
39岁的瓦尔德内尔拒绝透露是不是要退出国际竞技场，尽管有传言说上海世乒赛将是他代表瑞典队参加的最后一场比赛。
瓦尔德内尔说，“到处有人问我何时挂拍，我不知道，我还没决定，不是今天下午，也许明天，下个星期或者三个月后。我想先休息一阵子，再慢慢考虑。”
萨姆索诺夫说，“如果他退役了，我会感到遗憾的。我觉得他是有史以来最伟大的乒乓球运动员，当然，他很有才华，他一直都非常非常勤奋。”
名将话老瓦
江嘉良（前世界冠军）：自我担任1988年奥运会电视解说员以来，我一直密切关注着瓦尔德内尔，他的比赛是我最珍贵记忆中的明珠。他更像一个交响乐队指挥而不是一个运动员，他把他的对手打得找不着北，却给观众带来快乐。
王涛（前奥运双打冠军）：他独自一人对抗了6代中国运动员，无论走到哪里，他都是乒乓球的一块招牌。无论输赢，观众总是给他掌声，他是一段传奇，一个榜样，一种象征。
吕林（前奥运会双打冠军，中国队教练）：瓦尔德内尔为乒乓球而生，在乒乓球场外，他是个很平常的人，没有女朋友，不会开车，整天忙着比赛、赚钱，却让他的哥哥打理财务。除了乒乓球，他几乎什么都不会。
刘国梁（前奥运会、世锦赛双料冠军，中国乒乓球男队主教练）：很长一段时间，欧洲球员都害怕中国选手，但是瓦尔德内尔证明了中国人并非不可战胜的。
孔令辉（前世锦赛、奥运会双料冠军）：他能轻易识破对手，并不断变换花样来迷惑对手。看到他腰上绑着护垫上阵时，我被深深感动了。他做过几次手术，受伤的腿上接了一截钢管。在同王励勤争夺铜牌的比赛中，很多观众都支持他。他是乒坛传奇人物。
逸闻趣事
2004年11月，瓦尔德内尔在北京开了一家英文名为“The W Sport and Music Restaurant and Bar”(老瓦运动与音乐餐吧)的酒吧，其主题是“运动和音乐”。
在谈到酒吧的将来时，瓦尔德内尔兴致很高，他说，“我本人很熟悉这座城市；我在北京开酒吧的另一个原因是我很喜欢这座城市，我想通过它来回报中国球迷的友好和善意。酒吧里配有很多运动器材，在一定意义上，这儿也是个运动场所。我们还有一个大屏幕背投电视，方便球迷观看直播的体育节目。我的终极目标是给我的球迷带来全方位的享受。”
1. straight adj. 连续的
2. unideal adj. 不理想的
3. draw n. 抽签
4. legendary adj. 传奇的
5. legend n. 传奇
6. debut n. 初次登台，初次亮相
7. victim n. 牺牲品
8. tactics n. 策略，手段
9. passion n. 激情
10. dragv. 拖
11. elude v. 逃避,逃脱
12. revenge n. 复仇
13. outclass v. 超越，超过
14. secure v. 取得
15. convincing adj. 令人信服的
16. mislead v. 误导
17. fade out 淡出
18. rumor n. 传言，谣言
19. commentator [?謖k?蘅menteit?藜] n. 评论员，讲解员
20. cherish [?謖t?蘩eri?蘩] v. 珍藏
21. bemuse [bi?謖mju?蘼z] v. 使发呆
22. amuse [?藜?謖mju?蘼z] v. 使愉快
23. invincible [in?謖vins?藜bl] adj. 不可战胜的
24. baffle [?謖b?覸fl] v. 使困惑，难住
25. lumbar [?謖l?蘧mb?藜] adj. 腰部的
26. pad [p?覸d] n. 护垫
27. spectator [spek?謖teit?藜] n. 观众
28. root [ru?蘼t] v. 支持
29. hospitality [?謣h?蘅spi?謖t?覸liti] n. 好客
30. ultimate [?謖?蘧ltimit] adj. 最终的
31. comprehensive [?謣k?蘅mpri?謖hensiv] adj. 全面的，广泛的