INTERVIEW WITH SWEDISH NATIONAL TEAM MEMBER-PAR GERELL
PAR GERELL IS ONE OF SWEDEN'S RISING STARS IN TABLE-TENNIS. HE WAS ROUGHLY 2550-2600 AT THE AGE OF 17 IN 2000 AS LEAGUE FOUNDER SHASHIN SHODHAN LIVED WITH AND PLAYED WITH GERELL IN FALKENBERG, SWEDEN. SINCE THEN, GERELL CONTINUED TO IMPROVE AND LEFT SOMEONE BEHIND. GERELL NOW IS A REGULAR MEMBER OF THE SWEDISH TEAM AND PLAYS THE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS AND WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS FOR SWEDEN. (Photo by Marcio Rodrigues)
NorCal Table Tennis: You were one of the top juniors in Sweden when you were 17 in 2000 and then made a big jump to be one of the top male players in Sweden within 3 years as you defeated World Men's Singles Champion Werner Schlager one month before he became World Champion in 2003. What helped you to improve and take your game from the junior ranks to the men's ranks?
Par Gerell: I had very good practice partners in Falkenberg such as Erik Lindh and Peter Karlsson (Note: both are multiple-time World and European Champions) who I practiced with a lot. Also, I was never injured which is really important. Playing international tournaments also helped.
NorCal Table Tennis: Who are your best wins in tournaments and practice?
Par Gerell: In competition, I have singles wins over Werner Schlager (2003 World Men's Singles Champion), Zoran Primorac (1993 and 1997 World Cup Champion), Alexei Smirnov (2005 European Top 12 Winner), Jan-Ove Waldner (6-time World Champion and Olympic Gold and Silver Medalist), and Jens Lundquist (Gerell's doubles partner). (Notes: Gerell also had a 2-1, 10-4 lead against 3-time European Men's Singles Champion Vladimir Samsonov in a recent Pro Tour and in doubles, Gerell recently defeated Timo Boll in a Bundesliga match. Gerell and Lundquist had a 3-2, 10-7 lead in the European Championships men's doubles quarterfinals against Werner Schlager and Patrick Chila but lost with Chila getting an edge ball at 10-9.) In practice, if you play someone enough, you are likely to beat them at some point. In practice, I beat my German Bundesliga teammates Adrian Crisan (current world ranking #25 and highest world ranking #12) 1 out of 5 times and beat Chuan Chih-Yuan (current world ranking #16 and highest world ranking #3) 1 out of 10 times.
NorCal Table Tennis: Please compare the Swedish and German leagues.
Par Gerell: The German league is better as in the last three years, the Swedish league has been going down for economic reasons. Also now, the Spanish, Italian, and French leagues are becoming better so there is more competition for the Swedish league.
NorCal Table Tennis: What are the salary ranges in the Swedish and German leagues?
Par Gerell: In Sweden, the players get about $1,000-$3,000/month. In the German Bundesliga, players get $2,500-$15,000/month with the better players usually getting $6,000-$12,000/month. Someone like Timo Boll makes much more.
NorCal Table Tennis: What are your table-tennis goals?
Par Gerell: I want to win a medal in the World Championships or Olympics.
NorCal Table Tennis: What do sponsors look for or get in return in the German leagues?
Par Gerell: Our big sponsor Liebherr which sponsors many international tournaments is from Ochsenhausen (which is the club Gerell plays for) so the geography worked well for our club. Every team gets regular coverage in the local newspapers and now matches are shown live on the internet. Matches are shown sometimes on local TV but not too often.
NorCal Table Tennis: Is Timo Boll very well-known in Germany now?
Par Gerell: Yes, Timo Boll is very famous now. After he swept the European Championships a couple weeks back in team, singles, and doubles, he was invited to the biggest sports show in Germany with doubles partner Christian Suss.
NorCal Table Tennis: Do you have any interesting experiences with Waldner in China in the 2005 Worlds?
Par Gerell: It's crazy how big he is in China.
NorCal Table Tennis: What do you think about the Pro Tours from a spectator, organizational, and monetary viewpoint?
Par Gerell: It is very different from tourney to tourney. The best Pro Tours are probably in China but Germany has a good one too as all the top players play in it. The Swedish one is ok. The Qatar Open offers the most money but there are hardly any spectators as the Middle East doesn't seem to be interested in sports in general.
NorCal Table Tennis: With Waldner retired from national team play, has interest in table-tennis gone down in Sweden?
Par Gerell: Yes, because when the Swedish team was doing well, there was so much focus on him and not so much the entire Swedish team. The media was very interested in him so with him gone, there is now less interest.
NorCal Table Tennis: What advice do you have for a league in the US?
Par Gerell: It's good to have a league and make it as professional as possible.
NorCal Table Tennis: You have won the Brazilian Pro Tour in men's doubles before and made the semifinals in men's singles earlier this month so what causes you to do so well in Brazil?
Par Gerell: Brazil is a nice country but it is just a coincidence to have the good results there.