'Farewell, Comrade Boll': China fans hail German table tennis ace
Chinese table tennis fans on Tuesday bid heartfelt farewell to the retiring Timo Boll, Germany's former world number one known fondly as "Uncle Boll" by millions in the Asian country.
The 44-year-old played his last professional match on Sunday in Frankfurt as his domestic team lost the Bundesliga final in Frankfurt.
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It made headlines in China and on the X-like Weibo platform a related hash tag had more than four million views as of noon Tuesday.
Writing in Chinese and German on Weibo, four-time Olympic medallist Boll thanked fans for their "thunderous support".
"Thank you to the Chinese fans for your deep affection that crossed national borders," he wrote to his nearly 800,000 followers.
"From Ma Lin to Fan Zhendong, every clash with a great opponent has been one of my most cherished honours," Boll added, referring to two Chinese table tennis giants and Olympic champions.
Table tennis is widely considered China's national sport and is played recreationally across the country.
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China has dominated the sport at the Olympics since it was introduced as a medal event in 1988, winning 37 of the 42 gold medals.
They won all five titles at the Paris Games last summer.
Boll never quite reached those heights during a career spanning three decades, but retires with two Olympic silvers and two bronzes, all in team competition.
He was widely admired by table tennis fans in China as one of the few non-Chinese players who challenged the country's dominance, especially in the 2000s and 2010s.
Following his final event in the country a year ago, Boll called China his second home.
"You can see I still have some tears in my eyes," Boll, who won 20 European titles in singles, doubles and team events, said at the time.
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Boll said in a 2019 interview that he had learnt "a little bit" of Chinese and had "many Chinese friends".
Chinese fans expressed strong emotions this week as Boll bowed out.
"Farewell, Comrade Boll. We wave goodbye with both smiles and tears," said one Weibo user.
"Uncle Boll's table tennis career has been long and brilliant," said another, adding "he influenced an entire generation".
State news agency Xinhua described Boll as having a "storied career at the sport's highest level".
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