Kjell Johansson (table tennis player)
Kjell Johansson (born October 5, 1946 in Eskilstuna ; † October 24, 2011 in Eksjö ) was a Swedish table tennis player and was one of the best table tennis players in the world in the 1960s and 1970s.
Career
Kjell Johansson was European champion in men's singles in 1964 in Malmö and in 1966 in London and later three times world champion in men's doubles ( 1967 in Stockholm and 1969 in Munich with Hans Alsér / 1973 in Sarajevo with Stellan Bengtsson ). He won the European Championship six times with the Swedish team. Six times he was Swedish champion in men's singles. Between 1961 and 1977 he played 240 times for the Swedish national team. In 1965 he was honored with the Svenska Dagbladet gold medal. After the 1977 World Cup, Johansson ended his career.
Like many table tennis players, Kjell was also known for his fairness: At the table tennis world championship in 1967 (individual competition) in Stockholm he was behind the Russian player Stanislaw Gomoskow in the decisive set 19:20. In the rally that followed, the referee overlooked the Russian's edge ball, but the Swede gave up the point and lost the game. Johansson was later awarded the Unicef Fair Play Award for his honesty.
His extremely hard, uncompromising forehand shot was also jokingly called "Thors Hammer" ("Thors Hammare"), he is considered the first uncompromisingly offensive table tennis player in Europe. Unfortunately, he did not succeed in changing his game system (safe block play, "shot", stunning coordination) to the topspin that was emerging at the end of the 1960s . This and other deficits (e.g. in the service game) were probably the reasons why he never could win an individual world championship.
Together with his brother Christer Johansson , he played in the Swedish team at the 1967 World Cup.
successes
- Participation in table tennis world championships
-
1967 in Stockholm
- 1st place doubles (with Hans Alsér )
- 3rd place with men's team
-
1969 in Munich
- 1st place doubles (with Hans Alsér )
-
1973 in Sarajevo
- 2nd place singles (behind Hsi En-Ting )
- 1st place doubles (with Stellan Bengtsson )
- 1st place with men's team
-
1977 in Birmingham
- 3rd place doubles
-
1967 in Stockholm
-
European championships
-
1964 in Malmö
- 1st place single
- 2nd place doubles (with Hans Alsér )
- 1st place with men's team
-
1966 in London
- 1st place single
- 1st place doubles (with Hans Alsér )
- 1st place with men's team
-
1968 in Lyon
- 3rd place single
- 2nd place doubles (with Hans Alsér )
- 1st place with men's team
-
1970 in Moscow
- 3rd place single
- 2nd place doubles (with Hans Alsér )
- 1st place with men's team
-
1972 in Rotterdam
- 2nd place doubles (with Stellan Bengtsson )
-
1976 in Prague
- 1st place doubles (with Stellan Bengtsson )
-
1964 in Malmö
- International Championships of Scandinavia (SOC)
- 1969: 2nd place individual
- 1970: 1st place individual
- 1971: 1st place individual
- 1975: 2nd place individual
- National Swedish Championships
- 1964: 1st place individual
- 1965: 2nd place individual
- 1966: 1st place individual
- 1967: 2nd place individual
- 1968: 2nd place individual
- 1969: 1st place individual
- 1971: 1st place individual
- 1972: 2nd place individual
- 1973: 2nd place individual
- 1974: 1st place individual
- 1975: 2nd place individual
- 1976: 1st place individual
- Europe ranking: 1966 1st place
Results from the ITTF database
Association | event | year | place | country | singles | Double | Mixed | team |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SWE | European Championship | 1976 | Prague | TCH | Quarter finals | gold | 2 | |
SWE | European Championship | 1974 | Novi Sad | YUG | Semifinals | silver | 1 | |
SWE | European Championship | 1972 | Rotterdam | NED | last 16 | silver | 1 | |
SWE | European Championship | 1970 | Moscow | URS | Semifinals | silver | 1 | |
SWE | European Championship | 1968 | Lyon | FRA | Semifinals | silver | 1 | |
SWE | European Championship | 1966 | London | CLOSELY | gold | gold | 1 | |
SWE | European Championship | 1964 | Malmo | SWE | gold | silver | 1 | |
SWE | European Youth Championship (Juniors) | 1963 | Duisburg | FRG | Semifinals | gold | ||
SWE | EURO TOP12 | 1977 | Sarajevo | YUG | Scratched | |||
SWE | EURO TOP12 | 1976 | Lübeck | FRG | silver | |||
SWE | EURO TOP12 | 1975 | Vienna | AUT | gold | |||
SWE | EURO TOP12 | 1974 | Trollhatten | SWE | Scratched | |||
SWE | EURO TOP12 | 1973 | Boeblingen | FRG | 4th | |||
SWE | EURO TOP12 | 1972 | Zagreb | YUG | Scratched | |||
SWE | EURO TOP12 | 1971 | Zadar | YUG | 6th | |||
SWE | Nordic championships | 1969 | Solvesborg | SWE | gold | gold | silver | 1 |
SWE | Nordic championships | 1965 | Nyborg | THE | gold | gold | silver | 1 |
SWE | Nordic championships | 1963 | Skara | SWE | gold | gold | gold | 1 |
SWE | Nordic championships | 1961 | Mountains | NOR | Semifinals | 1 | ||
SWE | World Championship | 1977 | Birmingham | CLOSELY | last 16 | Semifinals | no participants | 3 |
SWE | World Championship | 1975 | Calcutta | IND | Quarter finals | last 16 | no participants | 3 |
SWE | World Championship | 1973 | Sarajevo | YUG | silver | gold | no participants | 1 |
SWE | World Championship | 1971 | Nagoya | JPN | last 128 | last 32 | no participants | 4th |
SWE | World Championship | 1969 | Munich | FRG | last 64 | gold | no participants | 5 |
SWE | World Championship | 1967 | Stockholm | SWE | last 64 | gold | last 64 | 3 |
SWE | World Championship | 1965 | Ljubljana | YUG | Scratched | Scratched | no participants | 6th |
SWE | World Championship | 1963 | Prague | TCH | last 64 | last 64 | last 32 | 3 |
philately
On April 11, 1967, the Swedish Post issued two postage stamps showing Kjell Johannsson ( Michel catalog no. 578-579).
swell
- Olaf Brockmann: The DTS conversation with Kjell Johansson - You just have to be able to torment yourself ... , DTS magazine , 1977/10 edition Süd-West, p. 12
Web links
- Table tennis legend. Sweden mourns the loss of Johansson (accessed September 20, 2012)
Individual evidence
- ↑ ”Hammaren” död, article from October 24, 2011 (Swedish) (accessed September 20, 2012)
- ↑ Austrian table tennis shop 1966/01
- ^ "Sweden mourns Johansson" in spiegel.de
- ↑ "How do you become number 1 in table tennis?" (Meyer & Meyer Sport, 1995, ISBN 978-3891241585 )
- ↑ Kjell Johansson (table tennis player) Results from the ITTF database on ittf.com (accessed on September 9, 2011)
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Johansson, Kjell |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Swedish table tennis player |
DATE OF BIRTH | October 5, 1946 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Eskilstuna |
DATE OF DEATH | October 24, 2011 |
Place of death | Eksjö |