Kristian Gunnar Karlsson (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈkrɪ̌sːtɪjan ˈkɑ̌ːɭsɔn]; born 6 August 1991) is a Swedish professional table tennis player.[4][5]
| Kristian Karlsson | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Karlsson at the 2017 German Open | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Kristian Gunnar Karlsson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 6 August 1991 Trollhättan, Sweden | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Table tennis career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing style | Left-handed shakehand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Highest ranking | 15 (3 May 2022)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current ranking | 42 (20 February 2024)[3] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | GV Hennebont TT[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Career
editBorn in Trollhättan, Västra Götaland, Karlsson started to play table tennis in his hometown club at the age of 8.[6][7] He remained in Trollhättan until he was 16, subsequently he moved away from home to go to high school. During his high school years, Karlsson had 10 training sessions a week.[citation needed]
In 2011, he signed to Halmstad BTK and began to rise through the ranks quickly.[7] Ranked outside the top 400 in October 2010, Karlsson finished 2011 in the 233rd position, and at the end of 2012 he ranked 129.[8] The year 2012 also marked his first senior success, winning the silver medal at the 2012 Table Tennis European Championships in men's doubles.[9]
His performances also attracted French top division side AS Pontoise-Cergy TT and Karlsson eventually signed to the club in September 2013. He won the Champions League with AS Pontoise-Cergy in 2014.[10]
In 2016, Karlsson signed for the German top club Borussia Düsseldorf. After coming second in the Champions League and winning the German Cup, Karlsson and Borussia Düsseldorf went on to win the triple in 2018.[1]
Paired with Mattias Karlsson, Karlsson won a bronze medal in men's doubles at the 2016 European Table Tennis Championships.[11]
And in the 2018 European Table Tennis Championships, again paired with Mattias Karlsson, Kristian won a silver medal in the men's doubles as well as a bronze medal in the men's singles. During 2018 Karlsson and the Swedish National Team won a Bronze medal (Team) in the 2018 World Team Table Tennis Championships in Halmstad, and also a gold medal in the Swedish Championship in Helsingborg.[1]
2021
editIn March, Karlsson played in WTT Doha. In the first WTT Contender event, he made it to the round of 16, where he lost to Mattias Falck. In the second, WTT Star Contender event, Karlsson upset Liam Pitchford in a deuce-in-the-fifth thriller in the round of 32.[12]
Karlsson & Mattias Falck won the world championship in men's doubles at the 2021 World Table Tennis Championships becoming the first Swedish duo to win gold since 1991.[13]
2022
editOn 19 July 2022, he agreed on terms with Greek club Panathinaikos.[14]
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Kristian Karlsson Official Website". Kristian Karlsson Table Tennis. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
- ^ "Men's Singles 2022 Week #18". ittf.com. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
- ^ "ITTF Table Tennis World Ranking". ittf.com. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
- ^ "Kristian Karlsson". olympedia.org. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
- ^ "Entry List by NOC" (PDF). european-games.org. 22 June 2023. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 June 2023. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
- ^ "Kristian Karlsson Profile" (in Swedish). Swedish Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 26 April 2014. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
- ^ a b "Rapid Table Tennis Development – with Kristian Karlsson". Expert Table Tennis. 20 January 2013. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
- ^ "Kristian Karlsson Ranking History". International Table Tennis Federation. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
- ^ "EM-silver för svensk duo i bordtennis" [EC-silver for Swedish duo in table tennis] (in Swedish). Sportbladet. 20 October 2012. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
- ^ "Tennis de table: Kristian Karlsson, nouvelle recrue de Pontoise-Cergy" [Kristian Karlsson, new recruitment of Pontoise-Cergy] (in French). La Gazette de Val d'Oise. 13 April 2013. Archived from the original on 26 April 2014. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
- ^ "Bordtennis: Dubbelparet deppade efter EM-bronset". 22 October 2016.
- ^ "Top 6 Storylines Following Round of 32 At WTT Star Contender". edgesandnets.com. 10 March 2021. Archived from the original on 10 March 2021. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
- ^ Krigsman, Linn; Åsberg, Stefan (29 November 2021). "Bordtennis: Sverige tog VM-guld i herrdubbeln". SVT Sport (in Swedish). Retrieved 29 November 2021.
- ^ "Σύλλογος πιο μεγάλος με… Κάρλσον!" (in Greek). Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος. 19 July 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
External links
edit
- Official website
- Kristian Karlsson at World Table Tennis
- Kristian Karlsson at Olympedia
- Kristian Karlsson at the Sveriges Olympiska Kommitté (in Swedish) (English translation)
