The German table tennis gentlemen have had a loyal companion for years.

No matter where the journey goes - there must still be space for a coffee machine in the luggage.

The German number one, Timo Boll, sent her to Tokyo well in advance of the Olympic Games, as he revealed before the trip to the Far East.

Together with Dimitrij Ovtcharov and his Hessian colleague Patrick Franziska, he wants to win a team medal - in the best case gold-colored - but apart from the plate, he also wants to have a cup or two with a golden brown content.

David Lindenfeld

Volunteer.

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At the German Table Tennis Association (DTTB) they call Boll, who was born in Erbach, either a "barista" or a "coffee ceremony master".

According to Franziska, the 40-year-old had "great fun" with it - the rest of the delegation said "thank you" and enjoyed it.

Utensils such as filters and various beans come in the normal luggage.

"I hope I don't forget my rubbers for the rackets," said Boll recently, who will probably be fit again by the beginning of the games despite a recent hip injury, and had the laughs on his side.

During the virtual press round before leaving for Tokyo, the German gentlemen succeeded in something that is not always possible in these times: conveying an atmosphere across the screen.

Before the start is approaching, the mood in the German team, which is number two in the team competition, is a mixture of determination, tension and childlike anticipation.

There is a lot of joking and laughing.

Franziska, born in Bensheim, who recently didn't have as much to laugh as the others, laughed with them.

"It couldn't be much better"

The most successful EM in the history of the DTTB with four out of five gold and three out of five silver medals had been described by sports director Richard Prause in advance as a “top-class determination of the situation”. Boll became European champion in the individual with a final victory over Ovtcharov, which, according to his theory, also had something to do with the coffee machine: “The boys often came by. But I didn't let Dimi in before the final. Maybe that was the decisive factor, ”said Boll. Franziska, who many had thought a medal before the start of the European Championship, was left empty-handed. In singles (round of 16), in doubles with Boll (first round) and in mixed with Olympic partner Petrissa Solja (quarter-finals) he failed earlier than expected.

What reads like a balance sheet for an ambitious athlete with a chance for the medals, which should make you thoughtful before a big tournament like the Olympics, is no reason for Franziska to doubt himself. “Of course, I had imagined it a little differently, but I wasn't so unbelievably dissatisfied,” said the 29-year-old from the FAZ. The double was a “small setback”. Boll and Franziska have never left this early. The fact that he had to play the mixed only five minutes later was "unfavorable". And in singles, the 29-year-old met with Ovidiu Ionescu on an opponent who does not suit him. Result: 0: 4. “I didn't find the right tactic. I have to do better at the Olympics: change things in my game faster, ”says Franziska.

In the mixed, in which 16 nations are represented in Tokyo with one couple each, the German couple Solja / Franziska can do something. You are seated at eight. With a little luck at the draw, both are hoping for a "surprise", ie a medal. The men's team is also exercising cautious restraint. “It's very balanced if you leave out the Chinese. But we are not number two for nothing and will go into the tournament with confidence, ”says Franziska.

The fact that he will be on the plate in double with Boll is something special for him - “at the biggest event ever. It couldn't be much better. ”Both have known each other for a long time because Franziska once chose the same club in the Odenwald as his great idol with TSV Höchst as the starting point of his career. Both come from the same area. Franziska always looked up to his great role model, "probably the greatest player of all time in Europe". And now he always sees him next to him when he turns his head to the left or right on the plate.

A medal would be the crowning glory for Bolls, according to his own statement, "probably the last games" and a good start on the largest of all possible stages for Franziska, who had to watch the team from the stands as a substitute in Rio in 2016 as the team won the bronze medal. It seems realistic this time too: With Boll (world number ninth) and Ovtcharov (tenth), the team is well positioned in the individual. The only question is whether Boll will really be one hundred percent fit. The 2016 flag bearer injured his hip during a preparatory tournament. "We have to be careful with water level reports, but we assume that the Olympic start is not in danger," said Prause last.

A single participation in the Olympics and a placement among the top ten in the world is also what Franziska (currently 16th in the world rankings) is striving for. If you follow Prause's words, that's quite realistic. He sees a shift in the absolute peaks of performance in Europe. “It takes longer to get to the top in a technically and compositionally difficult sport like table tennis. But you can stay there longer. "

So the prospects are not bad for Franziska. “Maybe it will work out if the old man stops at some point,” he says jokingly and yet with full respect for Boll. If he really wouldn't be at the next Olympic Games, Franziska would take his place in the individual according to the current status. But that would also have a disadvantage: someone else would have to prepare the coffee in Paris.