It was nearly a clean sweep for Germany at the Liebherr 2020 ITTF European Championships in Warsaw. Of the two singles and three doubles medals on offer, all but one were claimed by Deutschland. On Friday, the German mixed doubles team of Qiu Dang and Nina Mittelham were the first to strike gold. Petrissa Solja and Shan Xiaona then bagged another title for Germany, setting the standard in women's doubles. Germany had already secured gold, however, when their countrywomen Nina Mittelham and Sabine Winter also reached the final. "German team play incredible game here in Warsaw, I am so happy with the overall result," said Solja. "It has been a while since Shan and I played together and I am proud how it ended here." Two-for-two, German attention turned to men's doubles, where their team of Benedikt Duda and Qiu Dang topped the seeding. It was not to be, however, as the pre-tournament favorites fell in the quarterfinals to 18th-seeded Russian duo Maksim Grebnev and Lev Katsman, the champions-elect. Despite the disappointment of being denied utter domination, Germany soldiered on. A stellar start in Sunday's singles semifinals saw Germany guarantee a monopoly on precious medals. In the women's singles final, Petrissa Solja overcame her doubles partner Shan Xiaona to claim her first continental singles crown. Meanwhile, over in the gentlemen's draw, Germany's top two players Dimitrij Ovtcharov and Timo Boll (pictured) reached the final stage. Ovtcharov looked to close the gap between his two continental crowns and Boll's record seven. After winning the first game, however, Ovtcharov had no answers for the ageless wonder Boll. Interestingly, Ovtcharov eschewed his trademark backhand serve for the first four games. Down three games to one, Ovtcharov finally gave it a try. Of the six points where he played like his old self, Ovtcharov converted four, an efficient return on investment which suggests he might want to rethink rethinking his service strategy. In the end, it was too little, too late, as Boll won the fifth game, 11-8, padding his padding his record with a staggering eighth European Championship. "I was nervous at the beginning of the Championships," admitted Boll. "In past two days I had four very difficult matches and I prevailed. It is good sign before the Olympics; I still have the power to win the medals." Not only is Boll still very much an individual medal threat in Tokyo, but the three-time Olympic team medalist also represents bigger challenges for China.

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