Sweden is a land of legends. Like the Vikings who ruled northern Europe a millennium ago, modern Swedes have terrorized the world for generations. Although now their blades are padded with sponge and rubber, the appearance of Swedes at international table tennis tournaments is no less fearsome. Sweden rose to table tennis prominence in the 1960s, led by players like Kjell "The Hammer" Johansson (how Viking is that?) and Stellan Bengtsson, Sweden's first World Champion in 1971. The reign of terror continued, peaking in the 1990s when all-time greats Jan-Ove Waldner and Jörgen Persson led Sweden to three straight world team championships over China from 1989-1993, and one more for old times' sake in 2000. In fact, excepting Hungary's 1979 championship, Sweden is the only team to beat China in the last half-century. Suffice it to say, there are significant expectations awaiting any young Swede who picks up a paddle. This year at the World Championships in Budapest, Sweden's Mattias Falck (pictured) got his homeland's hopes up when he reached the men's singles final. With his unconventional pips-out backhand, Falck became the first Swede to reach the final since Jan-Ove Waldner, victorious in 1997. Sadly for Sweden, Falck was unable to prevent China's Ma Long from winning his third straight title. Now attention turns to the 2019 ITTF World Tour Swedish Open, running October 1-6 in Stockholm. With the support of the home crowd, the sixth-seeded Falck is certainly not to be taken lightly. Although Falck's nemesis Ma Long is conspicuously absent from the lineup, the fearsome foursome of Xu Xin, Fan Zhendong, Lin Gaoyuan and Liang Jingkun all made the trip from China. Japan's Tomokazu Harimoto, seeded fourth, completes the list of players Falck would have to upset to win the title. Defending women's singles champion Mima Ito of Japan occupies the seventh seed. With the 14 highest-ranked women in the world competing, however, Ito will have no shortage of competition for the crown. Expect raucous support for eight-time national champion Matilda Ekholm. Ranked 26th in the world, Ekholm is looking for her first win on the ITTF World Tour since the 2012 Morocco Open. With qualifying groups starting October 1, Ekholm, Falck and all of their compatriots will be looking to summon the old Viking spirit. In battle, legends are born. Who will next inscribe their names in runic to the ever-unfolding saga?

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