Sarkis Sarchayan
Sarkis Asatovich Sarchayan, was a male former international table tennis player from Soviet Union. At his peak, he was ranked 7th in the World Rankings.
Career
Junior career
In his childhood, Sarchayan played football and he began playing table tennis at the age of 11 in Batumi. In 1965, he was a part of the Soviet team that won the team event of the European Youth Championships in Prague. A year later in Kaunas, he won his first gold medal at the Soviet National Championships, winning the doubles event.International career
In 1966, Sarchayan made his debut at the European Championships in London. He helped the Soviet team to win the silver medal in team event. Since this tournament, Sarchayan was a regular national team member until 1978.Sarchayan did not lose a single game in the team event of the 1973 World Table Tennis Championships, helping the Soviet team to win bronze medals. The Soviets barely lost to the eventual champions, China team 4-5, but Sarchayan won all three of his games. In the next edition of the World Championships, Sarchayan won a silver medal in the mixed doubles event with Elmira Antonyan, losing their compatriots Stanislav Gomozkov and Zoja Rudnova in the final.
Sarchayan played his last major tournament in 1978 in Duisburg, where the European Championships were held. He finished the tournament with two bronze medals on his account, in mixed doubles and team events.
Sarchayan participated in four Europe Top 16 editions, his best being the 3rd place finish in 1976 tournament.