Vladimir Samsonov
Vladimir Samsonov or Uładzimir Samsonau is a Belarusian former professional table tennis player. He is known in China as the "Tai Chi Master" because of his superb all-around style, both offensive and defensive. Samsonov competed at six consecutive Olympics between 1996 and 2016, placing fourth individually in Table tennis at the [2016 Summer Olympics – Men's singles|2016], in addition to equal fifth in Table tennis at the [1996 Summer Olympics – Men's singles|1996] and Table tennis at the [2000 Summer Olympics – Men's singles|2000].
Career
Samsonov is also known as Mr. ECL, for winning a record 13 ECL titles – three with Borussia, and five each with Charleroi and Fakel Orenburg. His 13 titles are not only the most ever by an athlete in table tennis, but also more than any male or female athlete has ever won in European Champions Leagues in all sports. He started playing for European top division clubs in 1994, when he signed with Borussia Düsseldorf, then six years later joined Royal Charleroi in Belgium. In 2008, he moved to Spain to play for SuperDivision club Cajagranada, but left after only one season to join the Russian Premier League club Fakel Orenburg, where he finished his career twelve years later.Samsonov is famous for being a top-10 player spanning over a decade. He first joined the top-10 in 1996, then climbed to the top position in 1998. He stayed in the top-10 for 15 years until November 2011. His highest ranking was No. 1 in December 1999. He used to hold the distinction of being the player with most ITTF Pro/World Tour titles until Ma Long surpassed him. He was runner-up in the 1997 World championships, and is also a three-time European champion and three-time World Cup winner.
Samsonov was awarded the Richard Bergmann Fair Play Trophy at the world championships a record three times, in 2003, 2007 and 2013.
In 2021, despite qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics, his seventh time qualifying for the Olympics, Samsonov withdrew from the tournament and shortly after announced his retirement.