Dimitri Ovtcharov mourns. His grandmother, whom the German world-class table tennis professional brought in from Kyiv a few weeks ago, has passed away. For the 33-year-old, this is an effect of the Russian war of aggression, from which he also draws personal consequences.
The war in his home country just won't let go of Dimitrij Ovtcharov. The former number one in the table tennis world rankings actually has every reason to look forward to the home European Championships in Munich in August after surviving an ankle operation. But the death of his grandmother, whom he had helped to flee Kyiv just a few weeks ago, has once again pushed sport into the background.
"The journey was incredibly difficult for her, she fell and didn't survive," said the 33-year-old to "Münchner Merkur" and "tz". He lost his grandmother "in the war, that's what you have to say". Ovtcharov, born in Kyiv and the son of a former Soviet international, tried to get his 85-year-old grandmother out of her apartment when the war broke out. "Friends spontaneously took her in the car, she only had her handbag and her passport with her," he told the "SZ" in April. But now she is dead.
Ovtcharov canceled his contract with the Russian club Fakel Orenburg after twelve years, in the coming season he will mainly play in the Champions League and in the cup for TTC Neu-Ulm. "It was clear to me that things would not go on in Russia," said the two-time European champion. But there were also positives for the recently injured Ovtcharov. "My ankle is holding up and I've had offspring," says the two-time Olympic bronze medalist, who is aiming for his third European title in Munich in August: "My comeback went much better than expected. That gives me hope for the title here at the European Championship to fight."
It's no wonder that Ovtcharov is mainly found indoors at the moment. On the one hand, he works diligently on his form there. Above all, it gives him other ideas. "For me, sport was and is a good way to distract myself from everything else," says Ovtcharov.
