Waldner's appearance at the 2004 Athens Olympics is one of the classic moments in table tennis history and a prime example of his strengths. He was 38 years old, he had won everything that can be won, he was past his prime but the fire was still burning inside (he said afterwards that he was confident to win nothing but the gold medal and he also wanted to prove that the Chinese were not unbeatable). He almost did it. Before the games, Waldner was seen as a second-rate player though and nobody believed that he'd be able to put a dent into it. He hadn't beaten Ma Lin for six years and Boll for three years. Ma and Boll must've seen him as an ageing man - they used conservative tactics, hesitated at clutch moments and they all paid dearly for their mistakes as Waldner exerted pressure. In the semi-final, Waldner tried to lure Ryu into the same mistakes but Ryu was young and tough-minded. I wished that Waldner would've won at least a bronze medal. He is able to make the best of his skills and tactics whenever it counts. Young players should learn Waldner's spirit.

MA Lin at his prime; Boll close to his prime ( but froze in this match); Waldner giving a swansong display of genius against both. Younger players now watch and question what the fuss was about - surely Waldner doesn't seem that good? The answer is deception. Other top players often did not know what Waldner was doing, with spin speed or direction, until it was too late; thus their errors on even simple-looking shots (to the new generation of viewers) from the master. One of the rare few from any sport that made a game look effortlessly beautiful. Thanks for the memories.

I just admire them... both of them! They are TT Legends and they made this sport being an art ... All TT Legends are inspiring us and they are giving us joy and passion to play ...

9:28 The Swedish king. The other guy is Carl XVI Gustaf.

J.O. Waldner is the table tennis G.O.A.T.

at 6:35 timo just couldn't hide his depression anymore...waldner just have this extremely tricky spins on his serves and returns.... 1. great server 2. smart backhands 3. superb ball placements 4. fast reflexes (for his age) 5. extreme accuracy with loops and drives 6. great blocking and defense 7. A true gentleman of the sport 8. Simply the Best package 9. All Time Best 10....MY IDOL......hehe...peace yah all guys!

JO doesn´t only smash, like the chinese guys, he also kid his opponents with small balls and chops. He´s definitly the best in table tennis history.

Their table tennis history is pretty rich... Stellan Bengtsson and of course Jorgen Persson to name a few. Together, Waldner and Persson were a HUGE factor in beating the Chinese as the top team in the world. As far as current players... well, they have a few strong players.. but not in the world top 50 and Persson... is their 2nd highest ranked player STILL!!! So the near future of Sweden... well... won't be quite as strong as it was in the 80's and 90's. 8>)

The man is a legend and one of my heroes.

Apart from superb basic skills, Waldner's tactics and setup's are the best, pure talent. It took the Chinese a lot of time to dissect and analyze his game before they could get even or close. Hope we could have a rare genius like this from time to time.

6:59, Waldner's evil smile

Это просто шедеврально, Вальднер ты легенда!

Este video me lo mostró mi primer profesor de tenis de mesa allá por el 2012 hoy 10 años después lo sigo mirando y disfrutando de la misma manera

Legend 🇸🇪

The Bruce Lee of Table Tennis. No opponent can unsheath his true power in facing this man. No unnecessary movements. Just pure control and direct attacks. 🔥💪 If prime J.O. will play with today's generation, he will surely placed at the top.

Waldner is the BEST OF THE BEST !!!! Timo is really confused .. He seems to be a newbie in this Match ... WOW

at first, i thought "wow, timo boll used to suck." but then i realized that every single point shown was waldner's . and then i realized that this was more of a tribute to waldner than a game highlights.

THANK YOU, MASTER WALDNER!

Waldner - The best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be

My pleasure! Happy to help! 8>D

J-O Waldner, The Mozart and The Ever Green Tree

J-O. Waldner is Roger Federer in tennis!

5:30 good luck returning that ball lol

@ultramuffin99 read this: Uploaded by Reno070 on Jul 30, 2009 Best points of the master Waldner. Second set, 2:10 J-O. loses 10-5 vs. Boll, 3:17 master makes the end point of the set win it 13-11, demonstrating why is the best of all time. Category: Sports Tags: Waldner License: Standard UKposts License

8:01, "Yesssssssssssss! Wait what, I deserve more credit."

walder looks like jame hetfield of metallica

two outstanding players .. great respect to both of them though different generation separates them at their prime

Waldner's got the reach, effective block and very capable to counter serves to his favour. Timo is clearly off form while Waldner's exceptional in this match. But could see Timo improved a lot over the last 10 years, playing against top Chinese players.

Waldner had a lot of control and directed his shot and returns at will I think today's game is just a little faster, not sure if Waldner would have been so dominant at today's speeds.

Both great players

waldner was shear talent.his backhand was awesome.only person to threaten chinese

J=O Waldner, one of the greatest table tennis players of all time!

Waldner was really showing some power with those backhand shots...

will always be the GOAT in my eyes

In 2003 I was a dealer in a casino. One night shift the Chinese men’s team were playing Baccarat. I remember asking them about Waldner’s chances in the upcoming Olympics and their reply: “too old”

What a fabulous player.

１００年に１人の天才というのは決して過大評価ではない。

I'm so glad I got to shake hands and take a picture with Waldner when he was in his prime

Proud to be a Swede 🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪

What a legend.

A 39 ans faire les J.O, chapeau l'artiste!

ohh yeahh! Waldner is simply the Best...the best all-around TT player.....his backhands are the most accurate, consistent, and the trickiest i have ever seen...well, not as powerful as those of Kreanga's but definitely amongst the greatest.....his serves are spinny, quite hard to counter....and his loops....and ball placements.....define his GREATNESS......The Greatest Table Tennis of all Times......Waldner........peace yah all guys!

Man, Waldner must have been frustrating to play with! Not being able to anticipate what's coming next. You can see Timo getting frustrated from not being able to hit back simple service returns.

Great quality, Yeah JO Sweden for life :)

Jan Ove Waldner simply the best!

love how the play ABBA in the ending of the game LOL

Wow Amazing skill

Alguien sabe como se llama el Sueco que dirige a Waldner en ese Partido y durante todos los Juegos Olimpicos?

Legends!

Король наст.тенниса!Супер!!!

Very much so!

スウェーデン国王も観戦しにきてるやん

So good at seeing the gaps as they opened.

私の憧れの選手はワルドナーさん。彼のようなプレイが出来るよう、１週間に一回は必ず動画を見て研究しています。

@Nootson08 the song is from ABBA...and they are from sweden...

In this game, Timo played his B game or C game. Waldner played his A game or A+ game.

4:57 " Because i'm female"

Why only Valdner points?? This so ruins the video.

Timo is an excellent player, however, Waldner recognized his weaknesses and played them to his advantage. Notice most the Waldner's points are on Timo's backhand!

The great maestro Jan Ove Waldner of Table Tennis

wenn man sich den Zusammenschnitt anschaut muss man zu dem Schluss kommen, das Waldi alle Sätze zu 0 gewonnen hätte. Warum fehlen Ballwechselszenen mit den Punkten für Timo?

juste le meilleur joueur de tout les temps

Waldner es el estilista y demoledor del tenis de mesa..cada golpe y bloqueo era del terror...su saque quizá el mejor de la historia confundia a todos con sus variantes...quizá uno de los mejores de la historia...

強すぎ！！ カッコよすぎます cool

Both are legends

This is remarkable! I assumed he would retire after they changed the ball size at the age of 37 for Waldner. I completely new sport basically! Instead at the age of 40 he beats all the upcoming stars of the world to reach the Olympic final! That alone makes him the master of masters!

there is no other greater victory music than Dancing Queen

Oh I suddenly rememebered why I had a huge crush on Timo boll When I was a kid, he looked so FINE here

나의우상 발트너 ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

Only man which all chinese players always feared. When he is in the zone, the chinese knew no one could stop him! One of the all time greats!

Waldner made a bunch of great shots.

Quero ganhar desse cara um dia!!

waldener es él mejor jugador de la historia

an artist in teble tennis, he let the people see the beauty of this sport.

Keep in mind that Waldner was the master of the 38mm ball, so with the less dense, bigger ball, there is really not much competition for the Maestro

Why u only put the nice points from waldne? i think timo boll had also a good level at that time and he did nice points in that match tho.

@TyRafferty Best points of the master Waldner. I wonder what that description means

Unbelievable !

To me waldner' match against Timo boll is the very definition of consistency in table tennis

great points from WALDNER

Wow. Klassiker

and the complete game where is it?

genius って言葉が1番似合う卓球選手

@QuantumStates the description says "Best points of the master Waldner"

@davvidd19 The title is misleading.

@canuckdia It means my feeling was right. You should really read more if you can't figure out what the description means.

卓球界の永遠のスターだと思う！

So according to this video... Timo didn't have a single noteworthy point. Are these highlights or a 10 minute advertisement for Waldner??

J.O.Waldner для меня самый крутой,леганда настольного тенниса👍

@Jayakiran1 afaik, it's his trainer/coach

@DMDLTLT true

Einfach der Beste

The commentator said at the beginning (in German): "The king of table tennis...Jan-Ove Waldner".

China dominate world TT since 20 years, but even the best chinese players dont have the magic, charisma and natural born talent than J.O.W, the poker face. I guess he was born with a TT bat. True legend

the ball has to cross the table on the service?

For sure he's the mozart of table tennis

@davvidd19 Where is the description?

how long would a match like this take? an hour or so?

The best ever !

Nevermind didn't read the description... Just figured that since the title described a match, it would show both sides rather than all the points from one player.