Rio 2016. Vladimir Samsonov: “Olympic Games are important for the country”

Today, on August 9 at 22:00 p. m., Vladimir Samsonov plays with Dimitrij Ovtcharov, number 5 world player in the ITTF ranking.

Samsonov passed through to the quarterfinal after having overmatched Swedish Kristian Karlsson in 1/16 final and British Paul Drinkhall (4:2).

Vladimir demonstrated reasonable tactics and will to victory in the previous games. His next opponent German Dimitrij Ovtcharov won the European Games tournaments, when he clinched victory in the final game with Samsonov. He is also a bronze medalist of the London 2012. To sum all these up, the game will be tense for Samsonov. However, he will fight to victory.

Swedish athlete Kristian Karlson was the first to meet Samsonov in the tournament. By that moment he had already played a game, while Vladimir had to accustom to the sports hall. Karlsson was risky and aggressive; Samsonov was busy with his defense. In the second time Samsonov took the lead and defeated the Swede.

His next opponent was Paul Drinkhall, another tough rival from Great Britain. Eight match balls marked their game. As a result, Vladimir prevailed the Briton. He expressed sincere gratitude to all the fans for their warm support.

Dimitrij Ovtcharov is his club mate; Vladimir has studied his tactics thoroughly and gears up for a game with him.

“This Olympiad is different. The atmosphere is extremely competitive. I saw boxers training as if they were about to mount the ring. Olympic Games is the major sports event for every athlete and very important for their countries. It’s a great honour to win the Olympic medal”, - asserted Vladimir. 

Photos by Nastassia Marynina and Aliaksandr Semianiaka