Waldner plans retirement in 2005
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2004-08-23 21:26

The 39-year-old Jan-Ove Waldner may put his amazingly long career to an end after the 2005 table tennis World Championships, a Swedish team coach said Monday at the Olympic Games.

"The question has been asked countless times before and he said he planned to call it quits after the World Championships next year,"said Kjell Ake Waldner, older brother of Jan-Ove.

The world championships will be held in Shanghai, China next April.

"But it depends on the results at the worlds before he makes the final decision," the Swedish team coach added.

1992 Barcelona Olympics singles champion Waldner finished his last match here in 24 minutes when he lost 4-1 to Chinese Wang Liqin in the third/fourth place playoff.

Waldner will be back home without a medal, which was his goal at the Games after he was also shut outside the doubles' semi- finals by Michael Maze and Finn Tugwell of Denmark on Thursday.

"It was not my day today. I was a little bit tired but both of us were," he said. "It would be fun to have won the bronze, but life goes on."

Waldner has been playing in major international tournament since 1982 when he finished runner-up at the European Championships as a 16-year-old.

He was crowned with two world singles titles in 1989 and 1997 and won four team's world championships in 1989, 1991, 1993 and 2000.

But after the Athens Games, Waldner thought it was time to have a rest.

"I'm going to rest for a while, and I'll start training again in September. I will be present at 2005 worlds," said Waldner.

"As for the Beijing's 2008 Olympic Games, it is going to be terrific for those who will take part in it," he said.