Table Tennis Profile: Werner Schlager
Werner Schlager is a former Austrian table tennis player as he started playing the game after being inspired by his brother and father who were also leading table tennis players. Schlager started playing the game when he was only six years old as he made
his father and brother as training partners.
The 38-year-old has ruled the ITTF World Ranking as he was at the first position in June 2003 and moved to second in August and September 2003 by winning the Singles World Championship in Paris. Werner defeated the Korean player Joo Se Hyuk in the final
match that went on for six sets. Schlager won the first two sets by 11-9 and 11-6 as Hyuk came back strongly in the third game and won it by 11-6. Werner won the fourth set 12-10 and only needed one more set to claim the final but Hyuk gave him a tough time
as he won the fifth set 11-8. Werner came back strongly in the sixth set securing the final of the Singles World Championship as he became the second Austrian player in the history to win the event. In 1937, Richard Mine had won the event as he was the first
Austrian player to win the Championships.
Schlager qualified for the Olympics in 2000 as he reached the quarter-finals and was the semi-finalist at the World Championships 1999. He has made 10 World Cup appearances and was honoured as “The most popular foreign sportsman” by China as he has also
been chosen as the Austrian Sportsman of the Year after his win at the World Championships in 2003.
Schlager joined the national table tennis team in 1989 and plays offensively while standing close to the table. As per the ITTF World Ranking as of September 2011 he is at the 24th position with 2202 points. His best position so far this year
was 21st in February 2011 with 2209 points. He uses Butterfly as his official sponsor and company has launched a racket by his name as it is called ‘Butterfly Schlager Carbon Proline.’ The racket is ideal for players with strong offensive playing
style as the rubber and blades are the same as used by Werner. The racket has five plies with the thick Balsa in the middle and on top are the two layers of carbon. Schlager has helped Butterfly in making the racket and it is ideal for players who have the
offensive, fast playing style as it is quite helpful in producing fast and controlling topspin strokes.
During the 2007 ITTF training camp in Venezuela, Werner interacted with a lot of young players as he taught them some key tips to improve their game and felt the need of launching a table tennis academy right away. After the ITTF training camp Schlager said,
“It was good: this is obviously the first time for me working from the coaching side of things and I really didn’t know what to expect.” He talked about launching the academy as he said, “I am looking forward to realizing this project that will target I would
say seventeen to eighteen year old prospects, who have professional ambitions in table tennis.”
The Austrian fulfilled his dream as his academy is currently operating and is polishing the young talents as training classes are held on daily and weekly basis. ‘Werner Schlager Academy’ has 50 tables, ball machines, international trainer, medical care,
nutritionist and many other facilities in his academy to meet the international standards as young talent is emerging frequently.
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