Kalinikos Kreanga

Kalinikos Kreanga (born March 8, 1972) is a Greek (formerly Romanian) table tennis player.[1][2] Born as Călin Creangă, he chose to defect from Communist-ruled Romania at the age of 17 (with his father) while he was participating in the European Table Tennis Youth Championships in Luxembourg in 1989.[3]

Kalinikos Kreanga
Kreanga in 2010.
Personal information
Full nameKalinikos Kreanga
Nationality Romania  Greece
Born (1972-03-08) 8 March 1972
Bistriţa, Romania
Height1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)[1]
Weight62 kg (137 lb; 9.8 st)
Medal record
Men's table tennis
Representing  Greece
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1991 Chiba City Mixed Doubles
Bronze medal – third place 2003 Paris Singles
World Cup
Silver medal – second place 2003 Jiangyin Singles
Silver medal – second place 2004 Hangzhou Singles
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 1992 Stuttgart Mixed Doubles
Gold medal – first place 1994 Birmingham Doubles
Silver medal – second place 1994 Birmingham Mixed Doubles
Silver medal – second place 1996 Bratislava Mixed Doubles
Silver medal – second place 1998 Eindhoven Doubles
Silver medal – second place 2000 Bremen Doubles
Silver medal – second place 2002 Zagreb Singles
Silver medal – second place 2005 Aarhus Doubles
Silver medal – second place 2013 Schwechat Team
Bronze medal – third place 1996 Bratislava Doubles
Bronze medal – third place 2005 Aarhus Singles
Representing  Romania
European Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1988 Paris Mixed Doubles

Born in Bistriţa, Romania, Kreanga started to play table tennis at the age of 7. His first coach was Gheorghe Bozga, who would later discover Mihaela Steff.

While in Luxembourg, he received an offer to play in Greece, so he decided to move there. Being a minor, he quickly acquired Greek citizenship, and changed his name to Kalinikos Kreanga.[3]

He has been one of the dominant European table tennis players since the beginning of the 1990s, and uses the shakehand grip to hold the racket. His favorite offensive weapons seem to be the forehand topspin and an incredibly strong backhand topspin. His backhand topspin is regarded as one of the most devastating in the world, not limited by its unorthodox technique.

In 2004 he has reached No 7 of World Ranking.[4]

Team history
  • A.C. Zografou (Greece) (until 1995)
  • Finower TTC (1995/96; 2. Bundesliga, Germany)
  • Royal Villette Charleroi, (Belgium), since 1996)
  • TTC Weinheim (2.BL, Germany)
  • TTF Ochsenhausen (Germany)
  • Montpellier TT (France)
  • Hennebont (France)

Results

Bronze medal in the mixed doubles competition at the World Championships, Chiba City, 1991.[5]

Winner of the European Championships in mixed doubles (1992) and men's doubles (1994). Runner-up in men's singles (2002).

Bronze medal in the singles competition at the World Championships, Paris, 2003.[6]

Runner-up at the Men's World Cup in 2003 and 2004.

Winner of the Europe Top-12, 2011.

See also

Notes
  1. "Biography". ITTF. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
  2. "Biography of KREANGA Kalinikos". ITTF. Archived from the original on 18 January 2011. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
  3. Roxana Maha (8 July 2005). "Creanga a ajuns celebru si bogat din ping-pong". Cotidianul.ro (in Romanian).
  4. "ITTF - World Ranking - KREANGA Kalinikos". ranking.ittf.com. Retrieved 2022-06-21.
  5. "ITTF Statistics". ITTF. Archived from the original on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
  6. "Kalinikos Kreanga, the Irrepressible Greek". TableTennisMaster.com. Archived from the original on 14 February 2012. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
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