SPORTS
Germany's Ovtcharov wins men's singles
Baku, June 19, AZERTAC
Dimitrij Ovtcharov won the Baku 2015 men's singles Table Tennis title on Friday night at Baku Sports Hall.
The German won the gold medal match 4-3 against Vladimir Samsonov of Belarus, while Ukraine's Kou Lei claimed the bronze by defeating Paul Drinkhall 4-2.
The bronze medal contest was the longest match of the tournament, with Kou overcoming the Briton 22-20 in a marathon sixth game.
Drinkhall started the match well, winning the first game 11-5, but Kou answered the challenge impressively by taking three games in a row, scoring 11-7, 11-7 and 11-5.
The fifth went Drinkhall's way and both players then treated the crowd to a splendid exhibition of Table Tennis in the sixth and final game.
At the deciding point, the 25-year-old British player dived for a hard smash, managing to land the return on the table, but Kou was able to connect well with it to finish the match.
By winning the bronze, the Ukrainian is the only unseeded player to win a Table Tennis medal at the Baku 2015 European Games competition.
Commenting upon his defeat at the hands of an lesser-known opponent, Drinkhall said: "He's good at what he does. If you look at him, you don't think, 'What a great player', but he does everything well and he's clever. My top level is higher than his top level, but then I dip and he has a steady line."