Svetlana Ganina & Table Tennis

Womens table tennis is attracting more and more attention. Svetlana Ganina is certainly one of the reasons why …

Svetlana Grigoryevna Ganina, Светлана Григорьевна Ганина, (born 11 July 1978 in Nizhny Novgorod, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. Height: 5'8“ (172 cm) Weight: 143 lbs (65 kg)) she is a female Russian table tennis player. She was qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympics, scheduled to play in the first round of the singles competition, but she did not actually play. She competed in both singles and doubles in 2004.

Although the womens world rankings are dominated by the Asian countries, particularly China, it's Russia's Svetlana Ganina who's attracting a lot of attention.

Svetlana is currently ranked at number 84 in the womens world ranking list, although she has been as high as 34 (June 2007).

Born on 11 July 1978, Svetlana first came to prominence as a cadet and junior player, winning several prestigous titles.

In singles, Svetlana won the European Youth Championships (Cadet) in 1992 in Topolcany, Czechoslovakia and the 1994 European Youth Championships (Junior) in Paris, France.

She was also runner-up in the 1995 European Youth Championships (Junior) in Den Haag, Netherlands.

But it was on 14th April 2007 at the Liebherr Brazilian Open, that Svetlana reached a new milestone in her table tennis career.

She beat Korea’s Jee Min Hyung in five games to earn a place in the semi-finals of a Women's Singles event on the ITTF Pro Tour for the first time in her career.

Prior to that victory, her best performance in singles at a Pro Tour event was a quarter final in 2004 in St. Petersburg, Russia and again in Zagreb, Croatia in 2007.

Despite her lack of womens singles titles, Svetlana has an impressive record in doubles and team events.

Her achievements in womens table tennis doubles events are …

• Womens table tennis - Svetlana Ganina1994 European Youth Championships (Junior) - Runner-up
• 2000 Pro Tour in Croatia - Semi-finalist
• 2002 European Championship - Semi-finalist
• 2003 European Championship - Semi-finalist
• 2004 Pro Tour in Denmark - Winner
• 2004 Pro Tour in Russia - Semi-finalist
• 2005 European Championship - Semi-finalist
• 2006 Pro Tour in Poland - Semi-finalist
• 2006 Pro Tour in Russia - Semi-finalist
• 2007 European Championship - Winner
• 2008 Pro Tour in Kuwait - Semi-finalist

Whilst in the team events she also has an impressive record …

• Womens table tennis - Svetlana Ganina1991 European Youth Championships (Cadet) - Winner
• 1993 European Youth Championships (Cadet) - Winner
• 1995 European Youth Championships (Junior) - Winner
• 1996 European Youth Championships (Junior) - Winner
• 2007 European Championship - Runners-up

2004 Summer Olympics Greece

• Age: 26 City: Athina Event: Table Tennis Womens Singles Team: Russia RUS Rank: 17T
• Age: 26 City: Athina Event: Table Tennis Womens Doubles Team: Russia-2 RUS Rank: 9T

Singles

• Round Three Match 2 Rank: 2 Date: 2004-08-17 Result: Lau(HKG) 4 Ganina(RUS) 1 GW: 1
• Round Two Match 2 Rank: 1 Date: 2004-08-15 Result: Ganina(RUS) 4 Negrisoli(ITA) 2 GW: 4

Doubles

• Partner: Irina Palina Phase: Round Four Match 3 Rank: 2 Date: 2004-08-16 Result: HKG-2 4 RUS-2 0 GW: 0
• Partner: Irina Palina Phase: Round Three Match 3 Rank: 1 Date: 2004-08-16 Result: RUS-2 4 CAN 0 GW: 4

Russia's top woman player has adopted a defensive style which makes her a firm favourite with the crowds wherever she plays. She plays in a defensive style, with occasional attacking causing much trouble for her opponents. She uses long pimples on the backhand, though she frequently anticipates the placement of her opponent and flips her racket accordingly. She has won against many top players in the world, including Fukuhara Ai and Boros Tamara in the 2006 World Team Championships, and Tie Yana in a 2007 Pro Tour event.