by organising committee
Anton Källberg, representing Swedish club Söderhamn UIF, emerged as the winner in the men’s singles event, pulling it off in convincing style!
Entering the main draw from the Round of 16, Källberg was rarely troubled throughout, winning all four of his contests in straight games. Facing stern opposition from start to finish, Källberg accounted for Harald Andersson, Elias Ranefur and sixth seed Hampus Nordberg to earn his spot in the final.
The toughest challenge yet, but even Jon Persson couldn’t stop Källberg with the 23 year old all smiles following his dominant performance (11-3, 11-5, 11-1, 11-7).
“I felt a good touch on the ball from the get go, and for sure I held a bit of an advantage having played a few competition matches in the Düsseldorf Masters competition this summer. Of course it is nice to win – we had a good field of players competing here in Koping so I am very happy.” Anton Källberg
Over in the race for the women’s singles title the two favourites for glory Linda Bergström and Christina Källberg met in a tantalising final.
Christina Källberg, the younger sister of Anton, proved once again that she has a bright future ahead and will be worth a close watch when international action eventually resumes. Determined from the opening point onward Källberg let her strong forehand do the talking with an excellent variation in her play, making life difficult for Bergström’s defensive approach to the match – in the end the plaudits belonged to Källberg (11-7, 11-7, 11-7, 11-7).
20 year old Källberg, who was representing Halmstad Table Tennis Club, emerged a double winner in Koping having also emerged victorious in the Under 21 competition.
“I am physically stronger now than I had been before. My conditioning training is paying off and I can feel it working when using my forehand – I’m much more stable on both opening shots and when I go for the more aggressive top spins. It is really nice to win two events here in Koping and I am looking forward to the next competition coming up in the Sweden Tour series.” Christina Källberg