10 questions to some top players
Ahti Lampi
What is your best memory from
tablehockey?
I can't select only one, but I'll tell some of the best:
I got in the open series play offs first time in Helsinki Open 2005 and my
opponent was Alexey Zaharov and I beat him 4-2 (after that I lost to Ivan 0-4,
but that's not part of the good memory).
I beat Roni for the first time ever in Paimio ranking tournament juniors 2007
(it won't be the last!). In the seventh game his defense perished totally and I
scored six goals from left wing and won 6-2.
And of course Czech Open 2007, because I won the whole tournament. Especially
my play off-series against Caics, he was leading 3-2 and I won the two last
games 4-1 and 5-1.
What is your worst memory from
tablehockey?
Most of my tablehockey memories are good, but I have at least two bad memories.
I've lost to Konsta Jukka in Oulu ranking tournament 2007 and Paimio ranking tournament 2008.
I don't like to lose against him, because he has taught me to play.
What is your secret behind being
between the best players of the world?
I've trained a lot and so I can score very much from left wing and from center,
maybe more than any one.
Who are your worst oponent?
Roni Nuttunen, Ivan Zakharov and Edgars Caics.
Who are your best oponent?
I think you mean from really good players. Especially Lukas Turon, but also old
wedes Hans Österman and Daniel Wallen.
What can make you really happy?
Playing really good game and winning good players in play offs.
What can make you really
sad or mad?
Playing very bad game (almost falling out of play offs or something like that)
and losing to very bad players or players I just don't want to lose, of course
in play offs. And the best example from those players is Konsta Jukka.
In which country are you seing the
best tablehockey development?
Russia and Ukraine, maybe also Latvia.
What shall be done in order to
develop international tablehockey?
That's a hard question and I don't know the answers, but lets say at least that
prize money isn't a bad idea.
Who will win the next World Championship?
If it won't be Roni hmm... me or Yanis Galuzo.
What is your best memory from
tablehockey?
SM 2006
What is your worst memory from
tablehockey?
Lost in
Helsinki 2006, i was 9th in final group and was't in play off...
What is your secret behind being
between the best players of the world?
Cause i like
tablehockey!
Who are your worst oponent?
Alexey Titov
Who are your best oponent?
Stefan
Edwall
What can make you really happy?
Love
What can make you really
sad or mad?
Lost
In which country are you seing the
best tablehockey development?
In Russia and Latvia
What shall be done in order to
develop international tablehockey?
Th-schools
and support from government
Who will win the next World Championship?
My brother Ivan
What is your best memory from tablehockey?
I have a lot of memories and it’s hard to say!
What is your worst memory from table hockey?
I’m pretty shore that it is Oslo Open in 2007.JJ
But it was a good experience!
What is your secret behind being between the best players?
Just practice a lot before big tournament and my brain!
Who are your worst opponent?
I’m very funny and attractive J
Who are your best oponent?
I always play with Edgars Caics and probably he is the best!
We read each other like a book JJ
What can make you really happy?
Take a nice place in big tournament and after that the banket J
What can make you really sad or mad?
Other players who are cheating and not are playing very fair!
In which country are you seing the best tablehockey development?
Witout Latvia J
It’s
Finland and Czech Republic.
I enjoy playing there!
What shall be done in order to develop international tablehockey?
We need more money and more information about tablehockey and more sponsors.
Who will win the next World Championship?
Ronni Nuttonen is a very great player but I think Edgars Caics can beat him J
If I should be in top 10 players it would be great !
If I start practising a lot it can be possible.
What is your best memory from tablehockey?
I am 8-0 in deciding games (best of seven) against the five best players in history. Jacob, Hans, Lasse Henriksson, Roni, Alexey. If I didn´t win those eight games I would be the greatest loser of table hockey ever. It is only eight games during 20 years of playing but those eight games have had great impact on me.
What is your worst memory from tablehockey?
Organized cheating from top players. SM 1982 was birth of tablehockey as we see it today and I am grateful for this movement. But five minutes time unit and gentleman rule created a structure which has enabled and encouraged cheating.
What is your secret behind being between the best players of the world?
I have never been a top player per se. I have won some titles and thats all. I was lucky to beat Jacob when he was old and tired and Roni when he was young and stupid.
Who are your worst opponent?
Osterman, Bengtsson, Fries, Egorov and Shastov.
Who are your best opponent?
Alexei Rymarenko, Stefan Edvall and Micke Borgh.
What can make you really happy?
Best of seven. I love best of seven. I love to play best of seven. I love to watch best of seven. I love to follow live results with best of seven. Everybody should be allowed to play best of seven, not only elite players. In WTHT there should be around 15 games with five minutes games and after this should everybody play 8-10 games of best of seven. My dream is that Margolis will realise advantage of this system and use it in Moscow Cup. This would be the last death punch against Swedish tradition of organizing table hockey.
What can make you really sad or mad?
Hans Osterman told Swedish players I was killing Russian street kids when I brought home price money from Moscow Cup 2005. I think nobody can see a correlation between table hockey and street kids and I am sad that adult Swedish table hockey players could not tell Osterman this. The fact is that Moscow region is richest region in the world today and I doubt that absence of a thousand dollar would have a true negative effect on Moscow economy. I am sad I was refused to get the challenge trophy after winning SM 2005. I played SM fourteen times and when I finally won it I didnt get the pleasure to hold the challenge trophy.
In which country are you seing the best tablehockey development?
Russia. And Latvia. Czech republic always had their own agenda. I dont know if it is good or not. USA is interesting in terms of developing games but I think they suffer from Bernstein legacy. I am impressed by number of participants in some Hungarian tournament and I think Central Europe should have a second Big Six. But since they steal all World Champs maybe they dont have time for another Big Six.
What shall be done in order to develop international tablehockey?
ITHF is an orgy of rules masturbation and bureaucracy. ITHF dont understand that table hockey is entertainment. ITHF is not a human rights organization but they think so. It seems to me that board of ITHF spend more time developing techniques how to disqualify players than working with relations with media and organizations that can contribute to table hockey. ITHF should learn from Margolis and Blumentals.
Who will win the next World Championship?
I couldn´t care less who wins in Hungary. World champs has developed to a tourism tournament. It is great if you want to drink free beer and have fun.
Moscow Cup is now the tournament to win if you want to be number one. This is a well-known pattern in sports where Wimbledon, British Open, Tour de France, Stanley Cup have more prestige, and price money than World Championships.
Ladies tournament will be nice with Alexia Belavina and Masha Yalbacheva fighting for the trophy. And I will follow live results from Hungary if some Swedish players will show up in veteran tournament. There is 20-30 guys who would beat Plesak. Easily!
What is your best memory from tablehockey?
Hard to pick
one. But my first WC gold in 1997, beating Jacob Lindahl and then beeing thrown
in the pool outside Hotel Hesperia by Janne Kokko, is hard to beat. Team
Skane's win in the Swedish team championships earlier that year is also a great
memory. The famous LAW-line (Lindahl, Asplund, Wallén) lost to Stockholm already in the semis and
then we won the final with huge support from our home fans. I remember that my
cage shots ("loppa") were unstopalbe that day. Third I must mention
SM 2008. Taking back the title to Sweden was awesome.
What is your worst memory from tablehockey?
Chaos in Moscow 2007, bad feelings i Nynäshamn 1994 – are
any of those actually bad memories? Perhaps not. We all learn lessons. But if
you force me to pick a bad experience I will choose SM for juniors 1993.
Dressed in Dr Martens and too short training pants (bad taste, yes, but we all
learn lessons, right?) I was the big favourite but lost the semis to legedary
Aron Lidman. I remember blushing of shame and people laughing at me at the
prize ceremony. I am afraid they had all reasons.
What is your secret behind being between the best players of the world?
Know your
opponents. Know yourself. And know that times are always changing.
Who is your worst opponent?
Alexey Zaharov, maybe? I still do not understand how I had the luck to beat him in Gothenburg.
Who is your best opponent?
Håkan Brandt, Swedens very own Clark Kent. I beat him already in my first tournament 1991 and when he many years later started to scream after our game I did not understand anything. But it turned out that he was just happy with his first (and only) victory against me.
What can make you really happy?
Good food, good tv-sports and when my children, for a change, really try to be nice to each other.
What can make you really sad or mad?
People who cannot laugh at themselves.
In which country are you seeing the best tablehockey development?
Ukraine! Yevhen Levdansky is our future champion. Let us just hope that the Ukranian boost was not a one shot.
What shall be done in order to develope international tablehockey?
We need a better balance between seriousness and fun. Tablehockey is a hobby, not a world sport. And that is not necessarily a bad thing.
Who will win the next World Championship?
Hm, let us see: I won 1997, 2001 and 2005. Seems like a good pattern. But I guess Lampi will finally take control of his nerves...
What is your best memory from tablehockey?
My victory in
worldchampionship 1999
What is your worst memory from tablehockey?
Loosing the
quaterfinal in the worldchampionship 1997, I lost on a very doubtful goal in
game no 5(best of 5) and it was a lot of discusions and hard feelings after
that match against Jimmy Holm.
What is your secret behind being between the best players of the world?
I have played for
over 20 years and that has given me a lot of experience, but it can also be a
disadvantage sometimes because im not always enjoying to play tablehockey
and then I can loose to anyone!
Who are your worst opponent?
I hate to play
against all defensive players who takes a lot of time with the puck before
making their moves, because its so boooooring........
Who are your best oponent?
If im in the mood
for playing tablehockey I love to play against all the best:
Roni, Hans, Alexey and Jacob Lindahl.
What can make you really happy?
In tablehockey its
to win team competisions. I love to win together with my friends.
What can make you really sad or mad?
It makes me booth
sad and mad if players are dishonest and are trying to cheat.
In which country are you seing the best tablehockey development?
Russia, they have the
money and if they can learn to organize better they will be no 1.
What shall be done in order to develop international tablehockey?
Tablehockey
countries must learn to work together better than today.
So every country goes at the same direction.
In the long run I think that prize money will be very important.
Who will win the next World Championship?
Alexey or Lampi
Lukas Turon
What is your best memory from tablehockey?
The World Championship 2007 in Moscow.
What is your worst memory from tablehockey?
The Swedish Masters 2008. Because of my poor result.
What is your secret behind being between the best players of the world?
To my family and to all of the best Czech players.
Who are your worst opponent?
Ahti Lampi
Who are your best oponent?
I am not sure. Probably nobody from the top players :D
What can make you really happy?
When I am calm, go well and play what I know the best.
What can make you really sad or mad?
When I feel something is bad. I am nervous and cannot play what I would like to win.
In which country are you seing the best tablehockey development?
I guess the Latvians will raise. They have a lot of young players.
What shall be done in order to develop international tablehockey?
I guess a lot of newcomers quit after their first tournament. So it would be nice to follow this topic - to help them to go and play at local competitions and national tournaments, ...
Who will win the next World Championship?
I hope I will :D If not me then probably Roni.
What is your best memory from tablehockey?
Finals
at the Moscow Cup 2006 where I won.
What is your worst memory from tablehockey?
The lost at the 1/4 WCh in Zurich at the junior category.
To
the God :-) At the first line to practise and playing at all tournaments where
I was. You also need a bit of luck to belong to the top players.
Who are your worst opponent?
I cannot say there is any player I don't like to play against. But I don't like the players who play slowly - it is boredom then.
Who are your best oponent?
Alexey Zakhrarov. We play nice and equal matches. And mostly with successful result for me.
What can make you really happy?
When I win money :-D :-D :-D :-D (of course I joke here. Or ... who knows :-D)
When reaching a great result as in Moscow 2006 or at the WCh 2005 when we beat the Russian team :-)
What can make you really sad or mad?
When I have to play against a Czech player at the play-off of a big tournament (as at the Swedish Masters 2008 against my friend Petr Tmej).
In which country are you seing the best tablehockey development?
Hard to say. Russia. Also the Czech Republic goes brave :-)
What shall be done in order to develop international tablehockey?
What a question.. Probably more advertising, more sponsors and price money (as in Russia).
Who will win the next World Championship?
There will be a lot of candidates. The biggest will be Roni, Hans and Edgars - those are the players I believe the most. But of course also the Czech players will want to get a medal. Lukas Turon, Petr Tmej (he made the biggest progress from the Czech players this year) and of course also me :-) I will practice as much as my spare time and job will allow in the next season. (A chance for a medal will of course have also my brother Leos and Erik Slechta :-D :-D :-D