It’s not every day that you can sit down and listen to a true sporting legend open up about life!

Now here’s your chance to get to know Timo Boll, one of table tennis’ all-time greats.

It’s incredible to imagine Timo playing any sport other than table tennis, but here he explains how it was not such as an easy choice growing up, given his passion for football and highly impressive goalscoring records as a striker.

Timo talks about his childhood inspirations, the inevitable sacrifices of sport over social life, but also what it is like to be revered in China, something that almost never happens to anyone from outside the shores of the table tennis superpower.

Timo “Magic” Boll even tells the story behind his signature shot – the hand switch!

Superman on the table, a caring family man off it, Timo opens up about his hobbies, which have changed over the years to accommodate his busy event and training schedule. Find out what they, and much more, by watching his exclusive interview below:

Enter the world of Timo in this new ITTF series ‘Behind The Table’ providing fans with in-depth insight into the lives of their sporting heroes.

Stay tuned for more episodes coming soon!