Photo: Ilya Freger (far left) with Gennadi Averin, Radivoy Hudetz, Yuro Posevin and Dusan Osmanagic (Maybe not good enough, only use if really necessary (Courtsesy of Ukraine Table Tennis Federation)
by Ian Marshall, Editor
Born on Sunday 29th February 1948, leap year day, Ukraine’s Ilya Freger passed away in his native city of Kiev on Friday 24th April, he was 72 years old.
The men’s doubles runner up, partnering Boris Shafir, at the 1968 Ukraine Championships was his greatest achievement as a player; perhaps not the greatest of heights but as a coach he excelled. In 1969 he graduated from the Kiev State Institute of Physical Culture and later worked as the head coach for the Soviet Union, Ukraine and Uzbekistan as well as for clubs in Sweden and Poland. In addition under his tutelage, several of his pupils gained the Soviet Union Master of Sports accolade.
He was the first head coach of the Ukraine national team after the country’s independence.