Ebby Schöler: five most difficult opponents

Classic defensive skills (Photo: Archive) by Ebby Schöler During international competitions between 1962 and 1973 in which I participated, most players did not like the various changes I made when returning the ball with backspin. However, some opponents were able to read my defensive strokes and avoided easy mistakes. Li FurongIn those days Li Fu-Jung, I played only twice – in Prague 1963 and in Nagoya 1971 – and lost both matches. His forehand attack was fabulous, very hard. He hit many more balls on the table than off! Dragutin SurbekHe was great at learning and fighting. I won the first six matches against him – until he got used to my spin – and he never congratulated me again! One match, however, was