Hans Alsér

Hans "Hasse" Alsér (23 January 1942 – 15 January 1977) was a Swedish international table tennis player and later the head coach of West German (1971–1974) and Swedish (1974–1977) national teams.^[1]

Hans Alsér
Mary Shannon and Hans Alsér in Utrecht, the Netherlands, 1963
Personal information
Full name	Hans Edward Alsér
Nationality	Sweden
Born	(1942-01-23)23 January 1942 Borås
Died	15 January 1977(1977-01-15) (aged 34) Kälvesta
Table tennis career
Playing style	Shakehand, All-round Attacker
Medal record Table tennis Representing  Sweden World Championships 1969 Munich Team 1967 Stockholm Doubles 1967 Stockholm Team 1963 Prague Team 1959 Dortmund Doubles European Championships 1970 Moscow Singles 1970 Moscow Doubles 1970 Moscow Team 1968 Lyon Singles 1968 Lyon Doubles 1968 Lyon Team 1966 London Doubles 1966 London Team 1964 Malmo Doubles 1964 Malmo Team 1962 Berlin Singles 1962 Berlin Mixed doubles 1962 Berlin Team 1960 Zagreb Team

Table tennis career

Hans Alsér was an international top level player. He was the European champion (singles) 1962 and 1970, World champion (doubles) 1967 and 1969,^[2] and European champion (doubles) 1966.^[3]

Hans Alsér was Swedish singles Champion six times. During the years 1960–1971 he played in the Swedish singles Championship final every year. The years when he did not become the Swedish singles Champion he was second placed. In 1967 he also became Swedish mixed double Champion with Eva Johansson.

He also won an English Open title.

His playing style was more all-round than most other players in the 1960s. He could attack close to the table but also defend far from the table. He mastered top-spin, chopping, looping and all other types of play.

Stiga (manufacturer of table tennis tables, rackets, rubber and balls) made a very popular racket with the Alsér-grip.^[4] It became thicker towards the end of the grip, decreasing the risk of the racket slipping out of the player's grip.

He died in 1977 at the age of 34 in a plane crash at Kälvesta near Stockholm.

See also

• List of table tennis players
• List of World Table Tennis Championships medalists

References

1. "Hans Alsér". Find A Grave. Retrieved 30 December 2010.
2. "Men's doubles results" (PDF). International Table Tennis Federation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 April 2012.
3. "ALSER Hans (SWE)". International Table Tennis Federation. Archived from the original on 16 October 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2010.
4. "Hans Alsér racket". Archived from the original on 15 July 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2012.

External links

• Stiga Company History, Photo of Stellan Bengtsson, Kjell Johansson, Hans Alsér.
• Stiga Company History, the Hans Alsér racket.