Stellan Bengtsson

Stellan Bengtsson (born 26 July 1952)^[1] is a Swedish former table tennis player. He became the first Swede to win the men's singles at the World Table Tennis Championships in 1971.^[2] He has won three World championships, seven European championships and 65 International championships.

Stellan Bengtsson
Stellan Bengtsson (1972)
Personal information
Full name	Stellan Bengtsson
Nationality	Sweden
Born	(1952-07-26) 26 July 1952 (age 72) Slöinge, Sweden
Table tennis career
Playing style	Shake hand grip
Highest ranking	1, 1971
Medal record Men's table tennis Representing  Sweden World Championships 1983 Tokyo Team 1981 Novi Sad Singles 1977 Birmingham Doubles 1977 Birmingham Team 1975 Calcutta Team 1973 Sarajevo Doubles 1973 Sarajevo Team 1971 Nagoya Singles European Championships 1980 Berne Singles 1980 Berne Team 1976 Prague Doubles 1976 Prague Team 1974 Novi Sad Doubles 1974 Novi Sad Team 1972 Rotterdam Singles 1972 Rotterdam Doubles 1972 Rotterdam Mixed Doubles 1972 Rotterdam Team 1970 Moscow Singles 1970 Moscow Team 1968 Lyon Team

He also won seven English Open titles.

Notable events

First Swede to win World Championships

Bengtsson was born in Falkenberg, on the West coast of Sweden in 1952 and began to play table tennis at the age of eight. His small stature (167 cm tall, weighing 60 kg) helped him match the Chinese and he became the first Swede to win the individual World Championships in 1971. In total, Bengtsson has no less than 10 World Championship - and 13 European Championship medals to his credit. Because of his world championship, Bengtsson earned the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal.

Statue Raised in Bengtsson's Honor

It was three Rotary clubs, Falkenbergs Rotaryclub, Falkenberg-Herting Rotaryclub and Falkenberg-Kattegatt Rotaryclub, who originally launched the proposal in autumn 2003 and Bengtsson naturally gladly accepted. Stellan Bengtsson's contribution to the world of table tennis was immortalized when a bronze statue of the legendary Swede was raised in his hometown, Falkenberg, in 2006. Half a million Swedish kronor was raised from various sponsors and a local artist, Martina Falkehag Finn, was chosen amongst a number of qualified candidates to complete the project. The statue is located in the Falkenberg city hall and will be moved to Falkenberg's new athletic arena when the new indoor stadium is completed in a couple of years. Stellan Bengtsson currently teaches in After School Learning Tree in San Diego, California. He coaches kids and others to play.