| Kalinikos Kreanga | |
| Fullname: | Kalinikos Kreanga |
| Birth Date: | 8 March 1972 |
| Birth Place: | Bistriţa, Romania |
| Weight: | 62kg (137lb) |
Kalinikos Kreanga (born March 8, 1972) is a Greek (formerly Romanian) table tennis player.[1] [2] Born as Călin Creangă, he chose to defect from Communist-ruled Romania at the age of 17 (with his father) while he was participating in the European Table Tennis Youth Championships in Luxembourg in 1989.[3]
Born in Bistriţa, Romania, Kreanga started to play table tennis at the age of 7. His first coach was Gheorghe Bozga, who would later discover Mihaela Steff.
While in Luxembourg, he received an offer to play in Greece, so he decided to move there. Being a minor, he quickly acquired Greek citizenship, and changed his name to Kalinikos Kreanga.[3]
He has been one of the dominant European table tennis players since the beginning of the 1990s, and uses the shakehand grip to hold the racket. His favorite offensive weapons seem to be the forehand topspin and an incredibly strong backhand topspin. His backhand topspin is regarded as one of the most devastating in the history of the game, not limited by its unorthodox technique.
In 2004 he reached No 7 in the World Rankings.[4]
Bronze medal in the mixed doubles competition at the World Championships, Chiba City, 1991.[5]
Winner of the European Championships in mixed doubles (1992) and men's doubles (1994).Runner-up in men's singles (2002).
Bronze medal in the singles competition at the World Championships, Paris, 2003.[6]
Runner-up at the Men's World Cup in 2003 and 2004.
Winner of the Europe Top-12, 2011.