Kalinikos Kreanga

Table tennis, Olympic athlete

1972 –

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Who is Kalinikos Kreanga?

Kalinikos Kreanga is a Greek table tennis player. Born as Călin Creangă, he chose to defect from Communist-ruled Romania at the age of 17 while he was participating in the European Table Tennis Youth Championships in Luxembourg in 1989.

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.

He has been one of the dominant European table tennis players since the beginning of the 1990s, and uses the shakehand style to hold the racket. His favorite attack weapons seem to be the topspin forehand loop and a strong backhand shot. His backhand topspin shot is one of the most devastating in the world with unique technique.

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Born
Mar 8, 1972
Bistrița
Also known as
  • Călin Creangă
Nationality
  • Romania
  • Greece
Profession

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

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