Hans Alsér

Swedish table tennis player (1942–1977)

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Key Takeaways

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.
Table tennis career Hans Alsér was an international top level player.
Hans Alsér was Swedish singles champion six times.
The years when he did not become the Swedish singles champion he was second placed.
He also won an English Open title.

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. At the peak of his career, Alser was ranked 3rd in the World Ranking.

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, and European champion (doubles) 1966.

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. It was 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 the Linjeflyg Flight 618 plane crash at Kälvesta in Stockholm.