Transfer

The table tennis Bundesliga club TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau is setting the course for the future: Chen Zhibin, an internationally experienced player and coach, will take over as head coach of the Bundesliga team in the summer of 2026. He succeeds Slobodan ‘Bobo’ Grujic, who has shaped the traditional club over many years with great commitment and a high level of expertise.

‘First of all, we would like to express our sincere thanks to Bobo,’ says Olaf Gstettner, chairman of TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau. ‘He has done very valuable work over many years, and we as a club are extremely grateful to him for that.’

The decision to appoint Chen Zhibin was an obvious one in many respects, Gstettner continues: "We know Zhibin very well and greatly appreciate his skills as a coach. He was a player for many years and later also coach of our Bundesliga team. He is very experienced, having been national coach in the Netherlands and Singapore. Many good players work with him to hone their skills, and some of our players also trust him as their private coach. What's more, he lives locally – the whole package was just right."

Chen Zhibin, a familiar face in Grenzau, is returning to a position of responsibility. Now 63, he was a member of the Chinese national team from 1982 to 1991, became Chinese champion in 1989, won bronze in the mixed doubles at the 1989 World Championships and won the doubles at the 1990 Asian Games. At the end of 1991, he was one of the best players in the world and was ranked sixth in the world rankings. Chen has held German citizenship since 2000.

Chen Zhibin played for several clubs in the German Table Tennis League, including ATSV Saarbrücken, TTC Grünweiß Bad Hamm, Post SV Telekom Mülheim, TTF Bad Honnef and, in particular, TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau. Between 1998 and 2006, he celebrated his greatest club successes with the club: winning the European Cup in 2000 and the German team championships in 2001 and 2002. He began his coaching career as a player-coach in Grenzau while still active as a player.

Chen Zhibin later gained extensive international experience as a national coach, including with the Dutch women's national team and, from 2016, as head coach of the Singapore women's national team. After returning to Germany, he once again became involved in club and youth development.

‘I worked for this club for many years as a table tennis player and later as a coach – more than ten years in total – and therefore have a very close emotional connection to Grenzau,’ says Chen Zhibin. "That is an important reason why I decided to take on the role of head coach. After a few years, I am now returning to the Table Tennis Bundesliga. I am very much looking forward to this task and would like to contribute to the club's sporting development.‘ Looking ahead to the coming season, the new head coach has set clear goals: ’I have a good relationship with the current players. I hope that we can continuously improve and develop as a team."

Source: TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau (featured image above: Chen Zhibin)