London 2012 Olympian Andrew Baggaley, has signed a contract with SV Pluderhausen for the 2012/2013 season and will make his debut in Europe’s elite league after the London 2012 Olympics.
Team GB athlete Andrew, who has spent the last two seasons in the French National League recording world -class victories in league matches over stars such as Gao Ning (Singapore), Christophe Legout (France) and Segun Toriola (Nigeria) will join one of Europe’s most famous clubs, who have won the ETTU Cup three times, German Cup and competed in the European Champions League.
Andrew has now represented clubs in all the best leagues in Europe – starting at age 13 he became Britain’s youngest-ever professional table tennis player by signing terms to play in the Belgian National League and he has since had successful periods in the top divisions in Sweden, Spain, and France.
Andrew said: “This is a fantastic opportunity to play for one of the most prestigious and successful clubs in Europe. It’s a really exciting time with both the London 2012 Olympics followed by my debut season in the first German Bundesliga. It will be a great new challenge”
Furthermore, Andrew’s brother Stephen, himself a professional coach, has been taken on as a Men’s Team Coach for the Club, a first for a British Coach to ply his trade in the first German Bundesliga. Stephen, who has developed the talents of Andrew from the age of five, is regularly courtside with Andrew on the ITTF World Tour and International Open events.
For more information on SV Pluderhausen visit their website:
The move caps off a fine week for Andrew after once again moving up the international world rankings. The Buckinghamshire player moved up four places to 135th and once more ahead of youngster Liam Pitchford, who dropped to 145.
Paul Drinkhall’s failure to qualify in Doha resulted in (what we hope is) a brief exit from the top 100 as he sits in 102nd place.
Joanna Parker moved up again after a series of excellent performances in May took her to yet another career-high world ranking – this time of 117th in the world.
England number 2 Kelly Sibley’s injury prevented her from making any moves while Olympic colleague Na Liu flew up the rankings to 155th – a rise of 89 places after her storming month in Qatar and China.
| Men’s Rankings | Name: | Change: | Women’s Ranking | Name: | Change: |
| 102 | Paul Drinkhall | – 5 | 117 | Joanna Parker | + 12 |
| 135 | Andrew Baggaley | + 4 | 155 | Na Liu (NIR) | + 89 |
| 145 | Liam Pitchford | – 15 | 180 | Kelly Sibley | – 4 |