October 12. 2020

Many people have probably tried taking up a sport as a child. Experiencing the joy, the sense of community, and the social aspect, all while gradually getting better at the sport.

Sally Maribo Nielsen also remembers that joy and sense of community from the table tennis club BTK Grenå, where she started at age nine.

But she didn’t just get better little by little. She took off.

Sally Maribo Nielsen started playing table tennis when she was nine years old. Personal

After two or three months, I won the club championship,” recalls 16-year-old Sally Maribo Nielsen.

The following year, she made the national team, and since then, things have gone almost entirely uphill.

When pressed to say so, she admits she’s among Denmark’s best with a bat, but she’s not one to talk much about it.

But she’s really good, isn’t she?

“In her age group, she’s one of those players we’re betting on and hoping will go on to achieve something really big,” replies one of her coaches, Simon Nykjær-Fischer.

I beat the boys, too

There are more boys than girls playing table tennis in Denmark.

Throughout her youth, Sally Maribo Nielsen’s racket has faced players of both genders.

“I’m also good enough to beat the boys. I’ve been doing that since I started playing table tennis,” she says.

For her, a win is a win. That’s not always the case for the loser.

“The boys definitely don’t like losing to a girl, especially one who’s that good. They’ve often sat crying in a corner after a match because it’s no fun,” she says.

Moved out of her parents’ home at age 15

After a couple of years at BTK Grenaa, she switched clubs.

- I started beating the coach, so I moved to Rønde to find a bigger challenge, she says.

After a couple of seasons there, she moved to BTK Viby in Aarhus, which is one of the country’s best clubs.

Last year, she took another step forward when she enrolled in Marselisborg Gymnasium’s Team Denmark program—a track designed for elite young athletes.

She moved out of her parents’ home and into a dorm room near her school and the table tennis club in Viby.

“It was a big change to live on my own,” she says, continuing:

- It has definitely helped me grow as a person and as a table tennis player to see and experience things for myself.

Now she trains 15–20 hours a week spread across 10 training sessions—and if it weren’t for the pandemic, there would also be quite a few tournaments on the weekends.

It would be impossible to train that intensely if she still lived in Grenaa.

Several times a week, her morning starts with training before school, followed by both team and individual training in the afternoon.

The Big Dream

At just 14 years old, she began playing in the top Danish women’s team table tennis tournament.

Although the age gap can be significant, Sally Maribo Nielsen wins many matches there.

There is one player, however, whom she has not yet beaten.

Mie Skov, who competed at the 2011 Olympics in London and later won *Vild Med Dans*.

“But I’ve taken a set from her and given her a run for her money,” says Sally Maribo Nielsen.

Will you end up being better than the best we have today?

- I think I will. When you train that much, it would be a shame if you didn’t, she says with a smile.

In the short term, the goal is definitely to qualify for the European Youth Championships again next year.

But I’m also aiming to compete in the World and European Championships as a senior, she says, continuing:

- The ultimate dream is always to make it to the Olympics, but there’s still some time before I can peak for that, so I just have to keep training hard.

Link to TV2 Østjylland report:

https://www.tv2ostjylland.dk/norddjurs/sally-er-oestjyllands-sejeste-batwoman