Antun "Tova" Stipančić (Duga Resa, 18 May 1949 – Zagreb, 20 November 1991) was a highly accomplished Croatian / Yugoslav professional table tennis player. Table Tennis career He was one of the most renowned personalities in the history of the competition, earning him the nickname "the golden left hand of Croatian sport". A table tennis child prodigy who was proclaimed "Best Croatian Sportsman" in 1975, he was National Championship winner numerous times, three times European Champion in doubles, World Champion in men's doubles in 1979 (Stipančić–Šurbek), and World Championship silver medalist in singles in 1975. Early years Antun Stipančić was born in Duga Resa, a small industrial town in central Croatia's Karlovac County (at the time of his birth, and until summer-autumn 1991, Croatia was one of six republics constituting Yugoslavia). His family of five — father Ivan, a janitor at the football club, mother Franca and two younger brothers, Marijan and Ivica — had a difficult time trying to make ends meet. They lived in very modest circumstances in a damp apartment located at the football (soccer) playground which shared its location with the hall of the Table Tennis Club (TTC) "Duga Resa". At the end of the 1950s, a group of sport enthusiasts led by Josip Trupković, Josip Stojković and Dragutin Vrana brought inspiration to the little-noted town and its young people with a new sport - table tennis. The TTC "Pamučna industrija" was born and its priority was to coach the next generation. As time passed and word began to spread, more and more curiosity seekers began to visit the table tennis halls to see with their own eyes the Duga Resa youngster, called "the wonder kid". "Tova" Stipančić won his first tournament at the age of 12 in 1961, playing in Karlovac League's cadet category and, a few months later, was the best at Zagreb's "Ribnjak". Fame at the age of 16 The crucial year was 1965. In that year the famous Japanese expert Ichiro Ogimura visited Duga Resa, leading a strong selection which enraptured the overcrowded table tennis hall. Stipančić recalled that "Ogimura impressed me with his easy way of moving around and attacking although at that time he passed his best days in table tennis". Another direct contact with a great player occurred at the world championships in Ljubljana in which Tova played for the first time. As chosen by lot, or by accident,