make a speech at the improvised platform, everyone was there...." High points of career as a professional player During summer 1970 came the unexpected decision, although not so unexpected among table tennis officials: Tova left his "Pamučna industrija" club and became a member of TTC "Vjesnik". The basic reason for moving from the smaller club to the larger one was the need for an adequately strong sparring partner (and none was more suitable than Šurbek or Čordaš), as well as the great challenge of taking part in The European Cup. With the new uniform he put on, there was still another major event: not long afterwards Tova Stipančić was married... As 1971 began, he moved to Zagreb, recalling that "...the new surrounding, new habits, days of great changes... was time for thinking". The year's end was topped off with a glamorous prize: Stipančić celebrating a first class victory at the International Tournament in Zagreb's "Box of Matches" Hall. Journalists lavished him with headlines - "Tova's Scalping Chinese", "Stipančić Over the Chinese Great Wall", "The Ball Caught Fire". Stipančić smashed Chinese Zhou Lansun and Li Furong, in the semi-finals he defeated Šurbek and, in the finals, the celebrated Zhuang Zedong: 16:21, 21:12 and 21:12, experiencing ecstatic ovations from the overjoyed Zagreb spectators. In 1972 Zagreb played host to a tournament which brought together the top European table tennis players. It was a complete success in organization and results. It was a top show, with "Europe's Top Twelve" in Zagreb's Trešnjevka sport hall.... and Tova was in the leading role! He broke all the barriers and won the trophy which was presented to him by Reno Vinek, the editor of Sportske Novosti. On the world stage in 1975-80 In 1975 India built the Netaji Indoor Stadium, a 12,000-seat domed arena, specifically for the World Championships at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. There, Tova is considered to have played the matches of his life... At the quarter-finals - a "match for the gourmet" - Hsi En Ting, the title defender left the arena totally defeated by Tova in a rarely seen match, 3:2. In the next game - and it was the semi-final, Antun played against the excellent Japanese defender Takashima. Antun's superior play brought victory in 5 sets ! Then came the long-awaited finals. In the crowded hall, "the war" between 25-year-old Antun Stipančić and the year-younger Istvan Jonyer. It was an excellent