Peter Karlsson was born on May 29, 1969, in Stenstorp, Sweden. He was the World Men’s Doubles champion in 1991 in Chiba, Japan, partnering Thomas von Scheele, defeating Wang Tao and Lu Lin of China. In 2000, Peter Karlsson won the European Men’s Singles Championship. He was also part of the World Championships team event successes for Sweden in 1989, 1991, 1993, and 2000. The thirty-eight years old Swede has turned to coaching after retirement and is enjoying every moment of it. In 2006, after playing in the Liebherr World Championships in Bremen, the Swede announced his retirement.
The ITTF Education & Training Department has agreed terms with Peter Karlsson to work on an individual basis with a selected group of top level juniors, supported through the ITTF/Olympic Solidarity project named- With the Future in Mind. He has signed a two year agreement with the International Table Tennis Federation. Now, on the international scene, watching as opposed to playing is the new role for him.
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Peter Karlsson is also the Stag "Brand Ambassador". He still plays for the French club, Levallois; he believes he can combine the two roles successfully.
Peter Karlsson started playing table tennis at the age of 8. He turned a professional when he was 19. He played right-handed and his strength was the topspin attack stroke. He used to work with a mental trainer to make himself mentally strong and remain focused. He also believed in goal setting and achieving it.
In the 2000 Summer Olympic Games, Peter Karlsson and Fredrik Haakansson were defeated by Jean-Philippe Gatien and Patrick Chila in a pre-quarter finals match at 21-17, 10-21, 21-11, and 21-18. In the 2004 Olympic Games, Peter Karlsson lost to Chih-Yuan Chuan of Chinese Taipei in a 6-game match, with the final score being 16-18, 11-6, 8-11, 11-7, 11-3, and 11-8. In the Swedish Open Table Tennis tournament in November 2003, Peter Karlsson lost in the quarterfinals in the singles event.
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