Kalinikos Kreanga

{{short description|Greek table tennis player}}

{{Infobox table tennis player

| name= Kalinikos Kreanga

| image=GF8C6871Kalinikos Kréanga 13.04.2010.jpg

| caption =Kreanga in 2010.

| fullname = Kalinikos Kreanga

| nationality = {{ROU}} {{GRE}}

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1972|03|08|df=y}}

| birth_place = Bistriţa, Romania

| death_date =

| death_place =

| height = {{height|m=1.68|precision=0}}

| weight = {{convert|62|kg|lb st|abbr=on}}

| medaltemplates=

{{MedalSport | Men's table tennis}}

{{MedalCountry | {{GRE}} }}

{{MedalCompetition|World Championships}}

{{MedalBronze| 1991 Chiba City | Mixed Doubles}}

{{MedalBronze| 2003 Paris | Singles}}

{{MedalCompetition|World Cup}}

{{MedalSilver| 2003 Jiangyin | Singles}}

{{MedalSilver| 2004 Hangzhou | Singles}}

{{MedalCompetition|European Championships}}

{{MedalGold| 1992 Stuttgart | Mixed Doubles}}

{{MedalGold| 1994 Birmingham | Doubles}}

{{MedalSilver| 1994 Birmingham | Mixed Doubles}}

{{MedalSilver| 1996 Bratislava | Mixed Doubles}}

{{MedalSilver| 1998 Eindhoven | Doubles}}

{{MedalSilver| 2000 Bremen | Doubles}}

{{MedalSilver| 2002 Zagreb | Singles}}

{{MedalSilver| 2005 Aarhus | Doubles}}

{{MedalSilver| 2013 Schwechat | Team}}

{{MedalBronze| 1996 Bratislava | Doubles}}

{{MedalBronze| 2005 Aarhus | Singles}}

{{MedalCountry | {{ROU}} }}

{{MedalCompetition|European Championships}}

{{MedalBronze| 1988 Paris | Mixed Doubles}}

}}

Kalinikos Kreanga (born March 8, 1972) is a Greek (formerly Romanian) table tennis player.{{cite web |url=http://www.ittf.com/biography/biography_web_details.asp?Player_ID=104892 |title=Biography |publisher=ITTF |access-date=25 February 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304205420/http://www.ittf.com/biography/biography_web_details.asp?Player_ID=104892 |archive-date=4 March 2016 }}{{cite web |url=http://www.ittf.com/World_Events/Biography1.asp?Player_ID=173 |title=Biography of KREANGA Kalinikos |publisher=ITTF |access-date=25 February 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110118224524/http://www.ittf.com/World_Events/Biography1.asp?Player_ID=173 |archive-date=18 January 2011 }} Born as Călin Creangă, he chose to defect from Communist-ruled Romania at the age of 17 (with his father) while he was participating in the European Table Tennis Youth Championships in Luxembourg in 1989.{{cite web |url=http://www.cotidianul.ro/creanga_a_ajuns_celebru_si_bogat_din_ping_pong-630.html |title=Creanga a ajuns celebru si bogat din ping-pong |author=Roxana Maha |date=8 July 2005 |work=Cotidianul.ro |language=ro }}{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

Born in Bistriţa, Romania, Kreanga started to play table tennis at the age of 7. His first coach was Gheorghe Bozga, who would later discover Mihaela Steff.

While in Luxembourg, he received an offer to play in Greece, so he decided to move there. Being a minor, he quickly acquired Greek citizenship, and changed his name to Kalinikos Kreanga.

He has been one of the dominant European table tennis players since the beginning of the 1990s, and uses the shakehand grip to hold the racket. His favorite offensive weapons seem to be the forehand topspin and an incredibly strong backhand topspin. His backhand topspin is regarded as one of the most devastating in the history of the game, not limited by its unorthodox technique.

In 2004 he reached No 7 in the World Rankings.{{Cite web |title=ITTF - World Ranking - KREANGA Kalinikos |url=https://ranking.ittf.com/#/players/profile/104892/stats |access-date=2022-06-21 |website=ranking.ittf.com}}