First Swede to win World Championships Bengtsson was born in Falkenberg, on the West coast of Sweden in 1952 and began to play table tennis at the age of eight.

His small stature (167 cm tall, weighing 60 kg) helped him match the Chinese and he became the first Swede to win the individual World Championships in 1971.

Stellan Bengtsson's contribution to the world of table tennis was immortalized when a bronze statue of the legendary Swede was raised in his hometown, Falkenberg, in 2006.

Half a million Swedish kronor was raised from various sponsors and a local artist, Martina Falkehag Finn, was chosen amongst a number of qualified candidates to complete the project.

Stellan Bengtsson currently teaches in After School Learning Tree in San Diego, California.