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, he had to play against the world champion Zhuang Zedong. He later confessed that his knees could not hold him, but nevertheless he scored some very good points, which brought him compliments from the Chinese champion. He tapped Tova on the shoulder and they were photographed together, despite the lopsided result (8:21, 11:21, 14:21). After a passage of only five years, at the very same Tivoli hall, Stipančić would now be the champion, thoroughly defeating the legendary Chuang Tse Tung.