Bundesliga

Borussia Düsseldorf has taken the next step toward the playoffs with a commanding win on the road. The leader of the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL) won 3-0 at Post SV Mühlhausen despite two prominent absences in the squad.

Anton Källberg laid the foundation, defeating Steffen Mengel 3-0 (11-8, 11-6, 11-6) and putting the hosts under pressure early on. The match between Ovidiu Ionescu and Yongyin Li was closer, but the new Düsseldorf signing kept his nerve here too: after four hard-fought sets, Li won the duel 3-1 (11-9, 16-14, 10-12, 11-8) for the visitors.

Haug seals the away win

In the third match, Borgar Haug sealed the deal. Against Cheng-Ting Liao, the Norwegian showed a focused performance and did not let himself be thrown off course by losing a set in the meantime. With a 3:1 victory (11:8, 11:9, 2:11, 11:7), Haug sealed Düsseldorf's away victory.

Mühlhausen put in a decent performance for long stretches, but failed to capitalize on key moments. “We've played well this month, but today it just didn't work out. We could have achieved more, but in the end Düsseldorf deserved to win,” said Ionescu after the match.

Düsseldorf defies personel shortages

Borussia underlined its success despite personnel issues: Kanak Jha was absent due to his participation in the ITTF Americas Cup in San Francisco, while Dang Qiu was preparing for the Europe Top 16. Nevertheless, Düsseldorf confidently maintained its lead in the table with 24:6 points. Mühlhausen remains at the top of the second half of the table with 12:18 points.

Overview of match day 15

Post SV Mühlhausen – Borussia Düsseldorf 0:3
Steffen Mengel – Anton Källberg 0:3 (8:11, 6:11, 6:11)
Ovidiu Ionescu – Yongyin Li 1:3 (9:11, 14:16, 12:10, 8:11)
Cheng-Ting Liao – Borgar Haug 1:3 (8:11, 9:11, 11:2, 7:11)

Saturday, January 31
3 p.m.: ASC Grünwettersbach – TTC OE Clarity-Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg
5:30 p.m.: TSV Bad Königshofen – TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell
7 p.m.: TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen – 1. FC Saarbrücken TT

Sunday, February 1
5 p.m.: TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt – Borussia Dortmund

Sunday, February 8
3 p.m.: TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau – SV Werder Bremen

All matches will be broadcast live on Dyn.

Featured image above: Borgar Haug from Borussia Düsseldorf (Photo: Borussia Düsseldorf)