International
Düsseldorf reaches the quarterfinals of the Champions League
Borussia Düsseldorf has secured its place in the quarterfinals of the Champions League. After winning the first leg 3-0, the leaders of the German Table Tennis League (TTBL) won the second leg of the round of 16 against Spanish side Real Club Cajasur Priego 3-2 on Thursday.
Unlike in the first leg, Real Club Cajasur Priego fielded Tao Yuchang, and the Chinese player made life difficult for Borussia Düsseldorf. Tao won against both Li Yongyin (3-1) and Anton Källberg (3-2), but did not seriously jeopardize Düsseldorf's progress. The German record champions won the other three singles matches convincingly. Källberg (3-1 against Diogo Carvalho), Kanak Jha (3-0 against Carlos Machado) and Borgar Haug (3-1 against Carvalho) secured a 3-2 home victory for Borussia.
“We are very happy to have reached the next round,” said Jha after the match. “It was a bit of a tricky situation. We knew we only needed two wins, but in a way that can actually increase the pressure. That's why we tried to take each match as it came. Overall, it was a good evening for us.”
In the coming days, three other clubs from the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL) – 1. FC Saarbrücken TT, Post SV Mühlhausen and ASC Grünwettersbach – will be looking to secure a place among the best eight clubs in Europe. Saarbrücken goes into tomorrow's second leg at Dojlidy Bialystok (Poland) with a 3-2 first-leg victory. Mühlhausen will also play HB Ostrov in Czechia tomorrow. Post SV won the first leg 3-1. Grünwettersbach, on the other hand, has to make up for a 1-3 defeat in the first leg. ASC will play the second leg in France against GV Hennebont TT on Sunday.
Champions League: Round of 16 at a glance
Leg 1
Dojlidy Bialystok – 1. FC Saarbrücken TT 2:3
Patryk Chojnowski – Darko Jorgic 3:2 (11:7, 5:11, 11:6, 5:11, 6:4)
Piotr Chodorski – Patrick Franziska 0:3 (7:11, 7:11, 8:11)
Piotr Michalski – Yuto Muramatsu 0:3 (6:11, 5:11, 5:11)
Patryk Chojnowski – Patrick Franziska 3:2 (5:11, 4:11, 13:11, 11:9, 6:3)
Piotr Chodorski – Darko Jorgic 1:3 (5:11, 11:9, 5:11, 7:11)
ASC Grünwettersbach – GV Hennebont TT 1:3
Hiroto Shinozuka – Simon Gauzy 3:1 (11:5, 13:15, 12:10, 11:9)
Tiago Apolonia – Vladimir Sidorenko 1:3 (4:11, 13:15, 11:5, 6:11)
Tobias Hippler – Lev Katsman 0:3 (5:11, 6:11, 8:11)
Hiroto Shinozuka – Vladimir Sidorenko 1:3 (7:11, 12:10, 8:11, 12:14)
Real Club Cajasur Priego – Borussia Düsseldorf 0:3
Hampus Söderlund – Anton Källberg 1:3 (10:12, 11:6, 11:6, 11:4)
Diogo Chen – Dang Qiu 0:3 (9:11, 5:11, 5:11)
Carlos Machado – Kanak Jha 0:3 (3:11, 7:11, 4:11)
Post SV Mühlhausen – HB Ostrov 3:1
Marcos Freitas – Pavel Sirucek 3:0 (11:7, 11:9, 11:5)
Steffen Mengel – Vladislav Ursu 3:1 (11:7, 11:8, 6:11, 11:5)
Ovidiu Ionescu – Jiri Vrablik 1:3 (10:12, 11:7, 7:11, 8:11)
Marcos Freitas – Vladislav Ursu 3:0 (14:12, 11:8, 13:11)
TTC Sokah Hoboken – KS Bank Spoldzielczy Orlicz Suchedniow 3:0
SF SKK El Nino Praha – KS Orlen Bogoria Grodzisk Mazowiecki 0:3
SKST Havirov – KS Dekorglass Dzialdowo 0:3
SolexConsult TTC Wiener Neustadt – Alliance Nimes/Montpellier 1:3
Leg 2
Borussia Düsseldorf – Real Club Cajasur Priego 3:2
Anton Källberg – Diogo Carvalho 3:1 (11:4, 11:6, 5:11, 11:7)
Li Yongyin – Tao Yuchang 1:3 (11:6, 6:11, 8:11, 7:11)
Kanak Jha – Carlos Machado 3:0 (11:8, 11:4, 11:4)
Anton Källberg – Tao Yuchang 2:3 (12:10, 6:11, 11:8, 9:11, 2:6)
Borgar Haug – Diogo Carvalho 3:1 (7:11, 11:7, 12:10, 11:9)
KS Dekorglass Dzialdowo – SKST Havirov 3:0
KS Orlen Bogoria Grodzisk Mazowiecki – SF SKK El Nino Praha 3:0
December 19: 1. FC Saarbrücken TT – Dojlidy Bialystok
December 19: HB Ostrov – Post SV Mühlhausen
December 21: GV Hennebont TT – ASC Grünwettersbach
December 21: KS Bank Spoldzielczy Orlicz – TTC Sokah Hoboken
December 21: Alliance Nimes/Montpellier – SolexConsult TTC Wiener Neustadt
Header photo: Borussia Düsseldorf's Kanak Jha
