Bundesliga

Dang Qiu is set to contest the semi-finals of the German Championship at the Liebherr TTBL Final4 in Frankfurt (30–31 May) with record-breaking champions Borussia Düsseldorf. In this interview, the 2022 European champion talks about his friendship with top player Benedikt Duda from semi-final opponents TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt, the excitement of a potential final clash with superstar Fan Zhendong of 1. FC Saarbrücken-TT, and the pressure on his team to succeed after letting two title opportunities slip away.

Dang Qiu, at the start of the month the World Team Championships in London, in mid-May the Champions League final in Saarbrücken, and now, as the highlight, the Liebherr TTBL Final4 lies ahead. How are Borussia Düsseldorf and you preparing for the decisive tournament for the championship?

The preparation is actually just as usual. We train in Düsseldorf and do a bit of individual preparation. We always take a bit of a break in between, because there are simply so many highlights and so many intense competitions at the moment. It’s actually a shame that we have so little time to prepare for such highlights, but table tennis is very fast-paced these days, so the preparation time isn’t long, and that’s why you have to make good and intensive use of it.

The momentum generated by your teams’ performances in both London and Saarbrücken is likely to be limited. How have the two tournaments been analysed?

The momentum is manageable, but I don’t think any of us individually, or the club itself, needs to hide in any way. We’ve had an excellent season so far, finished top of the regular season, and have also had some good individual wins in London. It just keeps going; every day is new, every event is new, and personally I don’t feel bad at all, but rather good, and I’m looking forward to playing in another highlight.

Your club is going into the Final4 as the best team from the regular season. Can anything be deduced from that for the tournament?

I don’t think the regular season is particularly meaningful, because not everyone played the full season. So that won’t be a major factor, but of course it gave us the opportunity to choose our opponent for the semi-final.

Düsseldorf used its new bonus as the main round winner to select TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt as its opponent for the semi-final. Was the main reason for this simply to avoid the big title favourites, 1. FC Saarbrücken-TT?

It’s an advantage for us that we were able to choose an opponent. But first and foremost, the aim was probably really to avoid the big favourites on paper, 1. FC Saarbrücken-TT.

You’re good friends with Bergneustadt’s top player, Benedikt Duda. If you were to face him in a direct duel, what goes through your mind in situations like that?

Yes, I am actually good friends with ‘Benne’, and we’ve faced each other in quite a few matches before. I think that now, each of us will handle it differently. At the end of the day, it’s a competition. Personal matters stay outside the rink, and you have to try to put that aside for a while and focus solely on the game.

Unlike the previous ‘best of three’ play-off format, the semi-final in Frankfurt will be decided in a single match, so it also has a bit of a cup-final feel to it. Could Düsseldorf’s unexpectedly early exit from this year’s cup season in the quarter-finals against TTC OE Bad Homburg, a few months down the line, still prove helpful for your mindset?

We are indeed familiar with the knockout format from the cup or the Final Four in the Champions League and are more or less used to it; it’s a do-or-die situation there, so you can’t just sit back and wait to see what happens. Of course, the home advantage is completely gone, but all clubs and players have to deal with that now. It’s not as if this hasn’t happened before, though.

Düsseldorf won both matches against Bergneustadt in the regular season. What significance does that have for the semi-final?

It’s true that we did win both league matches against Bergneustadt, but we shouldn’t read too much into that either, because Bergneustadt are simply a very dangerous side, our two wins were incredibly narrow, and everything went our way. That’s why we can’t just assume we’ll win the semi-final again, because every match is unique and starts from scratch. That’s why we definitely have to give 100 per cent again.

To outsiders, your Borussia and Saarbrücken are seen as favourites to reach the final. Do your thoughts sometimes wander to such a ‘dream final’?

No, definitely not. Both teams have to win their semi-finals first, and only then can you think about the final and look at the possible matches.

In the scenario of a final against Saarbrücken, your Borussia teammates would face your future club-mate Fan Zhendong, the Saarbrücken superstar, on the other side. For whom is the situation more difficult?

I believe everyone is professional enough to assess this properly and keep the two separate. That’s what’s expected of us, and we’ve managed it many times before. Ultimately, everyone has to deal with it individually.

Fan Zhendong lost both singles matches against the Lebrun brothers, Felix and Alexis, in the Champions League final. How do you take such surprising news from a rival ahead of a potential clash?

It was, of course, a bit of a surprise, but then again, in a way, it wasn’t. After all, Felix and Alexis are no strangers to the world of table tennis; they both play fantastically, have made incredible progress and are unbelievably strong. But generally speaking, it just goes to show that table tennis is a sport, everyone is only human, and you can beat anyone – otherwise it would be boring.

For Düsseldorf, Frankfurt is the last chance of the current season to win a title, whilst Saarbrücken has to cope with enormous expectations. Which team is under more pressure?

In any case, we’ll give it our all once again to win the title. In my view, however, Saarbrücken are definitely the favourites given the squad they have. But of course, every team has to push themselves to the limit to perhaps clinch the title in the end. But it all starts with the semi-final, of course, so that’s the most important match for us right now.

Thank you very much for talking to us, Dang Qiu.

Florian Manzke