Bad Homburg wins basement duel against Mühlhausen
On match day 16 of the German Table Tennis League (TTBL), TTC OE Bad Homburg secured a very important victory in the relegation battle. The team from Hesse won 3:1 against Post SV Mühlhausen. The decisive man was once again Kristian Karlsson, who played a key role in the victory with two individual points.
The starting position in the table meant that tension and drama were inevitable. Mühlhausen was where Bad Homburg wanted to be at the end of the season: in a non-relegation place. Thanks to today's result, Bad Homburg managed to leave the relegation zone. Tied on points with Mühlhausen, but with the better match ratio, the newly promoted team is now in 10th place.
The first singles match initially seemed to be a clear-cut affair. Kristian Karlsson won the first set against Irvin Bertrand 11:3, but the Frenchman then fought back impressively and turned the match around, playing on an equal footing with the top man from Bad Homburg. Bertrand had several match points in the fourth set, which Karlsson fended off mainly with good blocking. In the end, the Swede worked his way into the deciding set and won in extra time.
Mengel clearly - then youth wins against routine
Steffen Mengel equalized for the Thuringians in the meantime, and did so extremely confidently. Mengel only lost set 3 against Benno Oehme, in all the others the experienced favorite left nothing to be desired against the outsider.
However, experience did not prevail in the third singles match: Csaba Andras put in a very dynamic performance against Daniel Habesohn and deserved to win. The 22-year-old Hungarian moved light-footedly, varied the pace skillfully and gave the 38-year-old Austrian very little chance.
Karlsson also wins his second singles match
Steffen Mengel now faced the extremely challenging task of taking his team into the final double. His opponent in the top singles match was none other than Kristian Karlsson. After initial difficulties, the Swede got into the game better and better and showed a good mix of patient, short balls and courageous forehand topspins. He converted the first of his three match points for Bad Homburg.
On the other side, Mühlhausen's coach Erik Schreyer was visibly upset: “It was very bitter today. If Irvin Bertrand, who played superbly, wins the first singles match against Karlsson, then the evening will certainly turn out differently. Karlsson is of course difficult to stop at home,” said Schreyer on the Dyn mic.
The doubles interview with Bad Homburg's coach Helmut Hampel was followed by a spirited but always respectful exchange of blows between the two coaches. At the end, both coaches hugged each other, signaled their mutual respect and also found their sense of humor again. Everyone involved was happy that emotions are also part of table tennis.
Outlook for the rest of the matchday
The 16th matchday will be completed tomorrow evening (7 p.m.). TTC Schwalbe Bergeneustadt will face TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen, the team with the strongest form in 2025. For Bergneustadt, this stage of the season will decide where the journey takes them: mid-table or play-off places. Ochsenhausen has the opportunity to end the matchday with a 24:8 record and draw level with league leaders Düsseldorf.
Click here for the current table: https://www.ttbl.de/bundesliga/table/
Overview of the 16th matchday
TTC OE Bad Homburg – Post SV Mühlhausen: 3:1
Kristian Karlsson – Irvin Bertrand 3:2 (11:3, 7:11, 9:11, 16:14, 12:10)
Benno Oehme – Steffen Mengel 1:3 (4:11, 6:11, 11:5, 3:11)
Csaba Andras – Daniel Habesohn 3:1 (11:7, 11:7, 7:11, 11:8)
Kristian Karlsson – Steffen Mengel 3:1 (6:11, 11:9, 11:8, 11:7)
SV Werder Bremen – TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell 1:3
Mattias Falck - Fanbo Meng 3:2 (10:12, 11:3, 12:10, 9:11, 11:8)
Andrei Putuntica - Dimitrij Ovtcharov 0:3 (11:13, 2:11, 8:11)
Kirill Gerassimenko - Cheng-Jui Kao 1:3 (7:11, 11:5, 4:11, 6:11)
Mattias Falck - Dimitrij Ovtcharov 1:3 (8:11, 11:9, 11:6, 9:11, 6:11)
ASC Grünwettersbach – Borussia Dortmund 3:2
Tiago Apolonia – Cedric Nuytinck 3:2 (11:9, 9:11, 11:4, 8:11, 11:8)
Guilherme Teodoro – Li Yongyin 2:3 (11:6, 9:11, 3:11, 13:11, 5:11)
Ricardo Walther – Anders Lind 1:3 (11:8, 4:11, 10:12, 4:11)
Tiago Apolonia - Li Yongyin 3:2 (11:8, 9:11, 7:11, 12:10, 11:4)
Ricardo Walther/Guilherme Teodoro - Cedric Nuytinck/Anders Lind 3:0 (11:9, 11:8, 12:10)
TSV Bad Königshofen – Borussia Düsseldorf 1:3
Jin Ueda - Borgar Haug 3:0 (11:9, 11:1, 11:7)
Filip Zeljko - Anton Källberg 1:3 (8:11, 3:11, 13:11, 5:11)
Bastian Steger - Timo Boll 2:3 (11:7, 11:5, 5:11, 6:11, 6:11)
Jin Ueda - Anton Källberg 2:3 (8:11, 11:9, 10:12, 12:10, 9:11)
1. FC Saarbrücken TT – TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau 3:2
Patrick Franziska - Samuel Walker 3:0 (11:2, 11:8, 11:3)
Cedric Meissner - Yi-Hsin Feng 3:1 (12:10, 11:7, 10:12, 11:6)
Darko Jorgic - Luka Mladenovic 0:3 (7:11, 5:11, 5:11)
Patrick Franziska - Yi-Hsin Feng 2:3 (5:11, 11:5, 8:11, 11:6, 8:11)
Cedric Meissner / Eduard Ionescu - Samuel Walker / Luka Mladenovic 3:0 (16:14, 12:10, 11:6)
Wednesday, February 12th
7 p.m.: TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt – TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen
Text: Jakob Vogel
All TTBL matches are broadcast live and on demand on Dyn.
Feature picture above: Kristian Karlsson from TTC OE Bad Homburg (Photo: Wolfgang Bauer)