Bad Königshofen still waiting for its first win
The new season of the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL) is still young, but the pressure is gradually mounting on TSV Bad Königshofen. The Lower Franconians lost to TTC RhönSprudel Fulda Maberzell on the third match day. The semi-finalists of the last two years are thus still winless at the bottom of the table. However, the 0:3 defeat was not as clear-cut as it initially appears.
With a 3:0 victory, TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell celebrates its second win of the season and climbs to fifth place in the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL) table for the time being. But it took a lot of effort on the part of the Hessians to get there. Despite the seemingly clear result, TSV Bad Königshofen put up some resistance. “3-0 for us is really great because every game was really tough. Bad Königshofen had the chance to take a 2-1 lead,” Jonathan Groth analyzed afterwards to streaming provider Dyn.
He himself was trailing 0:1 and 8:10 at the start of the match against Bastian Steger before he managed to turn the game around. “I had the feeling that Basti was playing just as well as he did 10 years ago,” said the Dane, praising the 44-year-old table tennis veteran. Steger initially took advantage of a weak phase by Groth in the second set and turned a 5:8 deficit into a 10:8 lead. But he was unable to convert the two set points. That was the turning point in the match. “I somehow still won the set and then felt more relaxed,” explained Groth.
Ovtcharov wins battle of the generations
This was followed by a duel between established national player Dimitrij Ovtcharov and up-and-coming national player Andre Bertelsmeier. Ovtcharov, who canceled his participation in the WTT Champions in Macau at short notice last week, initially dominated the game and took a 2-0 lead. In the third game, he fell behind 1-7, fought his way back, but ultimately lost the set 7-11. However, Bertelsmeier was unable to win more than one set.
Fanbo Meng and Filip Zeljko took to the tables at the end of the match. What promised to be a balanced match on paper turned out to be just that. Meng showed great fighting spirit. Zeljko took a 1-0 and 2-1 lead and secured three match points in the fourth set. Meng fought off one after the other, saved himself in the fifth set and initially carried the momentum forward. In the decisive set, he took a 5-1 lead. Zeljko fought his way back, taking the lead for the first time at 8-7, but it was Meng who secured two match points and converted the first one. Thus, after a strong performance and good chances, Bad Königshofen is once again left without points, while Fulda secured its second victory in a row.
Overview of match day 3
TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell – TSV Bad Königshofen 3:0
Jonathan Groth – Bastian Steger 3:1 (8:11, 12:10, 11:6, 11:8)
Dimitrij Ovtcharov – Andre Bertelsmeier 3:1 (11:6, 11:8, 7:11, 11:8)
Fanbo Meng – Filip Zeljko 3:2 (8:11, 12:10, 8:11,13:11, 11:8)
TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen – TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau 3:1
Shunsuke Togami – Samuel Walker 3:0 (11:7, 11:8, 11:4)
Andreas Levenko – Feng Yi-Hsin 1:3 (12:10, 3:11, 5:11, 7:11)
Iulian Chirita – Maciej Kubik 3:1 (8:11, 11:5, 11:7, 11:2)
Shunsuke Togami – Feng Yi-Hsin 3:0 (12:10, 11:5, 11:3)
1. FC Saarbrücken TT – Borussia Dortmund 3:0
Fan Zhendong – Cedrick Nuytinck 3:0 (11:8, 11:6, 11:3)
Darko Jorgic – Alberto Mino 3:0 (11:7, 11:6, 11:7)
Eduard Ionescu – Adam Szudi 3:2 (11:7, 10:12, 6:11, 11:9, 11:2)
Tuesday, 16th of September
7 p.m.: ASC Grünwettersbach – Borussia Düsseldorf
Wednesday, 17th of September
6:30 p.m.: SV Werder Bremen – TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt
7 p.m.: Post SV Mühlhausen – TTC OE Clarity Telefonie-Systeme Bad Homburg
All TTBL matches are broadcast live and on demand on Dyn.
Featured image above: Bastian Steger (Photo: Philipp Wohlfahrt)