Bad Königshofen win relegation six-pointer

TSV Bad Königshofen took a huge step towards survival in front of their home crowd at an electrified Shakehands-Arena. Against bottom club ASC Grünwettersbach, the Lower Franconians won 3–0 and, with two matchdays left, extended their lead to four points in the head-to-head battle. After a 12th straight defeat, ASC now face relegation to the second tier — the Karlsruhe side have not won a TTBL match since mid-November.

From the very first rally, the magnitude of the occasion was obvious. Among the many home supporters in the packed Shakehands-Arena, there was also a sizeable block of ASC fans trying to give their team a lift in a match of enormous importance. The situation was clear: the winner would have survival in their own hands, while defeat would push the loser to the brink. “No club wants to be in the situation Grünwettersbach and we are in — stuck down there and fighting against possible relegation,” Bad Königshofen’s Daniel Habesohn said to Dyn after the match. “That’s why the tension before the match was extremely high.”

Steger sets the tone

As a result, composure and calm were vital — and few players have embodied those qualities this TTBL season like TSV veteran Bastian Steger. The former Germany international opened the night against Tom Jarvis and put the hosts on the board. Jarvis took the first set emphatically 11–2, but Steger replied immediately with an 11–2 set of his own, then turned the third set after trailing 1–5. A tight 11–9 followed to seal the win for Steger and the hosts.

Habesohn wins the key match

Next came Habesohn against Tiago Apolonia — two players who, as the 39-year-old revealed, have known each other since their schoolboy days and have played each other hundreds of times. “My match might have been the opener,” said the Austrian. “Tiago can always win two points — he’s always dangerous.” It was hard work, though. Apolonia led 2–1 and seemed to have the momentum, but a run of points late in the third set — despite losing it — triggered Habesohn’s turnaround. “For me, the key moment in the third set was when he was well ahead and I still managed to win a few points in a row,” Habesohn explained. “I took that into the next set and started sensationally. In the fifth, it was about who had the steadier hand and placed the ball more accurately.” The five-set win made it 2–0 Bad Königshofen at the break.

Bertelsmeier seals it

Straight after the interval, youngster André Bertelsmeier completed the job with a surprisingly clear 3–0 victory over Ricardo Walther. The TTBL veteran is still struggling to reach top level after his injury, as he explained on Dyn. “I train every day and I’m in rehab, but like this I can’t help the team,” Walther said, frustrated. “It’s difficult to play like this when you still have big deficits. I’m standing here and losing all the matches — basically I’m still handicapped. I’d like to help, but I can’t.” Since New Year’s Day, Walther has not won any of his six singles.

Bad Königshofen almost safe — Bad Homburg can breathe easier

The win lifts Bad Königshofen’s lead over bottom club Grünwettersbach to four points with two matchdays to go. That means the hosts now need one more win — or another ASC defeat — to secure survival on their own. “The mood is obviously amazing,” Habesohn said. “Right now we’re incredibly happy.” TTC OE Clarity-Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg can also be happy: the Hesse side have now secured survival “from the sofa” thanks to Bad Königshofen’s win. Their six-point cushion over Grünwettersbach can no longer be overturned.

Walther: “It’s really awful”

For ASC Grünwettersbach, the defeat brought a stark realisation that the club could be playing second division table tennis next season. “It’s really awful,” Walther said. Even if Karlsruhe finish bottom, however, relegation is not yet guaranteed. TSV Windsbach are the only second-division club taking part in the TTBL licensing procedure for next season — but have not yet made a final decision. “With Windsbach you can only speculate,” Walther said. “You hear a lot every day — one says yes, another says no. In the end, Windsbach have to think it through and make their decision. All we can do is wait.”

The possible drop is the consequence of a results crisis stretching back to mid-November. After a 3–0 win over SV Werder Bremen, Grünwettersbach have now lost 12 matches in a row. “We’ve been up against the wall for a long time. In January and February we actually did quite well, but we never won,” Walther explained. “In March, the last two matches on paper were 0–3 and we were probably the weaker team. Still, there were small chances — and right now we just don’t convert them.” Grünwettersbach now need wins in their final two matches — against Bergneustadt (16 April) and away in Grenzau (19 April) — to keep even a theoretical chance of survival alive.

Matchday 20 fixtures

TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau – Borussia Dortmund 3:1
Feng Yi-Hsin – Alberto Miño 3:1 (7:11, 11:4, 11:9, 11:4)
Maciej Kubik – Kristian Karlsson 1:3 (10:12, 11:6, 3:11, 7:11)
Luka Mladenovic – Cedric Nuytinck 3:2 (11:8, 11:9, 9:11, 9:11, 11:7)
Feng Yi-Hsin – Kristian Karlsson 3:2 (11:13, 8:11, 11:9, 12:10, 11:5)

1. FC Saarbrücken-TT – TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell 2:3
Fan Zhendong – Qing Yu Meng 3:0 (12:10, 11:5, 11:8)
Samuel Arpas – Ruwen Filus 0:3 (9:11, 4:11, 8:11)
Cedric Meissner – Fanbo Meng 1:3 (11:8, 8:11, 9:11, 8:11)
Fan Zhendong – Ruwen Filus 3:0 (11:3, 11:6, 11:6)
Meissner/Arpas – Meng/Meng 1:3 (6:11, 8:11, 11:6, 9:11)

SV Werder Bremen – Borussia Düsseldorf 2:3
Kirill Gerassimenko – Li Yongyin 3:0 (11:8, 12:10, 11:7)
Mattias Falck – Kanak Jha 2:3 (2:11, 11:3, 11:9, 10:12, 10:12)
Irvin Bertrand – Anton Källberg 2:3 (10:12, 11:7, 7:11, 13:11, 10:12)
Kirill Gerassimenko – Kanak Jha 3:0 (11:7, 12:10, 12:10)
Falck/Bertrand – Källberg/Li 2:3 (3:11, 11:7, 11:6, 5:11, 8:11)

TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt – TTC OE Clarity-Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg 3:1
Benedikt Duda – Juan Perez 3:0 (11:5, 11:7, 11:6)
Adrien Rassenfosse – Jo Yokotani 0:3 (11:13, 11:13, 4:11)
Romain Ruiz – Benno Oehme 3:1 (11:2, 11:8, 7:11, 11:4)
Benedikt Duda – Jo Yokotani 3:0 (11:9, 12:10, 11:7)

TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen – Post SV Mühlhausen 0:3
Iulian Chirita – Ovidiu Ionescu 2:3 (8:11, 11:5, 11:4, 6:11, 3:11)
Leonardo Iizuka – Kay Stumper 0:3 (9:11, 6:11, 8:11)
Andreas Levenko – Steffen Mengel 1:3 (9:11, 9:11, 14:12, 6:11)

TSV Bad Königshofen – ASC Grünwettersbach 3:0
Bastian Steger – Tom Jarvis 3:1 (2:11, 11:2, 12:10, 11:9)
Daniel Habesohn – Tiago Apolonia 3:2 (9:11, 11:4, 5:11, 11:1, 11:6)
André Bertelsmeier – Ricardo Walther 3:0 (11:6, 11:6, 11:9)

All matches are streamed live on Dyn.

The current TTBL standings can be found here.

Picture: Andre Bertelsmeier of TSV Bad Königshofen (Photo: Hermann Zacher).