Champions League: Grünwettersbach misses out on quarterfinals
ASC Grünwettersbach has failed to advance to the quarterfinals of the Champions League. After losing 1:3 in the first leg, the eighth-placed team in the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL) lost 0:3 in the return match at GV Hennebont TT on Sunday.
After losing 1-3 in the first leg, it was clear that ASC Grünwettersbach would only have an outside chance in the rematch with GV Hennebont TT. On Sunday, the hoped-for surprise failed to materialize: Tobias Hippler (1-3 against Vladimir Sidorenko), Hiroto Shinozuka (1-3 against Rubio Wen) and Tiago Apolonia (0-3 against Simon Gauzy) lost 0-3 in the return leg in France, thus bowing out of the Champions League in the round of 16.
Nevertheless, Grünwettersbach can look back on a successful debut season in the Champions League. By finishing first in Stage 1, ASC reached the top 16 teams in Europe for the first time this summer.
Three other teams from the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL) had previously made it to the quarterfinals. 1. FC Saarbrücken TT will face Hennebont in the round of the last eight, while Borussia Düsseldorf and Post SV Mühlhausen will face off in an internal TTBL duel.
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)
1. FC Saarbrücken TT – Dojlidy Bialystok 3:0
Fan Zhendong – Piotr Chodorski 3:0 (11:1, 11:5, 11:5)
Darko Jorgic – Patryk Chojnowski 3:0 (11:3, 11:5, 11:4)
Patrick Franziska – Kakeru Sone 3:0 (11:9, 11:8, 11:7)
HB Ostrov – Post SV Mühlhausen 2:3
Vladislav Ursu – Ovidiu Ionescu 3:2 (12:10, 5:11, 11:13, 11:8, 6:2)
Pavel Sirucek – Marcos Freitas 0:3 (3:11, 7:11, 7:11)
Jiri Vrablik – Steffen Mengel 0:3 (7:11, 9:11, 6:11)
Vladislav Ursu – Marcos Freitas 3:0 (11:7, 11:8, 11:7)
Martin Koblizek – Ovidiu Ionescu 1:3 (7:11, 7:11, 11:9, 7:11)
GV Hennebont TT – ASC Grünwettersbach 3:0
Vladimir Sidorenko – Tobias Hippler 3:1 (9:11, 11:8, 11:6, 15:13)
Rubio Wen – Hiroto Shinozuka 3:1 (11:6, 11:7, 11:13, 11:9)
Simon Gauzy – Tiago Apolonia 3:0 (11:9, 13:11, 11:5)
KS Dekorglass Dzialdowo – SKST Havirov 3:0
KS Orlen Bogoria Grodzisk Mazowiecki – SF SKK El Nino Praha 3:0
KS Bank Spoldzielczy Orlicz – TTC Sokah Hoboken 3:1 (Golden Match: 2:1)
Alliance Nimes/Montpellier – SolexConsult TTC Wiener Neustadt 3:0
Header photo: ASC Grünwettersbach's Hiroto Shinozuka (by Jörg Hirsch)