Düsseldorf wins against Mühlhausen
Borussia Düsseldorf has defended its lead in the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL) table: On Tuesday, Dang Qiu led the record champions to a 3-1 victory over Post SV Mühlhausen. Now both clubs face challenges in the Champions League.
Two days before the second leg of the Champions League round of 16, Borussia Düsseldorf has gained further momentum. With a 3-1 victory over Post SV Mühlhausen on Tuesday evening, the record champions defended their lead in the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL) and remain ahead of second-placed SV Werder Bremen (14:4) with 16:4 points. Werder Bremen will face TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell on Thursday.
Dang Qiu was slightly ill a few days before the match against Post SV, but the world number ten was back in top form just in time for the match day. With two wins, he led Düsseldorf to a comfortable victory. Qiu won the opening singles match 3-1 against Ovidiu Ionescu for Borussia, before securing overall victory for his team with a 3-2 win against Steffen Mengel in the top singles match. Anton Källberg had also been successful in the third position, beating Marcos Freitas 3-0. For Mühlhausen, only Mengel's 3-0 victory over Borgar Haug was enough to make it 1-1 at the interim stage.
Düsseldorf and Mühlhausen aim for the quarterfinals
“Overall, I am very satisfied with our performance. This brings us some peace of mind again,” said Borussia coach Danny Heister after the match at Dyn. "Dang handled it very well in the end; he did everything right in the fifth set. Anton was very good, very concentrated, very focused. It was a shame about Borgar – he was close to winning a set twice.“ Mühlhausen's Ionsecu summed up the first half of the season: ”Unfortunately, we lost some very close matches this year. Things didn't go our way. But we have to keep fighting. I've been in Mühlhausen for a long time and have experienced a lot. The season isn't over yet."
In the Champions League, Düsseldorf will host Spanish representative Real Club Cajasur Priego on Thursday and is almost certain to advance to the quarterfinals after winning the first leg 3-0 in sets. Mühlhausen also has its sights set on the quarterfinals: After winning the first leg 3-1 in Czechia, the return match will take place on Friday. In the TTBL, Post SV remains eighth with 8:12 points. Both teams will then conclude the first half of the TTBL season on Sunday, December 21: Düsseldorf will face 1. FC Saarbrücken TT at 2 pm in the Saarlandhalle, while Mühlhausen will host SV Werder Bremen at 5 pm.
Match day #10 at a glance
1. FC Saarbrücken TT – TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen 3:0
Darko Jorgic – Shunsuke Togami 3:2 (10:12, 1:11, 11:7, 11:9, 11:6)
Fan Zhendong – Iulian Chirita 3:0 (11:9, 12:10, 11:2)
Patrick Franziska – Andreas Levenko 3:0 (12:10, 11:5, 11:9)
ASC Grünwettersbach – TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau 1:3
Hiroto Shinozuka – Luka Mladenovic 2:3 (9:11, 11:7, 13:11, 8:11, 4:11)
Tiago Apolonia – Feng Yi-Hsin 3:0 (11:9, 16:14, 12:10)
Tobias Hippler – Maciej Kubik 0:3 (7:11, 3:11, 7:11)
Hiroto Shinozuka – Feng Yi-Hsin 2:3 (11:9, 8:11, 7:11, 11:8, 8:11)
Borussia Düsseldorf – Post SV Mühlhausen 3:1
Dang Qiu – Ovidiu Ionescu 3:1 (11:6, 8:11, 11:8, 11:9)
Borgar Haug – Steffen Mengel 0:3 (9:11, 9:11, 4:11)
Anton Källberg – Marcos Freitas 3:0 (11:7, 11:9, 11:8)
Dang Qiu – Steffen Mengel 3:2 (11:7, 11:3, 8:11, 4:11, 11:6)
Wednesday, December 17
7 pm: Borussia Dortmund – TTC OE Clarity-Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg
7.30 pm: TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt – TSV Bad Königshofen
Thursday, December 18
7 pm: TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell – SV Werder Bremen
Header photo: Borussia Düsseldorf's Dang Qiu (by Jörg Fuhrmann)