Fulda celebrates fourth home win in a row

Following the announcement of the withdrawal of 1. FSV Mainz 05 from the German Table Tennis League (TTBL), everything has been decided in the battle to stay in the league. However, TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell will not let itself down easily and put on a hot dance against ASV Grünwettersbach on match day 16.

Bottom of the table against ninth - four points separated ASV Grünwettersbach and TTC RhönSprudel Fulda Maberzell ahead of the 16th matchday in the German Table Tennis League (TTBL). If it had still been a question of staying in the top league, the direct duel between the two teams would have been of enormous importance. However, although there will no longer be a relegation battle, both teams put in a fighting performance.

Fulda made a strong start. Ruwen Filus started off by defeating Deni Kozul 3:0. "I've always played well against Kozul so far. He didn't get into the game against me," the defender analyzed afterwards. And Chih-Yuan Chuang was also successful against Tiago Apolonia with 3:1. Fulda thus went into the break with a 2:0 lead.

Walther and Apolonia save Grünwettersbach in the doubles

Ricardo Walther first prevented a quick decision after the break. He defeated Fanbo Meng 3:1 and only lost the second round relatively clearly with 4:11. Filus and Apolonia then played a match worth seeing with many long rallies. The defending champion also saw it that way, admitting one or two physical weaknesses after the match. The Portuguese player first took a 1:0 lead. Filus then turned it around to 2:1, had a match point in both the fourth and fifth sets, but was unable to capitalize on them. So it was Apolonia who forced Fulda into the doubles with 12:10 in the final set.

This was initially as hard-fought as the entire match. Meng and Chuang took the first set and Kozul and Walther the second. But then the thread was broken. Grünwettersbach only scored a total of seven points in the last two sets. Fulda, on the other hand, celebrated its fourth home win in a row. "We're happy that we were able to bring it home after leading 2:0," said a relieved Filus. "We want to make sure we stay in the league, even if it's now clear that Mainz will be relegated." Thanks to the 3:2 win, the club from Hesse are level on points with Mainz and have also pulled Grünwettersbach further down the table.

At the end of the 16th matchday on Thursday, record champions Borussia Düsseldorf travel north to SV Werder Bremen and TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt host TSV Bad Königshofen.

Overview of the 16th matchday

TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell vs ASV Grünwettersbach 3:2
Ruwen Filus – Deni Kozul 3:0 (11:8, 11:4, 11:7)
Chih-Yuan Chuang – Tiago Apolonia 3:1 (6:11, 11:4, 11:7, 11:9)
Fanbo Meng – Ricardo Walther 1:3 (11:13, 11:4, 9:11, 9:11)
Ruwen Filus – Tiago Apolonia 2:3 (9:11, 11:8, 11:8, 11:13, 10:12)
Fanbo Meng/Chih-Yuan Chuang – Deni Kozul/Ricardo Walther 3:1 (11:9, 9:11, 11:3, 11:4)

Post SV Mühlhausen vs 1. FC Saarbrücken-TT 1:3
Ovidiu Ionescu – Patrick Franziska 0:3 (7:11, 4:11, 8:11)
Irvin Bertrand – Yuto Muramatsu 0:3 (5:11, 3:11, 7:11)
Steffen Mengel – Darko Jorgic 3:2 (12:10, 6:11, 11:8, 7:11, 11:7)
Daniel Habesohn – Yuto Muramatsu 2:3 (11:9, 5:11, 11:9, 8:11, 12:14)

TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau vs TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen 1:3
Yi-Hsin Feng – Can Akkuzu 3:0 (12:10, 11:7, 12:10)
Samuel Walker – Hugo Calderano 0:3 (7:11, 5:11, 9:11)
Maciej Kubik – Alvaro Robles 1:3 (7:11, 4:11, 12:10, 13:15)
Yi-Hsin Feng – Hugo Calderano 1:3 (12:14, 5:11, 11:6, 9:11)

Thursday, 29. February 2024
7 p.m.: SV Werder Bremen vs Borussia Düsseldorf
7 p.m.: TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt vs TSV Bad Königshofen

All matches will be broadcast live on Dyn.

Featured image above: Chih-Yuan Chuang