Fulda surprises Düsseldorf
On the 13th matchday of the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL), TTC Rhönsprudel Fulda-Maberzell celebrated a 3-1 home win against Borussia Düsseldorf and scored two important points in the fight to stay in the league. Despite the defeat, record champions Düsseldorf maintain their lead in the table, level on points with 1. FC Saarbrücken TT.
With two home wins in a row, Fulda recently sent a clear sign of life to the competition, but had to do without both winter newcomer Chih-Yuan Chuang and Chun Ting Wong against the newly crowned cup winners from Düsseldorf, so that head coach Qing Yu Meng celebrated his season debut.
Father and son
And his father's commitment seemed to particularly inspire his son Fanbo, as the 23-year-old became the match winner for Fulda with two individual victories. While he had to fend off a match point against Borgar Haug in the first singles before he was ultimately able to clearly win the fifth round, he dictated the action from the first rally against old master Timo Boll, who had seen the strains of travel and tournaments of the last few weeks. Defender Ruwen Filus made it 2-1 by defeating Kay Stumper in five long sets.
Voices about the game
Fanbo Meng, TTC Rhönsprudel Fulda Maberzell: “The fact that I got two points today is a great feeling. And that against Düsseldorf too. I had tactical problems against Borgar for a long time. In the fifth set I became more courageous. That paid off. I made a lot of good decisions against Timo. I can't explain that any further. But above all, big compliments to Ruwen. He played incredibly well today.”
Danny Heister, coach Borussia Düsseldorf: “We fought, had our chances but didn’t take advantage of them. It's good that we gained a cushion in the first half of the season. That’s why the defeat isn’t so serious now.”
Bremen welcomes Grenzau
The 13th matchday will conclude on Wednesday, January 31st, when SV Werder Bremen hosts the TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau at 7 p.m.
Overview of the 13th matchday
TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell – Borussia Düsseldorf 3:1
Fanbo Meng - Borgar Haug 3:2 (3:11, 11:6, 6:11, 13:11, 11:3)
Qing Yu Meng - Timo Boll 0:3 (7:11, 5:11, 8:11)
Ruwen Filus - Kay Stumper 3:2 (4:11, 13:11, 3:11, 11:9, 12:10)
Fanbo Meng - Timo Boll 3:0 (11:9, 11:7, 11:9)
1. FSV Mainz 05 – TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen 3:2
Yongyin Li - Can Akkuzu 3:2 (8:11, 9:11, 11:5, 14:12, 14:12)
Rares Sipos - Samuel Kulczycki 3:1 (13:11,, 9:11, 16:14, 11:8)
Luka Mladenovic - Simon Gauzy 0:3 (8:11, 9:11, 3:11)
Yongyin Li - Samuel Kulczycki 2:3 (7:11, 11:8, 6:11, 11:2, 7:11)
Mladenovic/Rossi - Gauzy/Akkuzu 3:0 (11:9, 11:5, 13:11)
TSV Bad Königshofen – ASV Grünwettersbach 3:1
Jin Ueda – Ricardo Walther 1:3 (6:11, 11:6, 8:11, 7:11)
Filip Zeljko – Wang Xi 3:0 (11:7, 11:6, 11:8)
Bastian Steger – Deni Kozul 3:1 (4:11, 11:8, 11:4, 11:9)
Jin Ueda – Wang Xi 3:0 (11:5, 11:7, 11:3)
Post SV Mühlhausen – TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt 0:3
Ovidiu Ionescu – Romain Ruiz 2:3 (12:10, 6:11, 11:6, 7:11, 6:11)
Steffen Mengel – Adrien Rassenfosse 2:3 (8:11, 11:6, 11:8, 5:11, 7:11)
Daniel Habesohn – Benedikt Duda 2:3 (7:11, 3:11, 11:8, 12:10, 10:12)
Wednesday, January 31st
7 p.m.:Uhr: SV Werder Bremen – TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau
All TTBL games will be broadcast live on live auf Dyn.
Featured image above: Fanbo Meng (Foto: Patrick Wichmann)