DTTB men fail against Taiwan: "It feels like 15 years without experience"

At the end of an almost three-hour table tennis thriller at eye level, Dimitrij Ovtcharov and Co. were left empty-handed. "We're definitely disappointed," said national coach Jörg Roßkopf after the quarter-final exit at the World Team Championships in Busan: "But we already knew beforehand that Taiwan is a really strong team."

The German Table Tennis Association (DTTB) team, which was without Timo Boll, was unlucky to lose 3-0, but not without a chance. "All the games could have gone the other way," said Roßkopf. But it was not enough.

The DTTB team had recently reached the final twice in a row and had even reached five of the last six finals. China had always been the last stop there, and the Germans wanted to stand up to the perennial winners in South Korea as well. But the dream of winning the first World Cup title in the tournament's almost 100-year history was dashed.

After European champion Dang Qiu had lost 2:3 to Chuang Chih-Yuan in the opening match, Ovtcharov was on the verge of equalizing against Lin Yun-Ju. But the Olympic bronze medalist squandered a 2:0 lead, and then Patrick Franziska also failed to turn things around in his 1:3 loss to Kao Cheng-Jui. As a result, the DTTB men, like the women, were eliminated in the last eight, whereas a place in the semi-finals would have guaranteed at least bronze.

"It feels like we haven't experienced a defeat like that in the last 15 years. It's really bitter that it happened at a World Championships," said Ovtcharov, who looked straight ahead despite the bitter disappointment. Because such a setback is better "here than in Paris".

Even without the record European champion Boll, who was absent in Busan due to an inflammation of the iris, the German men had booked their Olympic ticket - after all. However, it remains to be seen who will play there. Rosskopf only has three squad places available for the Summer Games and the competition is fierce.

"It's good for us to know that we have to step up our game for Paris," said the national coach. This "gives us motivation for the next few weeks." Ovtcharov sees it the same way. According to the 35-year-old, the experience from Busan "grounds us and will help us to go into the tournament at the Olympics in Paris even sharper and more attentive."

Source: SID
Featured image above: Patrick Franziska and Kao Cheng-Jui (Photo: Manfred Schillings)