Kamal Achanta with season debut for Düsseldorf
It was the top match in the German Table Tennis League (TTBL). First in the table against second. Borussia Düsseldorf against 1. FC Saarbrücken. What promised to be a hot fight in the run-up was in the end the eighth 3:0 victory of the record champion. Neither team was at its best, but Kamal Achanta was in the lineup for the first time.
It is impressive with which dominance Borussia Düsseldorf leads the Tischtennis Bundesliga (TTBL) in this season. Before the top match against 1. FC Saarbrücken they won seven times out of eight matches with 3:0. At the only 3:1 success against TSV Bad Königshofen it was coach Danny Heister who stepped in due to personnel worries and lost. Now Borussia also sent its worst rival home with a clear defeat.
However, both teams were not at their best. On the Düsseldorf side, Kay Stumper was absent due to injury. Timo Boll was to be spared. On the other side, it was Patrick Franziska who made the trip to Düsseldorf, but took a seat on the bench and was given a break from the game. In his place, Sharath Kamal Achanta from India wore the Borussia jersey for the first time this season.
Achanta: "As if I had never been away".
"For me, it feels like I never left. I really enjoyed playing in front of this great crowd today," Achanta said after the match. It took him two sets to acclimatize against Japan's Takuya Jin. He lost the first set in extra time, the second he won narrowly 11:8. After that, the Indian played himself into a frenzy. He clearly won the third and fourth sets.
Before Achanta stepped up to the table, Dang Qiu had already given Düsseldorf the lead. The European singles champion did not let the Belgian Cedric Nyutinck get into the match. Qiu won 3:0 and the final point was set by Anton Källberg against Darko Jorgic. After losing the first two sets, the Slovenian was able to close the gap, but he could not turn the match around. Danny Heister, coach of Borussia Düsseldorf, was correspondingly satisfied. "It was a strong performance of my team against one of the best teams in the league. That we win this duel 3-0, we did not expect at all."
The 10th matchday continues as early as next weekend. On Friday, Saarbrücken will host TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen, while Düsseldorf will travel to TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau on Sunday.
The 9th matchday in overview
Borussia Düsseldorf – 1. FC Saarbrücken TT 3:0
Dang Qiu – Cedric Nuytinck 3:0 (11:5, 11:6, 11:5)
Sharath Kamal Achanta – Takuya Jin 3:1 (11:13, 11:8, 11:5, 11:4)
Anton Källberg – Darko Jorgic 3:1 (11:7, 11:5, 8:11, 11:5)
Post SV Mühlhausen – TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt 3:2
Steffen Mengel – Omar Assar 2:3 (9:11, 7:11, 12:10, 11:7, 7:11)
Daniel Habesohn – Benedikt Duda 3:2 (12:10, 9:11, 7:11, 11:9, 11:5)
Ovidiu Ionescu – Romain Ruiz 3:1 (9:11, 11:4, 11:9, 11:6)
Steffen Mengel – Benedikt Duda 1:3 (4:11, 11:13, 11:8, 8:11)
Ovidiu Ionescu/Kim Taehyun – Romain Ruiz/Alberto Mino 3:2 (11:5, 7:11, 12:10, 8:11, 11:7)
1. FSV Mainz 05 – ASV Grünwettersbach 2:3
Yuto Muramatsu – Deni Kozul 3:1 (11:5, 3:11, 11:1, 11:5)
Luka Mladenovic – Xi Wang 2:3 (11:8, 10:12, 9:11, 11:3, 7:11)
Andrei Putuntica – Ricardo Walther 0:3 (9:11, 3:11, 9:11)
Yuto Muramatsu – Aljaz Godez 3:0 (11:3, 11:1, 11:4)
Luka Mladenovic/Andrei Putuntica – Ricardo Walther/Deni Kozul 2:3 (12:10, 6:11, 11:9, 8:11, 5:11)
SV Werder Bremen – TTC Neu-Ulm 3:1
Kirill Gerassimenko – Lev Katsman 3:1 (11:6, 11:9, 7:11, 11:9)
Cristian Pletea – Vladimir Sidorenko 2:3 (7:11, 12:10, 6:11, 11:9, 5:11)
Mattias Falck – Maksim Grebnev 3:0 (11:8, 11:8, 11:8)
Kirill Gerassimenko – Vladimir Sidorenko 3:1 (8:11, 11:8, 13:11, 11:6)
TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell – TSV Bad Königshofen 2:3
Ruwen Filus – Yukiya Uda 3:2 (3:11, 11:5, 11:8, 8:11, 11:8)
Fanbo Meng – Bastian Steger 1:3 (5:11, 11:13, 15:13, 5:11)
Alexandre Cassin – Filip Zeljko 3:0 (11:5, 11:9, 11:4)
Ruwen Filus – Bastian Steger 2:3 (11:4, 11:9, 7:11, 11:13, 4:11)
Alexandre Cassin/Fanbo Meng – Kilian Ort/Yukiya Uda 1:3 (8:11, 8:11, 11:6, 6:11)
Monday, December 12
7 p.m.: TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau – TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen live on Twitch