New additions lead Fulda to victory
They were among the top transfers of the summer break: TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell signed Kao Cheng-Jui and Dimitrij Ovtcharov for the new season. Both made their debut in the German Table Tennis League (TTBL) against TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen on the very first match day. But at least Ovtcharov's return was initially strange, albeit successful.
The first rally that Dimitrij Ovtcharov played on his return to the German Table Tennis League (TTBL) on the first match day against TTF Liebherr Ochsenhause was a completely unsuccessful setback over the table. But shortly afterwards he had won his first singles match for TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell. He was opposed by Ochsenhausen's head coach Bogdan Pugna, who conceded the match without a fight after just one rally.
Ochsenhausen had to do without Hugo Calderano, Simon Gauzy and Leonardo Iizuka Kenzo. After the game, Pugna apologized to the fans. Regarding his own game, he said that he did not have the level to offer the fans at least an entertaining game.
Ovtcharov and Kao remain without losing a set
In the end, however, Ovtcharov was to make a real comeback. He showed a concentrated performance against Shunsuke Togami. Although all three sets were initially even, the German had the longer breath each time and prevailed in the end. “I was able to win the last few matches against Togami, so I started with a lot of confidence,” Ovtcharov told Dyn afterwards. After the Olympic Games, it wasn't easy to pick myself up again and play against such strong opponents, ‘but when I'm back in the box, I also know what it feels like to lose and I'm looking forward to playing in Germany again,’ said the 35-year-old.
Fulda's second newcomer Kao Cheng-Jui had previously scored. The duel between the teenagers and the 16-year-old Tiago Abiodun developed into a high-class match, which the 21-year-old Taiwanese won 3:0. However, the first two sets were more than close. If the Portuguese player in the service of Ochsenhausen can be criticized for one thing, it is that he did not take his chances. Abiodun had eight set points in the second set and missed them all. It was the crux of the match. Kao had no more problems in the third set. In the first match of the evening, Togami had put Ochsenhausen ahead with a 3:0 against Fanbo Meng, but there was no getting past Fulda's promising newcomers that evening.
Click here for the current table: https://www.ttbl.de/bundesliga/table
1.st matchday overview
TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen – TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell 1:3
Shunsuke Togami – Fanbo Meng 3:0 (11:8, 11:6,11:8)
Bogdan Pugna – Dimitrij Ovtcharov 0:3 (1:11, 0:11, 0:11)
Tiago Abiodun – Kao Cheng-Jui 0:3 (9:11, 14:16, 4:11)
Shunsuke Togami – Dimitrij Ovtcharov 0:3 (7:11, 9:11, 7:11)
Borussia Düsseldorf – ASC Grünwettersbach 3:0
Anton Källberg - Guilherme Teodoro 3:2 (11:9, 11:6, 6:11, 9:11, 11:1)
Timo Boll - Ricardo Walther 3:2 (5:11, 11:2, 11:5, 7:11, 11:9)
Dang Qiu - Leo de Nodrest 3:2 (10:12, 10:12, 11:7, 11:8, 11:8)
TSV Bad Königshofen – Post SV Mühlhausen 3:0
Bastian Steger - Ovidiu Ionescu 3:0 (11:5, 12:10, 11:4)
Filip Zeljko - Steffen Mengel 3:1 (11:9, 11:5, 9:11, 11:6)
Jin Ueda - Irvin Bertrand 3:0 (12:10, 11:4, 11:3)
TTC OE Bad Homburg – 1. FC Saarbrücken TT 2:3
Kristian Karlsson - Cedric Meissner 3:1 (9:11, 12:10, 11:9, 11:7)
Csaba Andras - Yuto Muramatsu 2:3 (10:12, 11:6, 11:9, 7:11, 10:12)
Yuma Tsuboi - Eduard Ionescu 2:3 (11:9, 11:5, 7:11, 11:13, 7:11)
Kristian Karlsson - Yuto Muramatsu 3:1 (11:7, 14:12, 9:11, 11:6)
Csaba Andras / Yuma Tsuboi - Cedric Meissner / Eduard Ionescu 0:3 (9:11, 10:12, 8:11)
SV Werder Bremen – Borussia Dortmund 3:1
Kirill Gerassimenko – Cedric Nuytinck 3:1 (8:11, 11:6, 11:9, 11:6)
Marcelo Aguirre – Anders Lind 0:3 (4:11, 7:11, 5:11)
Mattias Falck – Yongyin Li 3:0 (11:9, 11:5, 17:15)
Kirill Gerassimenko – Anders Lind 3:2 (12:10, 9:11, 11:13, 11:7 14:12)
Monday, August 26th
7 p.m.: TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt – TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau
All matches in the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL) are broadcast live and on demand on Dyn.
Featured image above: Dimitrij Ovtcharov (Photo: BeLa Sportfoto)