Pokal

With a spectacular comeback in the deciding doubles, TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen booked their ticket to the Liebherr Cup Final Four on 4 January 2026 in Ulm/Neu-Ulm. The Swabians edged Post SV Mühlhausen 3–2 in Wednesday’s quarter-final. Alongside the ever-reliable Shunsuke Togami, Ochsenhausen’s young doubles pair impressed.

After more than three and a half hours of tension and top-class table tennis, Ochsenhausen’s fans and players were finally able to celebrate. “With your support the boys were able to fight right to the end,” said TTF coach Bogdan Pugna to the supporters in the Dr.-Hans-Liebherr-Sporthalle on Dyn. “It’s incredible to be there with this team and to be able to defend our title. I’m very proud of the boys.”

Tiago Abiodun applied the finishing touch, sealing the deciding game of the doubles with a forehand winner. The 17-year-old, alongside Andreas Levenko (27), defeated the seasoned Post pair Ovidiu Ionescu (36) and Marcos Freitas (37) after trailing by two games and saving multiple match points. Earlier in singles, both had come up short: Abiodun lost to Kay Stumper and Levenko to Freitas. That left it once again to spearhead Shunsuke Togami to lay the foundation in singles.

Togami severely tested twice

The Japanese star, still unbeaten this season, was put to the test by Mühlhausen’s line-up. Both Ionescu and Stumper posed tricky problems that Togami solved only in deciding games. Ionescu made inroads with varied, long serves, while Stumper scored with precisely placed backhand blocks. Togami withstood the scoreboard pressure and now stands at eleven wins from eleven matches across competitions.

On Tuesday, TTC OE Clarity-Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg had already knocked out record cup winners Borussia Düsseldorf in a 3–2 thriller to book a second straight Final Four berth. The last two tickets will be awarded next Monday, when second-division side SV Union Velbert host 1. FC Saarbrücken-TT and TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell face TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau.

Cup quarter-finals overview

TTC OE Clarity Telefonie-Systeme Bad Homburg – Borussia Düsseldorf 3:2
Jo Yokotani – Anton Källberg 3:1 (11:8, 11:6, 6:11, 11:9)
Ivor Ban – Dang Qiu 3:2 (6:11, 11:7, 5:11, 10:12, 13:11)
Csaba Andras – Kanak Jha 1:3 (12:10, 8:11, 2:11, 4:11)
Jo Yokotani – Dang Qiu 1:3 (9:11, 12:10, 6:11, 12:14)
Ban/Andras – Källberg/Haug 3:1 (13:11, 11:4, 8:11, 11:5)

TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen – Post SV Mühlhausen 3:2
Shunsuke Togami – Ovidiu Ionescu 3:2 (11:5, 8:11, 11:7, 5:11, 11:6)
Tiago Abiodun – Kay Stumper 0:3 (9:11, 5:11, 8:11)
Andreas Levenko – Marcos Freitas 0:3 (9:11, 5:11, 10:12)
Shunsuke Togami – Kay Stumper 3:2 (7:11, 15:13, 12:10, 8:11, 11:9)
Levenko/Abiodun – Ionescu/Freitas 3:2 (4:11, 9:11, 16:14, 13:11, 11:5)

Monday, 24 November
18:30: SV Union Velbert – 1. FC Saarbrücken-TT
19:00: TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell – TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau

Picture: Tiago Abiodun of TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen (Photo: Vinzenz Bendel)