Bundesliga
Strong Togami helps Ochsenhausen to victory against Grünwettersbach
TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen got off to a successful start on the 11th match day of the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL). With a 3-1 home win against ASC Grünwettersbach, the defending champions confirmed their ambitions to remain among the league leaders. Once again, Shunsuke Togami was the match winner, winning both singles matches without losing a single set.
Togami got off to a flying start against Tobias Hippler. The Japanese player clearly dominated the first singles match and gave the hosts an early lead with a confident 3-0 victory. However, Grünwettersbach found the right response in the second match: Hiroto Shinozuka prevailed 3-1 in a hard-fought match against 17-year-old Portuguese player Tiago Abiodun (8-11, 12-10, 8-11, 9-11).
Chirita puts Ochsenhausen back in the lead
Iulian Chirita then sealed the deal for the evening. The Romanian showed greater determination to win at the decisive moments and won his singles match against Tiago Apolonia in three close sets. This put the pressure back on the visitors before the fourth match.
In the final match, two national team colleagues, Togami and Shinozuka, faced each other. Togami confirmed his strong form and won his second singles match of the day in three sets. With the 3-0 victory, he sealed the home win for Ochsenhausen and increased his individual singles record to eleven wins with only one narrow defeat against the still undefeated Darko Jorgic.
"It was a deserved home win for Ochsenhausen today. Shunsuke Togami is an absolute stalwart as a player and he proved that impressively today," said Grünwettersbach coach Kilian Ort after the match.
While Ochsenhausen kept the points in their own hall, ASC Grünwettersbach, despite putting up a decent fight, could only manage to equalize temporarily. The visitors were therefore unable to make up any ground in the table.
Overview of match day 11
TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen – ASC Grünwettersbach 3:1
Shunsuke Togami – Tobias Hippler 3:0 (11:4, 11:9, 11:6)
Tiago Abiodun – Hiroto Shinozuka 1:3 (8:11, 12:10, 8:11, 9:11)
Iulian Chirita – Tiago Apolonia 3:0 (11:9, 11:9, 11:7)
Shunsuke Togami – Hiroto Shinozuka (12:10, 11:7, 11:8)
Saturday, December 20
3:00 p.m.: TSV Bad Königshofen – Borussia Dortmund
5:30 p.m.: TTC OE Clarity-Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg – TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt
Sunday, December 21
2:00 p.m.: 1. FC Saarbrücken TT – Borussia Düsseldorf
5:00 p.m.: Post SV Mühlhausen – SV Werder Bremen
Monday, December 22
7:00 p.m.: TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau – TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell
Featured image: Shunsuke Togami from TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen (Photo: Vinzent Bendel)
