Bundesliga

TSV Bad Königshofen has made a strong statement in the battle to stay in the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL). On Monday evening, the Lower Franconians won 3-1 at Borussia Dortmund, celebrating an important away victory. While BVB suffered a setback in the race for the top four, Bad Königshofen confirmed its improving form in the second half of the season – thanks in particular to an outstanding performance by Xue Fei.

The hosts got off to a better start. Anders Lind won the opening singles match against Bastian Steger 3-1. Although the Dane lost the first set, he improved significantly thereafter and increasingly dominated the match. For Dortmund, this early lead gave them hope for a successful evening.

Bad Königshofen's new signing levels the score

But Bad Königshofen responded promptly. New signing Xue Fei was in strong form and, after losing the first set, gave Adam Szudi no chance. The Chinese player clearly dominated the following three sets and leveled the score for TSV with his 3-1 victory.

Bertelsmeier turns the game around

In the third singles match, Andre Bertelsmeier gave the visitors their first lead. A hard-fought match developed against Kristian Karlsson, in which Bertelsmeier found the better answers in the decisive phases. After taking a 2-1 lead in sets, it was Bertelsmeier who got off to a strong start and pulled away to 7-2. But Karlsson stayed on the ball and came back to 10-10. In the end, however, the youngster from TSV prevailed 3-1.

Xue Fei seals the deal

Xue Fei once again sealed the deal. In his second match, he gave Anders Lind no chance with a clear 3-0 victory, underlining his key role in the away win. Andre Bertelsmeier was understandably pleased after the match: “We put in a very good performance today and every win feels good. Xue Fei played superbly and it's just great that he scored against two strong opponents.”

This victory moves Bad Königshofen up to tenth place in the table for the time being. Their closest rivals, TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau and ASC Grünwettersbach, now have to step up their game, but they face two real heavyweights in 1. FC Saarbrücken TT and Borussia Düsseldorf. Borussia Dortmund, on the other hand, remains on 16 points and is currently in the middle of the table, within reach of the playoff spots that still offer chances of reaching the Liebherr TTBL Final Four – but also under pressure to deliver in the remaining games in order to keep those ambitions alive.

The 16th match day at a glance

Borussia Dortmund – TSV Bad Königshofen 1:3
Anders Lind – Bastian Steger 3:1 (7:11, 11:8, 11:7, 11:9)
Adam Szudi – Xue Fei 1:3 (11:6, 5:11, 5:11, 5:11)
Kristian Karlsson – Andre Bertelsmeier 1:3 (7:11, 11:8, 8:11, 10:12)
Anders Lind - Xue Fei 0:3 (7:11, 7:11, 7:11) 

TTC OE Clarity-Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg – Post SV Mühlhausen 2:3
Jo Yokotani – Ovidiu Ionescu 2:3 (14:12, 14:12, 10:12, 6:11, 2:11)
Ivor Ban - Kay Stumper 3:11 (11:5, 2:11, 11:4, 11:1)
Csaba Andras – Marcos Freitas 3:1 (10 :12, 11:9, 11:6, 11:8)
Juan Perez – Kay Stumper 0:3 (2:11, 8:11, 8:11)
Ivor Ban / Csaba Andras - Ovidiu Ionescu / Marcos Freitas 0:3 (11:13, 7:11, 8:11)

Tuesday, February 10
6:30 p.m.: Borussia Düsseldorf – ASC Grünwettersbach
7 p.m.: 1. FC Saarbrücken TT – TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau

Wednesday, February 11
6:30 p.m.: SV Werder Bremen – TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen
7:00 p.m.: TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell – TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt

All matches will be broadcast live on Dyn.

The current table for the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL) can be found here.

Featured image: Andre Bertelsmeier from TSV Bad Königshofen (photo: Patrick Wichmann).