International

With 1. FC Saarbrücken TT and Post SV Mühlhausen, two more teams from the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL) have made it to the quarterfinals of the Champions League. Saarbrücken won 3-0 against Dojlidy Bialystok on Friday, while Mühlhausen fought hard to secure a 3-2 victory against HB Ostrov.

1.FC Saarbrücken TT fought hard in the first leg in Poland against Dojlidy Bialystok and secured a 3-2 victory. The return leg on Friday evening was much less nerve-wracking: fielding their best team, the three-time Champions League winners left no doubt about their ambitions. With 9:0 sets, Fan Zhendong (3:0 against Piotr Chodorski), Darko Jorgic (3:0 against Patryk Chojnowski) and Patrick Franziska (3:0 against Kakeru Sone) secured FCS's place in the quarterfinals. There they will face either ASC Grünwettersbach or GV Hennebont TT.

“I played in the Champions League for the first time today, so I was naturally quite excited and really looking forward to it. Now I'm just happy that we've reached the next round together as a team, and I'm looking forward to some exciting matches in the quarterfinals,” said Fan.

Mühlhausen celebrates in Czechia

At the same time, Post SV Mühlhausen made things exciting: after a 3:1 win in the first leg, the seventh-placed team in the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL) secured a place among the top eight teams with a 3:2 win in Czechia at HB Ostrov. Vladislav Ursu was unbeatable for Mühlhausen on Friday, with both Ovidiu Ionescu (2:3) and Marcos Freitas (0:3) losing to the Moldovan. However, the Thuringians won the other three singles matches with ease: Freitas (3:0 against Pavel Sirucek), Steffen Mengel (3:0 against Jiri Vrablik) and Ionescu (3:1 against Martin Koblizek) secured their place in the quarterfinals.

“We knew that the 3:1 home win didn't mean anything was decided yet and that it would be a tough game,” said Freitas. “We are very happy to have qualified for the quarterfinals. Now we are looking forward to the quarterfinals and the match against Borussia Düsseldorf.”

Grünwettersbach competes in Hennebont

Borussia had already advanced to the quarterfinals on Thursday with a 3-2 win over Real Club Cajasur Priego. With ASC Grünwettersbach, a fourth TTBL team is looking to make it into the top eight clubs in Europe. After losing 1-3 in the first leg, the team from Baden will face GV Hennebont TT in France this coming Sunday, December 21.

Champions League: Round of 16 at a glance

Leg 1

Dojlidy Bialystok – 1. FC Saarbrücken TT 2:3
Patryk Chojnowski – Darko Jorgic 3:2 (11:7, 5:11, 11:6, 5:11, 6:4)
Piotr Chodorski – Patrick Franziska 0:3 (7:11, 7:11, 8:11)
Piotr Michalski – Yuto Muramatsu 0:3 (6:11, 5:11, 5:11)
Patryk Chojnowski – Patrick Franziska 3:2 (5:11, 4:11, 13:11, 11:9, 6:3)
Piotr Chodorski – Darko Jorgic 1:3 (5:11, 11:9, 5:11, 7:11)

ASC Grünwettersbach – GV Hennebont TT 1:3
Hiroto Shinozuka – Simon Gauzy 3:1 (11:5, 13:15, 12:10, 11:9)
Tiago Apolonia – Vladimir Sidorenko 1:3 (4:11, 13:15, 11:5, 6:11)
Tobias Hippler – Lev Katsman 0:3 (5:11, 6:11, 8:11)
Hiroto Shinozuka – Vladimir Sidorenko 1:3 (7:11, 12:10, 8:11, 12:14)

Real Club Cajasur Priego – Borussia Düsseldorf 0:3
Hampus Söderlund – Anton Källberg 1:3 (10:12, 11:6, 11:6, 11:4)
Diogo Chen – Dang Qiu 0:3 (9:11, 5:11, 5:11)
Carlos Machado – Kanak Jha 0:3 (3:11, 7:11, 4:11)

Post SV Mühlhausen – HB Ostrov 3:1
Marcos Freitas – Pavel Sirucek 3:0 (11:7, 11:9, 11:5)
Steffen Mengel – Vladislav Ursu 3:1 (11:7, 11:8, 6:11, 11:5)
Ovidiu Ionescu – Jiri Vrablik 1:3 (10:12, 11:7, 7:11, 8:11)
Marcos Freitas – Vladislav Ursu 3:0 (14:12, 11:8, 13:11)

TTC Sokah Hoboken – KS Bank Spoldzielczy Orlicz Suchedniow 3:0
SF SKK El Nino Praha – KS Orlen Bogoria Grodzisk Mazowiecki 0:3
SKST Havirov – KS Dekorglass Dzialdowo 0:3
SolexConsult TTC Wiener Neustadt – Alliance Nimes/Montpellier 1:3

Leg 2

Borussia Düsseldorf – Real Club Cajasur Priego 3:2
Anton Källberg – Diogo Carvalho 3:1 (11:4, 11:6, 5:11, 11:7)
Li Yongyin – Tao Yuchang 1:3 (11:6, 6:11, 8:11, 7:11)
Kanak Jha – Carlos Machado 3:0 (11:8, 11:4, 11:4)
Anton Källberg – Tao Yuchang 2:3 (12:10, 6:11, 11:8, 9:11, 2:6)
Borgar Haug – Diogo Carvalho 3:1 (7:11, 11:7, 12:10, 11:9)

1. FC Saarbrücken TT – Dojlidy Bialystok 3:0
Fan Zhendong – Piotr Chodorski 3:0 (11:1, 11:5, 11:5)
Darko Jorgic – Patryk Chojnowski 3:0 (11:3, 11:5, 11:4)
Patrick Franziska – Kakeru Sone 3:0 (11:9, 11:8, 11:7)

HB Ostrov – Post SV Mühlhausen 2:3
Vladislav Ursu – Ovidiu Ionescu 3:2 (12:10, 5:11, 11:13, 11:8, 6:2)
Pavel Sirucek – Marcos Freitas 0:3 (3:11, 7:11, 7:11)
Jiri Vrablik – Steffen Mengel 0:3 (7:11, 9:11, 6:11)
Vladislav Ursu – Marcos Freitas 3:0 (11:7, 11:8, 11:7)
Martin Koblizek – Ovidiu Ionescu 1:3 (7:11, 7:11, 11:9, 7:11)

KS Dekorglass Dzialdowo – SKST Havirov 3:0
KS Orlen Bogoria Grodzisk Mazowiecki – SF SKK El Nino Praha 3:0

December 21: GV Hennebont TT – ASC Grünwettersbach
December 21: KS Bank Spoldzielczy Orlicz – TTC Sokah Hoboken
December 21: Alliance Nimes/Montpellier – SolexConsult TTC Wiener Neustadt

Header photo: 1. FC Saarbrücken TT's Fan Zhendong (by Ulrich Höfer)