Pokal

Jo Yokotani is in the Liebherr Cup Final Four (4 January in Ulm/Neu-Ulm) with TTC OE Clarity-Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg. In this interview, the Japanese player talks about his expectations for the tournament, his successful debut season in the TTBL so far and his plans for the future.

Jo Yokotani, for your team TTC OE Clarity-Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg, the Liebherr Cup Final Four is the second consecutive appearance in the final round for the first title of the new year, but for you it is the first. What are your expectations and feelings as you look forward to this spectacle?

I am very excited, it is an exciting tournament. Playing in front of so many thousands of enthusiastic spectators also makes me a little nervous, because I am not used to that.

Your team earned its place in Neu-Ulm in the quarter-finals with a sensational 3:2 victory over record cup winners Borussia Düsseldorf. Were you able to realise this success straight away?

We were really surprised by our success ourselves. We had thought beforehand that we only had a slim chance – but it was enough. We are also very happy that this means we are in the Cup Final Four.

Is this your first time playing for a title?

Unfortunately, I haven't won any titles at professional level yet. Maybe this time it will work out...

Your team won as underdogs in the TTBL against Champions League winners 1. FC Saarbrücken-TT and shortly afterwards in the cup against Düsseldorf. Do you and your teammates like being the underdogs?

Perhaps the underdog role is really better for us, but we're not often the favourites either. In any case, each of us gives our all in every match, regardless of who the opponent is.

You came to Bad Homburg from regional league club TTC GW Bad for your first TTBL season before the start of the season. In the first half of the season, apart from your cup victory against Düsseldorf's Swedish star Anton Källberg, you have already defeated big names such as Feng Yi-Hsin and Kirill Gerassimenko and achieved a strong 9:6 record. Did you expect that?

No, not at all. Before the season, I was just hoping to win 25 per cent, maybe 30 per cent of my matches. The fact that I've achieved 60 per cent so far is a big surprise to me.

What are your goals for the future?

I won bronze with our national team at the Team World Championships in China in 2022 and would love to play in another World Championships. I also hope to qualify for the Olympics one day, but to do that I'll need to play in more WTT tournaments. That's another reason why I haven't decided yet whether I'll stay in the TTBL next season.

Thank you very much for talking to us, Jo Yokotani.

Interview: Florian Manzke