Transfer

Table tennis Bundesliga club ASC Grünwettersbach and Japanese double world champion Hiroto Shinozuka will part ways again at the end of the season. Grünwettersbach's managing director Martin Werner confirmed the decision in an interview on the TTBL league association's website. ‘Overall, I had hoped for more. He had actually already agreed to stay for next season, but will now return to Japan after all,’ said Werner.

Shinozuka had been signed as the number one player for the current season by the relegation-threatened bottom-of-the-table team a year ago, before he won the world title in Doha. However, the 22-year-old has only recorded twelve wins in his 21 matches for the former cup winners so far. The left-hander has won two of his four matches since the beginning of the year. ‘Hiroto started the season well, but recently he has been unable to reach his potential. He was often very tired,’ Werner explained.

Shinozuka's world champion partner and compatriot Shunsuke Togami also plays in the Bundesliga. With a 14:3 record, the top 20 player from defending champions TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen is currently among the top four most successful players.

Source: SID
Featured image above: Hiroto Shinozuka (Photo: Christian Habel Pixo)