Six-time ETTU Champions League winners and holders of six European Cup of Champions titles, Borussia Düsseldorf, launched their quarterfinal campaign in impressive fashion with a 3–0 away victory over Post SV Mühlhausen 1951 e.V. The tie opened with a high-intensity encounter in which Kanak JHA edged Gaoyuan LIN in five games. After dropping the opening two games, LIN responded strongly to level the match, but JHA showed nerves of steel in the decisive fifth game to give Düsseldorf an early breakthrough. Momentum swung further in the visitors’ favour in the second match, where Dang QIU also needed five games to overcome Steffen MENGEL. After building a two-game lead, QIU allowed his opponent back into the contest, but regained control at the crucial moment to secure the second point for the German club. The victory was sealed in straight games by Anton KÄLLBERG, who delivered an authoritative performance against Marcos FREITAS. Despite two extremely tight games, the Swedish international held his nerve in the key moments to close out the tie and complete the clean sweep for Düsseldorf. “Yes, we are unbelievably happy to beat Mühlhausen 3–0. It was a great job from all the boys. The first match was crucial — Kanak played an amazing match against Lin, really outstanding. After that win, we felt a bit less pressure. Dang also had a big match. He led 2–0, then lost a bit of focus, but in the end he secured the second point. Anton was very good today as well against Marcos, and he closed out the tie with a strong performance. A fantastic 3–0 overall. Li Yongyin was here too, and we had really good practice sessions together. It was a great team performance from start to finish. We will take this confidence with us, drive home, and start preparing for the second leg,” said Danny HEISTER, coach of Borussia Düsseldorf. Post SV Mühlhausen 1951 e.V. (GER) – Borussia Düsseldorf (GER) 0–3
Reigning champions HB Ostrov open knockout stage with away win in Toruń
The reigning ETTU Europe Cup champions, Czechia’s HB Ostrov z.s., began the knockout phase in convincing fashion, securing a 3–1 away victory over Energa Manekin Toruń in Poland. The hosts took an early lead as Dimitrije LEVAJAC edged Pavel SIRUCEK in a tense five-game encounter, showing resilience to give Toruń the opening point. However, the Czech side responded immediately through Vladislav URSU, who controlled the key moments to defeat Konrad KULPA in four games and level the match. Momentum swung decisively in HB Ostrov’s favour when Tomas TREGLER delivered a composed straight-games win against Stepan VOLKOV, putting the visitors ahead. The contest was sealed in the fourth match, where URSU once again proved decisive, overturning a two-game deficit to outlast LEVAJAC in a dramatic five-game battle and secure the victory for the defending champions. With this result, HB Ostrov z.s. confirmed their intent to defend the title, taking a valuable advantage from the first leg of the knockout phase. “It was a very difficult match for us, but we had full confidence in Vladislav URSU. He is very experienced and played the decisive shortened fifth game with a very cool head. Dimitrije LEVAJAC was definitely the biggest challenge for us. We followed his performances in the Polish league and knew he would be very strong at home, which makes this victory even more valuable. The atmosphere in the hall was excellent, and we have taken the first important step towards promotion,” said Dmitrij PROKOPCOV, coach of HB Ostrov. Energa Manekin Toruń (POL) – HB Ostrov z.s. (CZE) 1–3 Roskilde Bordtennis BTK 61 secured a 3–1 home victory over ASC Grünwettersbach, taking a valuable advantage from the first leg. The Danish side built their success on two strong performances from Jens LUNDQVIST, who edged Divyansh SRIVASTAVA in five games before sealing the win with a four-game victory over Tobias HIPPLER. Tobias RASMUSSEN also played a key role, showing resilience to overcome Ricardo WALTHER in another five-game battle. Grünwettersbach’s sole point came through HIPPLER, who delivered a dominant straight-games win against Anders ERIKSSON. Roskilde Bordtennis BTK 61 (DEN) – ASC Grünwettersbach (GER) 3–1
Perfect Stage 2 sees Metz TT top Group B (VIDEO)
Metz TT concluded Stage 2 of the ETTU Champions League Women at the top of Group B with a flawless record of four victories. Their final success came on the road against ASD Quattro Mori Cagliari, confirming the French club’s place in the quarterfinals. In the ultimate match in the Group Cagliari will meet PGE Fibrain Ku AZS Politechnika Rzeszow. One round before the end Italian side recorded only one win out of three matches, whilst Polish club failed to score. In Cagliari, Metz TT once again underlined their strength with a convincing 3–0 away win. The visitors set the tone immediately as Adina DIACONU delivered a solid performance against fellow Romanian Tania PLAIAN, controlling the rallies throughout to secure a straight-games victory. Metz doubled their lead thanks to Charlotte LUTZ, who showed great composure in the decisive moments, particularly in the tight second game, to overcome Hengyu MA without dropping a game. The hosts responded with determination in the third match, where Miriam CARNOVALE claimed the opening game against Sarah DE NUTTE. However, the experienced Luxembourg international remained patient and consistent, turning the match in her favour to close it out in four games and complete the clean sweep for Metz TT. “We are very happy to have won all our group matches. It was a tough group, but we managed to perform very well under pressure, especially in the difficult matches. For now, we have achieved our goal of progressing from the group stage, and we are ready for the quarterfinals,” said DIACONU.”Tonight’s match may have looked easy on the scoreboard, but I think our tactical approach was very good, and that helped us a lot. We also played with less pressure, knowing that we were already qualified, but we still fought hard for the win.” ASD Quattro Mori Cagliari (ITA) – Metz TT (FRA) 0–3
