Borussia Düsseldorf opened their 2026/27 HYLO ETTU Champions League Men campaign with a 3-1 away victory over AS Pontoise Cergy TT in France, taking an important advantage into the return leg of the Round of 16.
The second seeds, strengthened this season by the arrival of Olympic champion FAN Zhendong, made a successful start to their European campaign without the Chinese star in the line-up. Germany’s Dang QIU led the way with two victories, while USA’s Kanak JHA contributed another point.
JHA gave Düsseldorf the perfect start with a straight-games victory over France’s Jules CAVAILLE (11-8, 11-2, 13-11). The American controlled the opening two games before overcoming stronger resistance in the third to secure the first point for the visitors.
QIU doubled Düsseldorf’s advantage by defeating France’s Flavio MOURIER 3-1 (11-9, 9-11, 11-4, 11-7). After narrowly taking the opening game, QIU lost the second but responded strongly to win the next two and put the German club 2-0 ahead.
Italy’s Mihai BOBOCICA kept Pontoise in contention with a hard-fought five-game victory over Sweden’s Anton KÄLLBERG. BOBOCICA took the opening game 11-9, but KÄLLBERG responded by winning the next two 12-10 and 11-5.
The Italian fought back to claim the fourth game 11-9 before prevailing 6-4 in the deciding game, reducing the hosts’ deficit to 2-1.
However, Düsseldorf quickly regained control. Returning to the table for the fourth match, QIU delivered a commanding performance against CAVAILLE, winning 3-0 (11-2, 11-5, 11-4) to seal the visitors’ 3-1 victory.
“It was a tough match, but we managed to secure a 3-1 victory, which puts us in a good position ahead of the return leg. We are looking forward to the next encounter and hope to achieve another positive result in Düsseldorf,” said Borussia Düsseldorf coach Danny HEISTER.
Pontoise had earned their place in the Round of 16 through Stage 1 in Lille.
The return leg is scheduled for 18 December at Düsseldorf’s ARAG CenterCourt, where the German club will look to complete the job and secure a quarterfinal place.
The Round of 16 is contested over two legs, with the eight winners advancing to the quarterfinals. The competition will conclude with the HYLO Final Four in Saarbrücken on 8-9 May 2027.
AS Pontoise Cergy TT (FRA) – Borussia Düsseldorf (GER) 1-3
- Jules CAVAILLE – Kanak JHA 0-3 (8-11, 2-11, 11-13)
- Flavio MOURIER – Dang QIU 1-3 (9-11, 11-9, 4-11, 7-11)
- Mihai BOBOCICA – Anton KÄLLBERG 3-2 (11-9, 10-12, 5-11, 11-9, 6-4)
- Jules CAVAILLE – Dang QIU 0-3 (2-11, 5-11, 4-11)
Foto: Jörg Fuhrmann
