The opening leg of the HYLO ETTU Champions League Men Round of 16 produced a series of surprises on Friday evening, with Denmark’s Roskilde Bordtennis BTK 61 stunning last season’s runners-up Alliance Nîmes/Montpellier 3-0 and France’s Lille Metropole TT defeating defending champions 1. FC Saarbrücken TT 3-2.
Roskilde delivered the biggest shock of the evening, overcoming fourth seeds Nîmes/Montpellier in front of 500 spectators. The French side arrived without European champions Alexis and Félix LEBRUN, but the Danish club still produced an outstanding performance to secure a commanding advantage ahead of the return leg.
Experienced Swede Jens LUNDQVIST set the tone with a 3-1 victory over Rémi BETELU. Anders ERIKSSON followed with another four-game success against Grégoire JEAN, recovering after losing the opening game 3-11. Tobias RASMUSSEN completed the remarkable result by defeating Felipe DOTI ARADO in straight games.
Roskilde coach Allan BENTSEN could hardly hide his delight.
“What a fantastic evening in Roskilde! We were hoping for some great table tennis and felt we might have a reasonable chance, especially with Nîmes/Montpellier arriving without the LEBRUN brothers. But to win 3-0 was simply amazing.
“All my players performed at an exceptionally high level. The atmosphere was fantastic, with 500 spectators enjoying top-class table tennis. It was a wonderful evening for our club.”
Lille Metropole TT added another major surprise by overcoming defending champions and top seeds 1. FC Saarbrücken TT 3-2.
Romain BRARD gave Lille an excellent start with a 3-1 victory over Álvaro ROBLES, but Patrick FRANZISKA quickly brought the German side level by defeating Amir Hossein HODAEI in straight games.
Fabio RAKOTOARIMANANA restored Lille’s lead with a 3-0 success against Albert VILARDELL before FRANZISKA claimed his second victory of the evening, overcoming BRARD to force a decisive fifth encounter.
HODAEI then delivered the winning point against ROBLES, completing a memorable victory for the French club and putting the reigning champions under pressure ahead of the return leg.
The surprises continued in Belgium, where TTC Sokah Hoboken edged eighth seeds Real Club Priego Kutxabank (ESP) 3-2 in another five-match contest.
Quentin ROBINOT gave the hosts the opening advantage with a straight-games victory over experienced Spaniard Carlos MACHADO. Japan’s Machi ASUKA responded by defeating Benjamin BROSSIER 3-1, but Olav KOSOLOSKY restored Hoboken’s lead with a convincing 3-0 success against Portugal’s Diogo CHEN.
ASUKA kept the Spanish club in contention with his second victory of the evening, overcoming ROBINOT 3-1 to level the overall score at 2-2.
However, BROSSIER rose to the occasion in the deciding match, defeating MACHADO in straight games to secure a valuable home victory for the Belgian qualifiers, who had progressed from Stage 1 in Lille with a perfect record.
In the all-Polish encounter, sixth seeds KS Orlicz 1924 Suchedniów made a convincing start with a 3-0 away victory over KS Dojlidy Białystok.
Austria’s Robert GARDOS opened with a straight-games victory over Aleksandr KHANIN before Slovenia’s Darko JORGIC produced a remarkable comeback against Amirezza ABBASI MONJEZI.
Making his Champions League debut for Suchedniów following his move from Saarbrücken, JORGIC recovered from two games down to prevail 3-2. Deni KOZUL completed the victory with a 3-1 success against Piotr CHODORSKI.
JORGIC was delighted with the result but stressed that the tie was far from decided.
“We are one step away from the quarterfinals, but we know the job is not finished yet. We still need to win two matches in the return leg at home, and we will have to give our maximum.
“I am very happy with my debut for Orlicz, especially because I managed to come back from 0-2 down and help the team secure a 3-0 victory. That was very important for us.
“I think Robi GARDOS and Deni KOZUL played brilliantly. They were consistent from beginning to end and fully deserved their victories.
“The return leg is in almost a month’s time, and we will have to perform at our very best again to secure our place in the quarterfinals. Hopefully, we can then face my former club, Saarbrücken, who I expect to reach the Final Four.”
France’s GV Hennebont TT also secured a commanding advantage with a 3-0 away victory over HB Ostrov z.s. (CZE), ending the Czech club’s unbeaten run in this season’s competition.
Lev KATSMAN opened with a 3-1 victory over Moldova’s Vladislav URSU before France’s Simon GAUZY overcame Pavel SIRUCEK by the same margin.
GAUZY faced a particularly difficult challenge after losing the opening game 13-15, but turned the match around by winning the next three, including a crucial second game 13-11.
“I’ve known Pavel SIRUCEK for 20 years, and I know how good a player he is. I expected a very close and difficult match. He has an excellent serve and backhand, so I had to be particularly careful.
“The end of the second game was crucial, but I knew the match was far from over. Even if I had lost that game, I would have continued fighting. I decided to take some risks with deep serves, and fortunately, that approach paid off,” said GAUZY.
Alan KURMANGALIYEV completed Hennebont’s victory with a straight-games success against Tomas TREGLER, sealing the final game 18-16.
Poland’s KS Dekorglass Działdowo also recovered from an early setback to defeat SF SKK El Nino Praha (CZE) 3-1 away from home.
David REITSPIES gave the Czech side the opening point with a five-game victory over Matteo MUTTI, but India’s Manush SHAH brought Dekorglass level by overcoming Tomas KONECNY 3-1.
Mateusz SAKOWICZ then put the visitors ahead with a straight-games success against Yevhen PRYSHCHEPA before SHAH returned to defeat REITSPIES 3-1 and secure the overall victory.
The result ended El Nino Praha’s unbeaten run after their three victories during Stage 1 in Lille.
The Round of 16 action began on Thursday, when second seeds Borussia Düsseldorf (GER) secured a 3-1 away victory over AS Pontoise Cergy TT (FRA).
The opening legs conclude on Saturday with KS Orlen Bogoria Grodzisk Mazowiecki (POL) hosting ASD TT Santa Tecla Nulvi (ITA).
HYLO ETTU Champions League Men – Round of 16, First Leg Results
Thursday, 12 November
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)
Friday, 13 November
Roskilde Bordtennis BTK 61 (DEN) – Alliance Nîmes/Montpellier (FRA) 3-0
- Jens LUNDQVIST – Rémi BETELU 3-1 (11-9, 5-11, 11-8, 11-7)
- Anders ERIKSSON – Grégoire JEAN 3-1 (3-11, 11-6, 11-6, 11-9)
- Tobias RASMUSSEN – Felipe DOTI ARADO 3-0 (11-9, 11-6, 11-9)
Lille Metropole TT (FRA) – 1. FC Saarbrücken TT (GER) 3-2
- Romain BRARD – Álvaro ROBLES 3-1 (11-5, 6-11, 11-4, 11-7)
- Amir Hossein HODAEI – Patrick FRANZISKA 0-3 (4-11, 5-11, 5-11)
- Fabio RAKOTOARIMANANA – Albert VILARDELL 3-0 (11-5, 12-10, 11-8)
- Romain BRARD – Patrick FRANZISKA 0-3 (9-11, 8-11, 6-11)
- Amir Hossein HODAEI – Álvaro ROBLES 3-0 (11-4, 12-10, 11-9)
TTC Sokah Hoboken (BEL) – Real Club Priego Kutxabank (ESP) 3-2
- Quentin ROBINOT – Carlos MACHADO 3-0 (11-6, 12-10, 13-11)
- Benjamin BROSSIER – Machi ASUKA 1-3 (11-7, 9-11, 10-12, 6-11)
- Olav KOSOLOSKY – Diogo CHEN 3-0 (11-5, 11-9, 11-9)
- Quentin ROBINOT – Machi ASUKA 1-3 (5-11, 10-12, 11-8, 4-11)
- Benjamin BROSSIER – Carlos MACHADO 3-0 (12-10, 11-9, 11-5)
KS Dojlidy Białystok (POL) – KS Orlicz 1924 Suchedniów (POL) 0-3
- Aleksandr KHANIN – Robert GARDOS 0-3 (10-12, 8-11, 4-11)
- Amirezza ABBASI MONJEZI – Darko JORGIC 2-3 (11-8, 12-10, 7-11, 5-11, 2-6)
- Piotr CHODORSKI – Deni KOZUL 1-3 (4-11, 14-12, 8-11, 5-11)
HB Ostrov z.s. (CZE) – GV Hennebont TT (FRA) 0-3
- Vladislav URSU – Lev KATSMAN 1-3 (5-11, 11-5, 7-11, 7-11)
- Pavel SIRUCEK – Simon GAUZY 1-3 (15-13, 11-13, 8-11, 9-11)
- Tomas TREGLER – Alan KURMANGALIYEV 0-3 (6-11, 9-11, 16-18)
SF SKK El Nino Praha (CZE) – KS Dekorglass Działdowo (POL) 1-3
- David REITSPIES – Matteo MUTTI 3-2 (3-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-13, 6-2)
- Tomas KONECNY – Manush SHAH 1-3 (4-11, 6-11, 15-13, 4-11)
- Yevhen PRYSHCHEPA – Mateusz SAKOWICZ 0-3 (5-11, 4-11, 9-11)
- David REITSPIES – Manush SHAH 1-3 (10-12, 7-11, 11-8, 7-11)
Saturday, 14 November
17:00 – KS Orlen Bogoria Grodzisk Mazowiecki (POL) – ASD TT Santa Tecla Nulvi (ITA)
