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Table tennis championship final: A real classic

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It is a duel between two outstanding teams. For the fourth time in a row, 1. FC Saarbrücken table tennis will face Borussia Düsseldorf in the final of the table tennis Bundesliga (TTBL) in the Ballsporthalle this Sunday (1 p.m.). This duel for the title has become a real classic in German and European club table tennis in recent years. The two clubs will meet in a final for the fifth time in a row. Both clubs have dominated European club table tennis for years. In the current season alone, they have met in two finals. While Düsseldorf won the German table tennis cup in January with a clear 3-0, Saarbrücken won a hard-fought Champions League final on Easter Monday 3-2.

The duel on Sunday could be just as close – it is difficult to identify a favorite. But the course of the season so far speaks in favor of the Saarbrücken team. Head coach Wang Zhi’s team played an almost flawless main round, winning seven of the 20 games 3-0 and ultimately finishing in first place with 34:6 points. The gap to Borussia (26:14) was large. The Saarland team also won the two games against Düsseldorf in the league. “Saarbrücken has clearly been the better team so far this season,” said Düsseldorf manager Andreas Preuß to the TTBL and sees them as “stronger than in previous years” this season.

This is partly due to the brilliant performance of Patrick Franziska, who not only shines internationally and is currently Germany’s number one as ninth in the world rankings. The 32-year-old also has an impressive record of 11:3 wins in the league. The three-time winner of the European ranking tournament Europe Top 16, Darko Jorgic from Slovenia (17:2), and the Japanese Yuto Muramatsu (15:4) also impressed. For Franziska, who was born in Bensheim, the Bundesliga final is practically the second final on home soil this calendar year. While the Final Four tournament of the Champions League was held in Saarbrücken, the Bundesliga final will now take place in his home state of Hesse.

A “special final”

The season of the German record champions from Düsseldorf, on the other hand, was much more mixed. They only managed to win four of ten games in the second half of the season and lost the first game in the play-offs against TSV Bad Königshofen. Recently, however, the Düsseldorf players have shown their best side, at least on the international stage.

A few weeks ago, Germany’s number two and world number ten Dang Qiu managed to beat the exceptional 17-year-old French player Félix Lebrun (world number five) at the WTT Champions in Chongqing, China, and only lost 2:4 to the Chinese world number one and current high-flyer Wang Chuqin in the semifinals. Teammate Anton Källberg from Sweden (world number 26) was able to defeat world number three Liang Jingkun from China at the World Cup in Macao in April. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

Farewell is in the air

And then there is Timo Boll. For the 43-year-old from Höchst in the Odenwald, it could not only be the 14th German championship, but also the last final with his club – and on Hessian soil at that. That is not certain. Boll will play for Düsseldorf for another year, and perhaps the TTBL final in 2025 will also take place in Frankfurt. But Borussia would have to reach this final first.

There is a bit of a farewell in the air. Perhaps that is why there are only a few tickets left for the final, the TTBL is expecting around 3,000 spectators. Because the chances of seeing the old master live again are foreseeable. Düsseldorf manager Preuß spoke to the TTBL of a “special final”. “I’m slowly starting to enjoy every effort, every game he plays.” Frankfurt is special simply because it could be his last final for and with them. “That is exactly what triggers special emotions, of course, the team knows that, Timo knows that, and everyone will put in the effort,” emphasises Preuß.

Borussia will do everything in its power to become German champions for the fourth time in a row and for the 34th time overall. This would mean they have one more championship title than FC Bayern in men’s football. For Saarbrücken, a win on Sunday would mean the second German championship after 2020 and the first double in the club’s history. “That would be a big exclamation mark,” Franziska said recently in an interview with the FAZ

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Padua: Mager, Oradini, Pennaforti and Piraino in the seeding

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There are 13 Italian tennis players who have reached the decisive round of the qualifications of the “Canottieri Padova Open”, an ITF men’s tournament with a prize pool of 25 thousand dollars (red clay), now in its seventeenth edition. In the running for one of the eight places available for the main draw are…
2024-07-07 19:47:12
#Padua #Mager #Oradini #Pennaforti #Piraino #seeding READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

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Madison Keys Forced to Retire Due to Injury at Wimbledon, Jasmine Paolini Advances to Quarter-Finals

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A little drama unfolded on Court 1 at Wimbledon this Sunday. Madison Keys, in tears, had to resign herself to abandoning against Jasmine Paolini while she had narrowly escaped victory a few minutes earlier, leading 5-2 double break before injuring her left thigh and having to give up continuing this spectacular and emotional fight. The American, who had just conceded an ace, preferred to leave it there after 2 hours and 23 minutes of play, losing 6-3, 6-7(6), 5-5 (15-A) and letting her opponent slip away to her first quarter-final at Wimbledon. She will face another American, Coco Gauff or Emma Navarro.

The Roland-Garros finalist came within two points of victory in the deciding game of a second set that was already full of twists and turns, as she came back from 5-1, 40-15 down before losing on the wire. We thought we had settled the score. But that was without her extraordinary fighting spirit. And without the bad luck that struck Madison, of course. At 5-4, the latter left the court for a long medical timeout during which she had her left adductor strapped. But we quickly saw upon her return, when she could barely walk and push off on her legs, that it would be complicated. She tried to close on her serve but, once it was lost on a double fault, it was a lost cause.

A stroke of luck for the Italian but she fully deserves the good fortune that is currently accompanying her. She who had never won a match on grass before this year therefore follows a semi-final in Eastbourne with a first quarter-final here. She is the fifth Italian to reach the “big 8” in London after Laura Golarsa (1989), Silvia Farina Elia (2003), Francesca Schiavone (2009) and Camila Giorgi (2018). READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

2024-07-07 15:14:00
#Wimbledon #ladies #single #Jasmine #Paolini #quarterfinals #abandonment #Madison #Keys

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Italian Judokas Shine at European Cup Junior: Gaia Stella and Cristiano Mincinesi Lead the Way with Gold Medals

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It is tsunami-Italy in Prague that, on the second day of the European Cup Junior, won the gold medal with Cristiano Mincinesi in the 90 kg, Gaia Stella in the 52 kg, the silver medal with Rebecca Valeriani in the 48 kg, the bronze medal with Henry Owusu Asare Owusu in the 90 kg, Ilaria Finestrone in the 52 kg, Giulia Carna and Michela Terranova in the 57 kg.

The total of the day is seven medals, plus two from yesterday it gets to nine and for the medal table by nation it can go well like this: Italy is first with three golds, two silvers, four bronzes. Brazil has taken ten medals, but is behind because it has only two golds.

“I’m happy with this medal and satisfied with the race,” she said. Gaia Stella– It was a very challenging race and this result means a lot to me. I thank my family, my coaches and my gym mates.”

“After the gold at the absolute, I came here to win, like in every race. – she said Giulia Carnà– I don’t want to appeal to the referees’ interpretations, I only make mea culpa for my mistakes. A new four-year period and new goals begins. I thank the Fiamme Oro, my teachers Marco and Fabrizio Fantauzzo. Thanks to the entire Judo virtus Fantauzzo company and to my family who follows me from home”.

“Despite the lost match, I am very happy with my race for being able to get back up and win all the repechage matches, arriving at the medal. -he said Henry Owusu Asare Owusu– I would really like to thank my president Lucia Rubini, my teacher Luigi Crescini, my coach Luca Ravanetti who followed me today, the Federal technicians present, all my teammates of KSDK Parma for the support they gave me today by cheering from home and every day during training and, finally, my class 5B and Salvatore Robuschi who supports my path”.

“Even though today I wasn’t in top form,” he said instead Michela Terranova– I think I had a good race, bringing home a wealth of experience and motivation. With today’s bronze, I win my third medal in the junior world judo tour. I thank all the coaches of the national team for supporting me, but above all I thank the Carabinieri, my commander Luigi Guido and my coach Giovanni Carollo, who unfortunately is not here with me… but from afar he helped me a lot. Focus on the next ones”. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

“Superlative performance by our Azzurri who were the protagonists of the second day of competition. Above all, Mincinesi and Stella impressed with determination, tenacity and great judo, making the Mameli Anthem resound here in Prague. – this is the comment of the three Azzurri coaches, Vito Zocco, Salvatore Ferro, Luca Ravanetti– Valeriani’s performance was no less impressive, only stopped by the English athlete in the final at the end of a balanced and hard-fought match. Also of great value were the four bronze medals won by Finestrone, Carná, Terranova and Owusu who strongly wanted to reach the podium after having played convincing tests. There is a bitter taste in the mouth for the medal lost to Sciacovelli.

With today’s seven medals, net of some very questionable refereeing decisions, the young Azzurri have projected our national team to the top of the medal table and give us hope for future commitments”.

>>> SECOND DAY RESULTS

2024-07-07 17:10:00
#medals #Prague #Gold #Stella #Mincinesi #Italy #U21 #tsunami

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