Alert Issued for Borussia Düsseldorf Originating from Singapore
Borussia's six-time German doubles champions have seen their European Table Tennis Union (ETTU) Table Tennis Champions League journey come to an end in the quarter-finals, following their defeat in Singapore.
Dang Qiu, Borussia's top-ranked player at 10th, lost to Alexis Lebrun in the Singapore Smash event. However, Qiu remains optimistic about his chances against Lebrun in the upcoming Champions League match. He believes he had chances against Lebrun in the Singapore Smash event and could win if he plays better and makes smarter decisions.
Qiu's impressive run in the Singapore tournament saw him beat Yi-Hsin Feng (ranked 49th), Shunsuke Togami (ranked 23rd), and Khanak Jha (ranked 56th) before his quarterfinal loss.
Unfortunately, Borussia must win at least two matches in the return leg to reach the Final Four, according to the regulations of the ETTU. The match is against Alliance Nimes/Montpellier TT from France, and both French brothers, Alexis (ranked 14th) and Felix Lebrun (ranked 4th), will be doubly motivated to face Borussia in front of their southern French audience after their quarter-final loss.
In doubles, Qiu, paired with Benedikt Duda, suffered a 0:3 defeat against the French brothers, who are currently the top-ranked doubles pair. Duda admitted to a poor performance in the Singapore quarter-final, while Qiu expressed satisfaction with his performance in the tournament.
Meanwhile, Anton Källberg (WR 16) had a strong showing in the Singapore tournament, defeating Izaak Quek (WR 82) and Maharu Yoshimura (WR 37) before losing to world number one Wang Chuqin. However, there are no specific mentions in the search results of French players defeated by Borussia's Dang Qiu at the Singapore Smash tournament, nor their final rankings in that event.
The away leg was won by Düsseldorf with a 3:0 score. The return leg will take place on February 16 at the Arag Center Court on Staufenplatz.
Qiu's loss to Lebrun in the Singapore Smash event was not his only setback. He also attributed his poor performance to being a new father and lack of sleep. Despite these challenges, Borussia and Qiu will be looking to bounce back and secure a place in the Final Four.
