The semi-final first leg in the table tennis Bundesliga almost went wrong for UTTC Salzburg. But the Aces got a draw after falling behind. If they want to get to the final, they have to win at home on Wednesday.
“It was one of the most nerve-wracking games of my career,” said UTTC chairman Walter Windischbauer after the 3-3 semi-final thriller in Wiener Neustadt. This means that the chances of reaching the final of the Bundesliga are still intact for the second leg today at home (Sportzentrum Mitte, 18). Abdel Kader Salifou started the match with 2:3 against Shunsuke Okano. As a result, teammate Amirreza Abbasi had nothing to gain against Frane Kojic (0:3). Kazuki Yoshiyama took Salzburg’s first win of the evening, shortening the score to 1:2 with a 3:2 against Ivor Ban. Things didn’t go any better for the Salifou/Yoshiyama duo in doubles (0:3). Then the UTTC got its second wind. Amirreza Abbasi fought in his second game and reduced the overall score to 2:3. Salifou made the thriller perfect and equalized to 3-3 after several missed match points. “Now we have home advantage. “Hopefully a lot of spectators will support us,” Windischbauer believes about the final. Particularly positive: “All the players won a game, no one dropped out.” The 66-year-old was the only one from Salzburg who didn’t want to go home that night. The players set off on their journey after the game. In the second semi-final, Wels beat Linz 4-0.
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