Semi-finals at the Table Tennis World Cup
Gold dream of German double bursts despite leadership
05/26/2023, 4:40 p.m
Table tennis Germany has been waiting for World Cup gold for 34 years. The double Patrick Franziska/Dimitrij Ovtcharov competes in the title fights in South Africa to change that – but fails dramatically in the semifinals.
The newly formed table tennis duo Patrick Franziska/Dimitrij Ovtcharov lost in Durban after their surprising victory against the South Korean World Cup runners-up Jang Woojin/Lim Jonghoon in the semi-finals despite a 2-1 set lead with 2:3 (7:11, 11:5, 11:8, 9:11, 5:11). The two German pros have at least bronze for sure. A third place is not played separately at a table tennis world championship.
After losing the first round, the Germans won the second and third sets 11:5 and 11:8. The fourth set was the tightest of all, but went to the South Koreans 11-9. They then also won the deciding set with 11:5. “We’re really disappointed because the chance to get into the final was huge,” said Franziska. “We had a few key scenes: At 9:10 in the fourth set there was a ball from Dima, which he hits 99 out of 100 times. In addition, I missed a serve in the fifth set. That’s bitter against such an outstanding world-class double .” Former world number one Ovtcharov also said: “To have won a double medal is great for us and for the DTTB. It was certainly not to be expected. But the disappointment is great now.”
Roßkopf/Fetzner continue the last gold boys
The team Olympic runners-up Franziska and Ovtcharov were formed as embarrassment doubles due to the injury of idol Timo Boll. Before Durban they only played together once at the German Open 2020 in Magdeburg. The wait for the first world title since 1989 continues for the time being. At that time, the legendary triumph of today’s national coach Jörg Roßkopf in Dortmund with Steffen Fetzner, also in doubles, meant the only World Cup gold in post-war history.
However, the entry of Franziska/Ovtcharov into the semi-finals continued a remarkable series of successes of the DTTB: For the fourth time in a row at World Championship tournaments in the five individual competitions since 2017, DTTB athletes have also been on the podium. Most recently, Boll won individual bronze at the 2021 World Championships in Houston/Texas.
After four World Championship finals in team competition, the 34-year-old Ovtcharov returns for the first time from an individual World Championship with a medal. For his partner Franziska, who is four years his junior, double bronze means the second precious metal at an individual World Cup after mixed bronze in 2019 with Petrissa Solja.