Saarbrücken is German champion! These words were heard throughout the Saarland for the first time last Sunday. With a bravura 3:1, the 1. FC Saarbrücken table tennis defeated the opponent Ochsenhausen in the championship final of the table tennis Bundesliga. A repeat of last year’s finals – but with new winners.
Patrick Franziska laid the foundation for victory: he fought an incredibly exciting match with Hugo Calderano, the winner of which was only decided at the very end. They finished the fourth set 2-2 and stayed even in the last set. Calderano saved two match points from Franziska and kept the tension going.
At 10:10 in the last set, it went into overtime. There, Franziska was finally able to win: With 12:10 he won the last set and thus the game with 3:2.
Shang Kun also showed absolute winning qualities in this game.
At first his opponent Simon Gauzy was in front, but Kun didn’t let that upset him. The 29-year-old won the first set 11:8 and then the second set 11:7. After Kun’s 2:0, Gauzy caught up, won the third set 11:9 and was ahead again in the last set. But even that didn’t dampen Kun’s fighting spirit: He got the first and second match point and ended the game with a 3:1 victory.
Things got exciting again in the last match: Shang Kun lost the first set 9:5, but then secured the lead again with 11:9. This was immediately followed by 11:6 and 11:9 and thus the first championship title for Saarbrücken.
TIBHAR is incredibly proud of the 1. FC Saarbrücken table tennis team and congratulates all players on this hard-fought milestone in Saarbrücken table tennis history.