The German table tennis players are in the quarterfinals of the Team World Championships in China. The 2021 European Team Champions beat Puerto Rico 3-1 and meet Hong Kong in the last eight.
This will be the repeat of the bronze medal match from the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games – Hong Kong won 3-1 at the time. Should the German team win now, they would already have secured the bronze medal in Chengdu. Because a third place is not played separately at a World Cup.
“We want to show them that we can win against them in such an important match,” said national coach Tamara Boros before the quarter-finals: “It will be a 50-50 match. If we play well, it doesn’t matter who we meet, then it is entirely up to us.”
Han Ying as the key player
The key player in the knockout game against Puerto Rico was Chinese-born Han Ying, who has played for Germany for 11 years. The world ranking eighth from the Polish top club KTS Tarnobrzeg defeated the two sisters Adriana and Melanie Diaz in 3-0 sets. Shan Xiaona (TTC Berlin Eastside) won her singles against Daniely Rios.
Nina Mittelham loses the opening match
European Championship second Nina Mittelham lost to Puerto Rico’s top player Adriana Diaz at the start. “The most important thing is that we won the game as a team. Ying has been very confident so far. She doesn’t miss a beat here. That can continue tomorrow,” said Mittelham. The team of national coach Tamara Boros has to do without Petrissa Solja at this World Cup. The individual European champion of 2021 is injured in the intervertebral disc.
