The German table tennis men missed the medal they were aiming for at the World Team Championships in London.
The quintet of national coach Jörg Roßkopf had to admit defeat 1:3 in the quarterfinals to Olympic fourth-placed Japan and world number three Tomokazu Harimoto. Reaching the semi-finals would have been enough for at least bronze. For the first time since 1991, the men’s selection of the German Table Tennis Association has failed to win a medal in three consecutive tournaments at world level.
Franziska only creates tension for a short time
Germany had already failed in the World Cup quarter-finals in Busan two years ago, as well as at the 2024 Summer Games in Paris – and now in London. In the OVO Arena Wembley, European Championship runner-up Benedikt Duda (Bergneustadt) had no chance against Harimoto at 0:3 (4:11, 4:11, 6:11). Former European champion Dang Qiu then had to admit defeat 1:3 (11:5, 2:11, 10:12, 5:11) in the duel with Sora Matsushima despite a decent start.
The former Europe Top 16 winner Patrick Franziska (Saarbrücken) prevented the quick knockout with a 3:1 (11:6, 11:9, 8:11, 11:7) against the Ochsenhausen champion and cup winner Shunsuke Togami. In the fourth game, Qiu held strong against Harimoto, but missed several set points and lost decisively with 0:3 (10:12, 13:15, 9:11).
