The German table tennis teams stormed into the quarter-finals at the European Championships in Malmö with 3-0 wins against Ukraine. Benedikt Duda defeated Jaroslaw Schmudenko 3-1, record European champion Timo Boll remained without losing a set against Yevhen Pryschtschepa, as did Ricardo Walther against Anton Limonow. The German men’s next opponent is Croatia on Friday.
The team from the Balkans “felt like the toughest opponent we had before the shotgun. We all have to play to the limit,” said Boll: “The Croatians are very, very strong. I think they are really hot against us. But we played a good game against Ukraine and hopefully we’re prepared.”
For the German women, who like the men are defending their European Championship title in Sweden, Xiaona Shan, Nina Mittelham and Sabine Winter achieved clear victories against Ukraine. Italy is also waiting in the quarter-finals on Friday.
The two teams from the German Table Tennis Association (DTTB) each reached the knockout round with two wins as group winners.