Suche
Mein Konto
Fan Zhendong causes excitement: Saarbrücken fights despite defeats!
1. FC Saarbrücken signs Olympic champion Fan Zhendong for the 2025 TTBL season. Expectations, challenges and team dynamics in focus.
Fan Zhendong causes excitement: Saarbrücken fights despite defeats!
1. FC Saarbrücken Tischtennis has signed a real heavyweight. With the signing of Olympic champion Fan Zhendong, who is world champion not just once but twice, the bets on championship titles and cups are on the fast track. How tischtennis.de reported, the team is already considered the favorite for the title in the Bundesliga. But the start of the season was anything but smooth.
After five games in the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL), the team has unfortunately already suffered two defeats. Captain Patrick Franziska doesn't mince his words and discusses the problems openly. “No competition is a sure-fire success,” he emphasizes, pointing to the challenge of the defeat against TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt, which ended 1:3. The unexpected defeat against Werder Bremen, who is one of the top four teams, also put a damper on Saarbrücken's ambitions.
Fan Zhendong's challenges
Fan Zhendong himself has had to accept some unusual setbacks this season. The superstar, who previously led the world rankings for 58 months, has already suffered three defeats in the Bundesliga. This is surprising for the 27-year-old Chinese, especially since he has previously had nothing but success in many international competitions. The challenge of adapting to the conditions such as tables and balls and dealing with the pressure from the fans should not be underestimated.
There is a lot of communication internally to overcome the difficulties and improve the feel of the game. However, Patrick Franziska believes that the high expectations placed on Zhendong could be an additional burden. “The changes to tables and balls certainly have a greater impact on performance,” says Franziska.
The big appearance in Europe
Despite the challenges so far, the team is optimistic about the future. Fan Zhendong is determined to embark on his European adventure, as he emphasized in a statement. After winning gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics and collecting the 2021 and 2023 World Championship trophies, Zhendong is looking forward to proving himself at the Saar Sports Campus next season official club website explained.
“The high level of attention from the media and fans will change table tennis in Germany,” believes Zhendong. Team manager Nicolas Barrois also emphasizes the importance of this commitment and sees it as a sporting milestone for the club. “The commitment came as a surprise and opens a new chapter for our table tennis sport,” Barrois is quoted as saying. And the training conditions have also improved significantly due to Zhendong's arrival; the team benefits from intensive and educational training sessions.
The upcoming games until the European Championship break are all about Fan Zhendong and 1. FC Saarbrücken table tennis. The fans can be curious to see whether the new team structure will prove successful. The adventure has only just begun and everything is still open in the TTBL.