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Düsseldorf (AP) - The German table tennis champion 1. FC Saarbrücken had an unexpectedly easy game at the start of the Champions League finals tournament in Düsseldorf.
Due to the corona-related failure of the entire first team, the Austrian opponent SPG Walter Wels only competed with a substitute team on Friday evening, which also included two young players who were only twelve years old.
According to their club, the two talents Julian Rzihauschek and Petr Hodina are the youngest table tennis players ever to play in the Champions League.
In the easy 3-0 win of Saarbrücken, Rzihauschek lost his individual against the German national player Patrick Franziska in 0-3 sets.
Hodina also had no chance against the Slovenian Darko Jorgic.
With the Austrians, the player Adam Szudi tested positive for the corona virus shortly before leaving for Düsseldorf.
Although the tests with his teammates and coach David Huber were negative, they too were not allowed to travel to this tournament.
Since the club said it would have been threatened with exclusion from all European competitions in the coming year in the event of a non-appearance in the Champions League, the two young hopes and a player from the second team were sent to Germany at short notice.
Because of the corona pandemic, the entire Champions League season will be played there in just eight days in one place in the form of a tournament.
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The final tournament
Information on the tournament schedule
The game plan
Communication from SPG Walter Wels