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The SPG Walter Wels men’s table tennis team has to travel to the Champions League starting Friday with a replacement team following a crown case. With this, twelve-year-old only talents Julian Rzihausek and Petr Hodina celebrate an unexpected premiere.
The twelve-year-old will be the youngest player in the history of Champions League competition. As Wels reported, Adam Szudi from the first team gave a positive corona test. This meant that his teammates Andreas Levenko and Frane Kojic, as well as coach David Huber, had to go into a ten-day quarantine.
Not showing up would have consequences for the entire season.
If Wels did not appear in Düsseldorf, he would be excluded from all European competitions in the course of the season. In the Germany tournament, Wels will face German champion Saarbrücken, Danish club Roskilde and French leader Pontoise from Friday to Sunday.
Young players can gain experience
Of course, the High Austrians are clearly outsiders. Rzihausek is normally used in the 2nd Bundesliga, Hodina mainly in the national league. Only Gabor Böhm of the trio of players who traveled to Düsseldorf has Champions League experience.
They were accompanied by sports director Helmut Giglmayer. The students broke free from their schools. “Directors had to play along because they needed vacations on very short notice,” reported President Gerhard Demelbauer.
Champions League this time as an eight day tournament
The premier category of table tennis will be played as a tournament in just eight days at one venue this season. For hygiene and safety reasons this takes place in a “bubble”. Players cannot leave team hotels until their club is eliminated. You must submit a negative corona test no more than 48 hours before arrival and it will be retested immediately after your arrival in Düsseldorf. The situation is unusual for Rzihausek and Hodina, Demelbauer said. But there are no worries. “They are already very mature for their age.”
Corona also shapes the TT season
Good for Wels: Due to an exception due to Corona, the fourth of the group can continue to play in the European Cup in spring. There, Upper Austria reached the preseason semi-finals before the competition was canceled in the spring. “We want to continue playing internationally. That is why we are now also participating in Düsseldorf ”, explained Demelbauer.
