Bitter World Cup Exit for Källberg: Two Left-Handers Stop Düsseldorf Star

For Anton Källberg, the Team World Cup in London ends in the quarterfinals – and with it, the tournament participation of the Borussia Düsseldorf professionals. Sweden loses to Taiwan 2:3, with the decision coming just a few minutes before midnight. Källberg becomes the central figure in the elimination: the Düsseldorf player loses both singles, of all things against two left-handers.

Previously, other Borussia professionals had already been eliminated: Kanak Jha failed with the USA in the first knockout round against France, Dang Qiu lost with Germany in the quarterfinals 1:3 against Japan.

Källberg's First Defeat Becomes the Turning Point

The evening begins with a clear setback for Sweden. Truls Möregårdh loses to Taiwan's Lin Yun-Ju 0:3 (8:11, 9:11, 11:13). This puts Källberg under early pressure in the second singles – against the only 17-year-old Kuo Guan-Hong.

At first, it looks as if Sweden can respond immediately. Källberg dominates the start and wins the first set clearly 11:4. He also takes the third set 11:8. But Kuo Guan-Hong works his way into the match, increasingly shifting the rallies into uncomfortable angles and turns the match around: the second set goes 11:8 to the Taiwanese, the fourth set 11:9, the fifth set 11:7. Källberg thus surprisingly loses 2:3.

The significance of this lost point is enormous, because Kuo Guan-Hong is ranked more than 50 places behind Källberg in the world rankings. The Taiwanese had already made a statement in the tournament – including a win against Patrick Franziska in the group match against Germany. Nevertheless, the setback weighs heavily for Sweden here, because Källberg had previously underlined in London what he is capable of: in the group stage, he defeated China's Lin Shidong 3:1.

Sweden Fights Back – But Källberg Also Loses the Deciding Singles

After trailing 0:2, Sweden keeps the quarterfinal open. Elias Ranefur narrows the gap with a 3:1 win over Feng Yi-Hsin (7:11, 11:5, 11:4, 11:5) to 1:2. Then Möregårdh manages the equalizer: he beats Kuo Guan-Hong 3:0 (11:6, 11:8, 12:10) – 2:2.

This means the decision in the fifth singles is again up to Källberg. He faces another left-hander, this time Lin Yun-Ju – and can no longer get into the match decisively. Källberg loses 0:3. The first set goes 8:11. In the second set, he is close to leveling the set, but at 9:9 the set tips to Lin Yun-Ju. In the third set, the Taiwanese quickly pulls ahead 6:1 and seals the 3:0 victory with 11:5.

The fact that both of Källberg's matches are against left-handers fits a classic problem in knockout matches: left-handers can force different angles and serves with mirrored serve and return patterns, which are unfamiliar for right-handers at first – especially when the sets are close and every return is decided by rhythm and courage. Exactly in these moments, Sweden is missing the points from the key matches in the quarterfinals.

Borussia Düsseldorf Is Out Early at the Team World Cup

With the 2:3 against Taiwan, Sweden's World Cup exit is sealed – and at the same time, Borussia's participation in London ends. For Källberg, it remains a tournament with two sides: the strong signal in the group stage against Lin Shidong, but two defeats in the quarterfinals, in which Sweden comes back from 0:2 but is ultimately eliminated.