Fan Zhendong makes Bundesliga debut as Borussia Düsseldorf beat TSV Bad Konigshofen 3-1
Fan Zhendong made his Borussia Düsseldorf debut on Saturday, securing two points with 3-1 wins over Andre Bertelsmeier and Filip Zeljko. The 29-year-old Chinese player joined the Bundesliga side in March and drew 3,800…
Source: South China Morning Post · August 23, 2026 at 4:35 AM · AI-assisted report
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KUALA LUMPUR, 23 AUGUST 2026 —
Fan Zhendong made his Borussia Düsseldorf debut on Saturday, securing two points with 3-1 wins over Andre Bertelsmeier and Filip Zeljko.
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The 29-year-old Chinese player joined the Bundesliga side in March and drew 3,800 spectators to the Mitsubishi Electric Hall, the team’s temporary venue with capacity for 3,800 while their regular ARAG Centre Court hosts only 1,100.
Manager Andreas Preuss called the reception “a fitting, warm welcome” for Fan, who had not competed for an extended period. “It was a celebration of table tennis,” Preuss said. “Fan thanked everyone in his own way by scoring two points today.”
Teammate Qiu Dang, a German international, described the debut as “an incredibly fantastic event.” “We had to give everything today; even Fan dropped two games, but he played really well after such a long break,” Qiu said.
Borussia Düsseldorf, Germany’s most successful table tennis team with 34 league titles, 28 German Cups and seven European Champions League trophies, finished without silverware in 2024-25 and again last season despite Fan’s sweep of the league, cup and Europe while at 1. FC Saarbrucken.
The club said social media engagement rose 500 times above normal after Fan’s signing. Sport1 reported that a story about his arrival drew at least 100 million views, a figure linked to Fan gaining “at least 100 million loyal fans in Dusseldorf in a very short period.”
Fan was formally welcomed to the city last Thursday when he signed the official golden book at Dusseldorf city hall. The ceremony was attended by mayor Stephan Keller and Timo Boll, the club’s 30-time title winner. “With Fan on the team, we have an excellent opportunity to win back honours and championship titles for this city,” Boll said.
Fan is expected to be rested for Thursday’s Bundesliga match against SV Werder Bremen but will return in the German Cup opener against Ochsenhausen and again on September 5 against Bergneustadt at the ARAG Centre Court.