Benjamin Rogiers draws strength from a battle of nerves

You certainly can’t blame the two big favorites for the table tennis championship title – Hostert-Folschette and Berburg – for putting their feet up recently. Nevertheless, the two teams were able to sit back and watch how they fought for progress in the quarter-finals. Now, in the round of the last four teams, they are getting involved.

While Berburg will face Reckingen from Sunday (first and second leg), defending champion Hostert-Folschette will face Howald. “We all have to play particularly well and hope for a sensation,” says Howald’s top player Benjamin Rogiers. “Hostert is the favorite, they have four very good players. But at this point in the season, the doubles in particular can be decisive.”

In the quarterfinals, both games against Linger ended 5:5, so the duel had to be decided in the Golden Match. Rogiers and Co. had better nerves in the end. “This victory makes us extremely motivated for the semi-finals,” says the 34-year-old Belgian combatively. Rogiers himself only lost one game against Linger – 2:3 against veteran Gilles Michely. In the normal round he even had the third-best record in the league (14:4).

The former Belgian international won the bronze medal at the European Team Championships in St. Petersburg in 2008. At his side at the time was not only world-class player Jean-Michel Saive, but also his brother Philippe, who is still licensed for Reckingen. At his best (2010), Rogiers reached 209th place in the world rankings.

The move to the Grand Duchy came about because Rogiers wanted a new challenge with new opponents after several appearances in the Belgian league. “I contacted several clubs in Luxembourg and Howald made me the first offer. The contact with the President (Frank Schreiber, editor’s note) was immediately positive.” Rogiers lives in Belgium with his partner and his five-year-old son.

Czech predecessor

The signing was also a stroke of luck for Howald. “The level in the league is high, especially because of the top players in every team,” says Rogiers. Last season, which only ended in the final for Howald, the young Czech Tomas Koldas led the way. Now his teammates, the veterans Wang Xu, Xia Cheng and Marc Dielissen, are dependent on Rogiers’ points.

And no matter how far the journey goes this season, they can continue to rely on him in the future: “I feel very comfortable in this club and plan to stay for a while.”

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