Borussia Düsseldorf, the second seeds, won 3-1 at AS Pontoise-Cergy on Thursday in the first leg of their ETTU Champions League Men last-16 tie, without Fan Zhendong, the Olympic champion who joined them this season.
Kanak Jha gave the German champions the lead by beating Jules Cavaille 11-8, 11-2, 13-11, and Dang Qiu came from 1-1 to beat Flavio Mourier 11-9, 9-11, 11-4, 11-7. Italy's Mihai Bobocica kept Pontoise in the tie by beating Anton Källberg in five games, but Qiu settled it in the fourth match, losing only 11 points against Cavaille.
"It was a tough match, but we managed to secure a 3-1 victory, which puts us in a good position ahead of the return leg," said Danny Heister, Düsseldorf's coach.
The second leg is at the ARAG CenterCourt in Düsseldorf on 18 December, with a quarter-final place for the winners. The rest of the first legs are on Friday and Saturday, including 1. FC Saarbrücken against Lille Métropole and GV Hennebont against HB Ostrov.
