Not looking good for the aging GER MT despite QD/Franziska/Ovtcharov taking out CYY/ZQH/LJK (with the former two substituting on short notice), respectively. Duda's QF last year is still the best result among them.
2024
WR10 QD - 2nd of Grp (Togami 1st of Grp)
WR46 Duda - 2nd of Grp (FZD 1st of Grp)
2025
WR8 Franziska - 2nd of Grp (Gauzy 1st of Grp)
WR11 QD - 2nd of Grp (Jha 1st of Grp)
WR17 Duda -
QF 3-4 WCQ
WR23 Ovtcharov - R16 3-4 Duda
2026
WR11 QD - R16 3-4 Harimoto
WR12 Duda - 2nd of Grp (Poret 1st of Grp, 3-2 Duda)
WR18 Franziska - R16 0-4 Moregard
WR27 Ovtcharov - R16 1-4 Jorgic
World Cup: Achtelfinal-Aus für Dimitrij Ovtcharov und Ying Han
https://www.tischtennis.de/news/world-cup-achtelfinal-aus-fuer-dimitrij-ovtcharov-und-ying-han.html
(The match between former world number one Dimitrij Ovtcharov and three-time Europe Top 16 winner Darko Jorgic was a closely contested affair with many lead changes, but the player from Fulda only managed to win the fourth set. Dimitrij Ovtcharov said after his elimination: "In the first and third sets, I led 8-7 after trailing, and in the last set, I had a chance to win it at 8-5. So there was much more in it for me than the score suggests, but unfortunately, I didn't perform well enough in the crucial moments." Nevertheless, Ovtcharov, a two-time Olympic bronze medalist who defeated four-time World Championship bronze medalist Liang Jingkun (China) in the preliminary round, drew a positive conclusion and is already looking ahead: "I'm taking away many positive aspects of my game from this World Cup, including a strong victory against Liang. That's important because the highlight of the year, the World Team Championships in London, is just around the corner – these championships will be more exciting than ever.")
World Cup: Patrick Franziska unterliegt Möregardh im Achtelfinale
https://www.tischtennis.de/news/world-cup-patrick-franziska.html
("It feels extremely tough to lose such a huge match."
"It certainly feels extremely tough to lose such a huge match," explained Qiu, who, after a strong start, had initially been able to impose his aggressive game on his opponent. The missed set point for a 3-0 lead brought about a decisive change in the match, revealed the world number eleven: "Losing the third set took away some of my momentum and reinforced Harimoto's belief that he was in the match and could win."
Qiu also emphasized his opponent's qualities: "He has incredible resilience and tenacity, always staying in the game. It was one of those matches that didn't deserve a loser." The Düsseldorf native is stung by his elimination in his first round of 16 appearance: "I would have liked to have played for a medal in the quarterfinals, to learn from this experience as well."
Despite the disappointment, the German drew an overall positive conclusion from the World Cup: "My performance was already very strong in the group stage, and I improved even further in the round of 16. I hope I have many, many more fantastic matches ahead of me. But of course, today's defeat hurts – I will learn from it, and it will make me a better player." Qiu had qualified for the finals for the first time in his third appearance, convincingly defeating, among others, the Chinese player Chen Yuanyu.)
