"If I can make it there," Frank Sinatra famously crooned, "I can make it anywhere." While Old Blue Eyes happened to be rhapsodizing the city of New York, New York, the sentiment is equally applicable to Germany's Tischtennis (Table Tennis) Bundesliga. There, any of the top squads boasts a collection of talent on a par with any national team outside of China. Reigning four-time American men's singles champion Kanak Jha (pictured, second from right) plays for TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen. This weekend, his team concluded the regular season in third place, good enough to secure one of the four playoff spots available to 12 other hungry and talented teams. Jha is currently ranked 30th in the world, tops in the USA but earning him only the third position on Team Ochsenhausen. Rounding out the lineup are, from left, Samuel Kulczycki of Poland (world ranking #360), WR #19 Simon Gauzy of France, WR #7 Hugo Calderano of Brazil, Jha, and WR #490 Maciej Kubik of Poland. Playoffs will commence Sunday, March 28, when first-place Borussia Düsseldorf takes on the fourth seed, ASV Grünwettersbach. The Timo Boll-led Düsseldorf are heavy favorites, having sewn up the top seed in February. They will certainly not look past Grünwettersbach, however, a scrappy squad helmed by Boll's German compatriot, penholder Dang Qiu. The other semifinal kicks off on April 8 when Jha and Ochsenhausen face second-place 1. FC Saarbrücken-TT. Captained by Germany's Patrick Franziska, Saarbrücken also boasts the dangerous Darko Jorgic of Slovenia. To advance to the final, Ochsenhausen must defeat Saarbrücken twice, a tall order against the defending league champions. Round two is April 10, and the rubber match two days later, if necessary. For an added degree of difficulty, Jha's play has been inconsistent, at best. Jha has won only four matches this season for Ochsenhausen, surrendering 14. He will need to level up quickly if he hopes to see any significant playing time. If, however, Jha proves to himself and the world that he can make it in the Bundesliga, there will be no doubt he can make it anywhere.

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