"Second place is just the first place loser," mused racing legend Dale Earnhardt. In the über-competitive German Table Tennis Bundesliga, one team is generally expected to get the checkered flag. Under the captainship of German evergreen Timo Boll, Borussia Dusseldorf has won 11 of the last 14 league championships. While Dusseldorf has preserved its predicted pole position at 6-0, it has a surprise challenger nipping at its heels. TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen is also 6-0, but lags behind behind Borussia Dusseldorf's more efficient game record. Ochsenhausen is far exceeding expectations after the loss of last year's captain Hugo Calderano, the world #8 from Brazil. In his absence, France's world #19 Simon Gauzy has ascended to the helm while world #31 Kanak Jha of the USA (pictured) has assumed an expanded playing role as the first mate. In their last matchup, Ochsenhausen took on TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt. In a 3-0 romp, Jha contributed a 3-0 sweep of Alvaro Robles, the world #63 from Spain. Jha now stands third in individual records at 7-2 behind Swede Anton Källberg of Borussia Dusseldorf (7-0) and German Patrick Franziska of 1. FC Saarbrücken-TT (7-1). The two thus far undefeated teams, Ochsenhausen and Dusseldorf, are due to clash on December 5. This matchup may be the deciding factor to decide who is first place, and who is just the first place loser.

More at Butterfly Online