Anton Källberg suffered a crushing defeat at WTT Champions Frankfurt on Wednesday evening, squandering a two-set lead to lose 3–2 against South Korea’s Lim Jonghoon in the round of 32. The world number 25 dominated the opening game before the 38th-ranked South Korean mounted a fierce comeback to secure victory by set scores of 1–11, 10–12, 11–8, 11–8, and 11–8.

A Dominant Start Dissolves Into a Five-Set Collapse

Källberg initially showed the form that carried him to the final at this German venue in 2024, where he notably defeated China’s Wang Chuqin en route. The Swede raced through the first game 11–1 with virtually no resistance. In the second set, Källberg fell behind 2–6 amid a flurry of unforced errors before tightening his game to steal it 12–10. SVT commentator Niklas Nord noted that the match felt secure at that stage before the momentum swung entirely.

Lim raised his level in the third set, exploiting Källberg’s difficulties on his own serve and neutralizing the Swede’s early tactical advantage. Källberg admitted his frustration after the exit, saying that he started exceptionally well but struggled with timing and service reception as the match wore on. Table tennis expert Jan-Ove Waldner criticized Källberg’s tactical choices in the deciding fifth set, pointing out that the Swede relied too heavily on long serves rather than keeping the ball short under pressure.

The Last Standing Swede Prepares for Thursday

With Källberg’s elimination and Elias Ranefur’s earlier five-set defeat against Germany’s Dang Qiu (11–3, 12–14, 11–9, 2–11, 7–11), Sweden’s singles hopes rest entirely on Kristian Karlsson. Karlsson takes on South Korea’s Oh Junsung in the round of 32 on Thursday afternoon, with SVT broadcasting the fixture starting at 15:20.