Liverpool without a happy ending: Maxi Klötzer loses to Yi-Xuan Guo, Leonie Müller loses to Zokirova – World Championship ends without a DBV medal.
Bitter end for the DBV duo in Liverpool! Maxi Klötzer (51 kg) and Leonie Müller (70 kg) had to end their medal ambitions on the sixth day of the World Championships. Klötzer was defeated 1:4 by Yi-Xuan Guo (TPE) in the round of 16, while Müller lost unanimously 0:5 to Aziza Zokirova from Uzbekistan in the quarter-finals – one round away from a bronze medal.
Klötzer got off to his usual offensive start, scoring clear goals, but received little credit for this at the end of the first round. “From round two onwards, we had to increase the pressure. That played into the hands of our agile, counter-attacking opponent,” said center coach René Benirschke. Guo remained nimble on her feet, picked the gaps and turned the tight sequences to her side.
For Müller, the quarter-finals turned into a tough, drawn-out affair. The plan of immediately going on the attack when her opponent jumped in initially worked. “When she scored a clear hit in round one, her opponent was not counted. Later, Leonie was counted and also warned,” criticized center coach Zoltan Lunka. A lot of pushing and holding destroyed Müller’s rhythm. Zokirova collected the points and received the unanimous decision. The 2025 World Championships thus ended without a medal for the DBV team.
Text by Robin Josten