Louis Price hailed “one of the best nights of my life” as he made his top-flight Bundesliga debut in front of a passionate home crowd.

Price (pictured above, photo by Hansruedi Luthi) was in the ASC Grunwettersbach line-up which faced TSV Bad Konigshofen, a team above them in the league table.

He faced Bundesliga legend Bastian Steger and, although he was defeated, he was delighted to be part of the team which chiselled out a vital 3-2 victory.

The 20-year-old left-hander from Bristol had an inkling the day before the match that he might feature, with team-mates Ricardo Walther and Tiago Apolonia not fully fit.

Price said: “I had it in my head that it was possible and I found out on the morning of the match. I wasn’t happy that my team-mates were injured, but obviously happy to get the chance to play.

“I was really nervous going into it, but the boys gave me some good advice that helped me not get stressed about it and to enjoy the experience.

“Playing against Steger, who’s a Bundesliga legend and has played for so many years, I definitely didn’t play badly. All in all, I was happy with how I played, even though I lost 3-0 I put on a good show.

“It’s a really small hall but there were 3-400 fans watching and every point I won they were going crazy. To play in that environment was something I’ve never done before.”

Price was defeated 11-3, 11-8, 11-6, which made the match score 1-1, after Leo De Nodrest had put the hosts in front by defeating Martin Allegro 3-0.

Guilherme Teodoro restored the home advantage by beating Jin Ueda 3-2, though Konigshofen levelled again as Steger beat De Nodrest in five. But the crucial doubles was won 3-0 by Grunwettersbach to seal overall victory, moving them up to eighth in the 12-team league.

Price added: “I was over the moon with the team result, we did well. It was a really important match because we’re trying to stay in the league and this really helped us.”

There was one further highlight to come after the match for Price, who has been with the club since 2021, when he performed his ‘initiation’ in the VIP lounge afterwards – singing Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline in front of team-mates and supporters.

He said: “It was really fun, I enjoyed it. When you win a match, the hall is crazy and the VIP lounge is crazy celebrating the victory. It’s probably one of the best nights of my life just to see the energy and that you’ve made people so happy.”

Price is now in the squad for the first pool stage of the Europe Cup (formerly ETTU Cup), this weekend, when Grunwettersbach will be up against teams from Slovenia, Slovakia and Spain at their home venue.