In the Doha Star Challenge held at the beginning of January 2025, Japanese player Zhang Benmei will participate in the singles event, replacing French veteran Yuan Jia'nan who withdrew due to reasons. This change has resulted in three out of the top five seeded players in the Doha Star Challenge being from Japan, namely Zhang Benmei, Hina Hayata, and Saya Todo. In addition, other three Japanese female table tennis players, Miyuu Nagasaki, Mima Ito, and Misuzu Hirano, will also compete in this event. Looking at the lineup, the Japanese women's team has almost sent all their main players, making it highly likely for them to win the championship, which also adds many highlights to the event. It must be said that the rise of Japanese women's table tennis in recent years has been rapid, with their increasingly strong performance on the international stage. This time, they have almost mobilized all their forces, undoubtedly exerting great pressure on other teams and making fans look forward to their performance.
In the WTT Singapore Grand Slam event scheduled for the end of January, the seeded pairs for men's and women's doubles have been officially announced. In the men's doubles, the French Lebrun brothers have become the top seeds with their strong strength, followed by the Chinese pair of Lin Shidong and Wang Chuqin as the second seeds. The third seeds are Japan's Daiki Yoshizuka and Koki Niwa, while the fourth seeds are South Korea's Lim Jong-hoon and An Jae-hyun. The fifth seeds are Singapore's Gao Ning and Pang Yew En. Judging from the overall strength, the gap between the men's doubles pairs is not large, and the key to the competition lies in the scoring ability at critical moments. This reminds people of previous international competitions, where the men's doubles arena was always full of suspense, and the matches were exciting. The men's doubles competition in the Singapore Grand Slam is expected to be a series of thrilling encounters.
Lin Shidong and Wang Chuqin have previously worked together, but in the new Olympic cycle, this will be their first time to participate in the doubles event together. In the coming period, the two will continue to participate in men's doubles events, which also reflects the importance and layout of the national table tennis coaching staff on the doubles project in the new cycle. Lin Shidong has an extremely high quality of single board, and is currently also participating in mixed doubles competitions. Wang Chuqin, as a left-handed player, possesses excellent quick connection ability. The two complement each other well in doubles competitions, and indeed have great potential for development. They are both ranked among the top two in the world, ensuring their attacking capabilities. The doubles event in the Singapore Grand Slam has high stakes, with foreign associations' doubles pairs possessing very strong comprehensive abilities, especially the French Lebrun brothers, who will be strong opponents for the Lin Shidong and Wang Chuqin pair. In my opinion, the Lin Shidong and Wang Chuqin pair still have a lot of room for improvement in terms of tacit understanding, and with continuous competition and coordination, they are expected to shine on the international stage in the future, adding glory to the national table tennis team in men's doubles.
In the women's doubles category, the number one seed pair is the "dark horse" combination of Saya Todo and Sakura Yokoi from Japan, who won the doubles championship at last year's Asian Championships, demonstrating their remarkable strength. The second seed pair is Cheng I Ching and Li Yu Zhen from Chinese Taipei, while the third seed pair is Wang Manyu and Kuai Man from the national table tennis team. The main competitors for Wang Manyu and Kuai Man this time are undoubtedly the Japanese pair of Saya Todo and Sakura Yokoi. The competition between the national table tennis pair and the Japanese pair for the final championship will be one of the main highlights of the women's doubles event in the Singapore Grand Slam. As for whether the Japanese chopping pair of Honami Hashimoto and Miu Hirano will participate, it is still uncertain, but their strength cannot be underestimated. If they can appear on the court, they will certainly add more variables and highlights to the women's doubles event.
The Wang Manyu and Kuai Man pair is a key combination created by the national table tennis team in the new Olympic cycle. Wang Manyu will participate in two events in the Singapore Grand Slam, and Kuai Man will also participate in multiple events, including mixed doubles in addition to women's doubles. Kuai Man has outstanding doubles abilities, and she has previously partnered with Wang Manyu once. The Singapore Grand Slam is their second collaboration, and it is expected that the number of their collaborations will increase in the future. The coaching staff allows these two to continuously cooperate in doubles to increase their tacit understanding and exercise their strength for the new Olympic cycle. The national table tennis team will also lay out multiple doubles combinations in the new cycle to enhance their overall strength in participating in the Olympics. In my opinion, the Wang Manyu and Kuai Man combination has great potential. Wang Manyu has rich competition experience and strong stress resistance, while Kuai Man, as a left-handed player, has rich tactical changes and can create more offensive opportunities for her partner. As long as they can further strengthen their cooperation and improve their tacit understanding, I believe they will become an important force in the national table tennis women's doubles on the international stage in the future.
As for whether Sun Yingsha and Wang Yidi will cooperate again in the women's doubles event, there is no definite news yet. They have previously cooperated several times, and their match against the Japanese double chopping pair in the year-end finals was particularly exciting, leaving a deep impression on fans. The pair of Chen Xingtong and Qian Tianyi performed strongly in the Table Tennis Super League, but only the Wang Manyu and Kuai Man pair have registered to participate in the doubles event of the Singapore Grand Slam. However, no matter what the final participating combination is, I believe that the national table tennis team still has strong competitiveness in the women's doubles event. After all, the national table tennis team has a profound foundation in doubles, and generations of players have had outstanding performances. As long as the coaching staff can make reasonable arrangements and carefully build, the national table tennis women's doubles still has the potential to continue its glory in the new Olympic cycle.