The first event of the 2025 WTT season has begun with the Stars Challenge Doha Station, a medium-level competition worth 600 points. This time, the national table tennis team has only sent non-main players to compete, mainly to challenge opponents. Many Japanese main players participated, including Tomokazu Harimoto and his sister, Mima Ito, and Hina Hayata, as well as many European top players, making the competition quite fierce.
The qualification matches have already concluded, with some famous players needing to participate in the qualifications, especially new partner combinations. In the singles qualification matches of the national table tennis team, Xu Yingbin lost in the last round and was eliminated from the qualifications, while Iran's Alamiyan stopped at the second round of the qualifications.
In the final round of the men's singles qualification matches, Xu Yingbin lost 2-3 to South Korea's Cho Seung-min, with scores of 11-3, 10-12, 7-11, 11-7, and 9-11. Meanwhile, world champion Sweden's Mattias Karlsson won 3-1 against Julian Chirita, with scores of 11-8, 6-11, 11-6, and 11-6. Last year, Karlsson could still participate directly in the championship based on his world ranking, which was within the top 30. Now, he even has to participate in the qualification matches for the star matches. However, he is still the main player of Sweden and won a silver medal in doubles at last year's Paris Olympics, with his doubles ability being significantly stronger than his singles.
In the second round of the women's singles qualification matches, Zhongge Man defeated Huang Yuwei from Chinese Taipei 3-2, with scores of 11-7, 9-11, 11-1, 7-11, and 11-4. The third set was one-sided, and the fourth set saw fluctuations in state, but fortunately, she could stabilize and quickly launch an attack in the decisive set. Liang Xiayin defeated India's Suthirta Mukherjee 3-0, and Zhu Yuling defeated Liu Han-na 3-1, with scores of 3-11, 11-7, 11-6, and 11-9.
In the final round of the women's singles qualification matches, Zhu Yuling defeated South Korea's Lee Si-won 3-0. Last September, Zhu Yuling competed for Macau, China, and later participated in branch line matches, winning a championship. After this match, her world ranking will definitely enter the top 100. Zhongge Man swept Japan's Uezono An 3-0, with scores of 11-6, 11-9, and 11-8. Both are newcomers, and last year, Zhongge Man started participating in the Grand Slam level. This time, she qualified for the competition, focusing on her potential. The first set progressed steadily, the second set faced challenges, and finally won with difficulty. The third set was still a close score, but overall, her performance was good. Liang Xiayin defeated Hong Kong, China's Wu Yonglin 3-1, with scores of 9-11, 11-6, 11-5, and 11-1. The fourth set also had a score of 11-1. It has been almost 10 years since Liang Xiayin won the mixed doubles championship at the World Table Tennis Championships. She is now a veteran and has withdrawn from the main lineup, but she has not given up. As long as there is an opportunity, she will participate. However, she has to start from the qualification matches for both the challenge and star matches.
Parag Chitale defeated Aishwarya Mukundan 3-0, with scores of 11-9, 11-4, and 11-8. Diacanu defeated Margarita Pesotska 3-1, with scores of 11-9, 12-10, 5-11, and 11-7. Borgard defeated Zhang Xuan 3-1, with scores of 11-7, 9-11, 11-6, and 12-10.
In the final round of the mixed doubles qualification matches, Huang Youzheng and Shi Xunyao narrowly defeated Pitchford and Hasegawa 3-2, with scores of 11-5, 2-11, 11-6, 6-11, and 11-7. Matsushima Kakeru and Tomokazu Harimoto defeated Pei Huan and Chi Min-hyung 3-0, with scores of 13-11, 11-6, and 11-7. Kimura Makoto and Oomoto Satsuki defeated Pistej and Kukulova 3-0, with scores of 11-2, 11-5, and 11-7. Taka and Batra defeated Coton and Charlotte Lutz 3-1, with scores of 3-11, 11-3, 13-11, and 12-10.
It can be seen that many famous players participated in the qualification matches for the mixed doubles, with few partnerships or no partnerships at all. Huang Youzheng and Shi Xunyao had never partnered before and narrowly won against their opponents. Pitchford is relatively strong, while Hasegawa is weaker.
Japan's Matsushima Kakeru and Tomokazu Harimoto are both main players, and new combinations will inevitably be tried in the new Olympic cycle, as they are competitive. Tomokazu Harimoto also made her debut this year and seems to be in good form. In the T League a few days ago, she kept losing.
Kimura Makoto won the mixed doubles championship at the World Table Tennis Championships and is also a veteran. Oomoto Satsuki burst out a few months ago and naturally gained more opportunities to participate in competitions.
In the final round of the women's doubles qualification matches, Qian Tianyi and Shi Xunyao defeated Bergstrom and C. Kalberg 3-1, with scores of 10-12, 11-7, 11-6, and 11-7. He Zhuojia and Zhongge Man defeated Du Kaiqin and Su Zitong 3-0, with scores of 11-9, 11-5, and 11-9. Yoon Hyo-bin and Kim Yu-rin defeated Akula and Chitale 3-1, with scores of 14-12, 12-14, 12-10, and 11-5. Jin Na-yeong and Liu Han-na defeated Mirdirova and Todurovic 3-0, with scores of 11-4, 11-2, and 11-6.
Both pairs of national table tennis teams and two pairs of Korean teams won and advanced to the main draw. Qian Tianyi and Shi Xunyao are a relatively strong combination and are strong contenders for the women's doubles championship this time. The Swedish pair is also powerful, but the national table tennis team has a slight advantage in terms of hard power. He Zhuojia and Zhongge Man are also new partners, and Du Kaiqin is trying new partners.
Four world champions who participated in the qualification matches have advanced, including Zhu Yuling, Kimura Makoto, Liang Xiayin, and Karlsson. Except for Xu Yingbin's elimination from the national table tennis team, the others have successfully advanced. Additionally, Zhou Qihao withdrew from the competition due to injury.