The Doha Star Tournament is still in progress with intense competition. In the evening's focus matches, the national table tennis team experienced both joy and concern, with three players advancing and two being eliminated. In the first mixed doubles semi-final, Huang Youzheng/Shi Xunyao defeated one of the championship favorites, Zhao Dacheng and Shin Yubin, with a score of 3:0. Zhao Dacheng and Shin Yubin had previously defeated Xiang Peng and Kuai Man in straight sets in the first round. Huang Youzheng/Shi Xunyao were not favored before the match, but they advanced to the final from the qualifying rounds, making them a dark horse worth looking forward to for national table tennis fans.
In another mixed doubles semi-final, Chen Yuanyu/Chen Yi, who were leading 2:1, were eliminated by Japan's Zhang Benmei and Matsushima Kakeru. Zhang Benmei has repeatedly defeated the national table tennis team since last year's Asian Championship and French Championship, and after the New Year, he won against the national table tennis players again, becoming the Japanese player who has won the most against the national table tennis team in this Olympic cycle, posing a significant threat in both singles and doubles.
It was indeed a pity that Chen Yuanyu/Chen Yi lost the match. In the first game, the two entered the state slowly and fell behind in the opening stages. Although they fought back later, the gap was too large, and they lost the first set 7:11. However, it could be clearly felt that from the second half of this set, our national table tennis pair began to find their rhythm. Indeed, in the next two sets, the national table tennis pair were able to firmly grasp the advantage in the score and started to exert themselves in the middle and late stages, bringing the game into their own rhythm with two scores of 11:8.
However, the fourth set became a turning point. The two suddenly lost their form and made more mistakes, eventually losing 4:11, dragging the game into a decisive set. After the start of the decisive set, they were even 0:5 behind. In such top-level competitions, once the single-set score difference exceeds 5 points, it is indeed difficult to catch up. Chen Yuanyu/Chen Yi finally lost another set 6:11, being overturned 3:2 by their opponents in a desperate comeback while leading 2:1.
In a women's singles match, a strong confrontation took place. Kuai Man faced one of the championship favorites and the best-performing player of the Japanese team since the start of this Olympic cycle, Oshima Moe. In a regular tournament last year, Kuai Man defeated Oshima Moe and won the first singles title since the start of this Olympic cycle. At that time, Oshima Moe had just won the French Championship and was in high spirits, which could be said to have dampened the opponent's momentum.
After the New Year, the two met again, with Kuai Man taking the first set 11:9. However, in the second set, Oshima Moe made full use of her serve to win 11:7 and level the match. In the third set, Kuai Man played very patiently and won another set 11:7 after multiple rallies, defeating Oshima Moe every time. In the fourth set, Kuai Man led 6:2 at the beginning, but Oshima Moe suddenly changed her serve and scored seven points in a row. Kuai Man ate five serves in this set and lost the set 8:11. In the following decisive set, both players maintained their advantages in their respective service rounds, but after the middle of the game, Kuai Man took the initiative to attack and broke the balance, winning 11:5 and narrowly advancing to the women's singles quarter-finals with a score of 3:2.