On January 12, 2025, the Oman Table Tennis Challenge continued, with the national table tennis men's singles team achieving their first victory. Xu Yingbin swept his opponent, Hong Kong player Yao Juntao, with a 3-0 win, securing his first victory in this event. The second match of the round-robin tournament featured an opponent weaker than Yao Juntao, posing no threat to the national team.
This event is a regular challenge worth 400 points, with 10 players from the national team participating. Compared to the Doha Star Game, Qian Tianyi and He Zhuojia are absent, while Tan Yuxuan and Wang Xiaotong have been added. Xu Yingbin and Huang Youzheng need to participate in the men's singles qualifying matches, while others like Xiang Peng have directly secured their spots in the main event. As the first male player to take the court for the national team, Xu Yingbin swept his opponent 3-0, marking the team's first victory in this event.
The 23-year-old Xu Yingbin is a young player focused on by the national team, having many opportunities to compete in recent years and being very active. Occasionally, he can even stand on the stage of high-level events, and the coaching staff values him greatly. However, his overall performance has been inconsistent, especially in external competitions where he hasn't been particularly reliable. In internal competitions, Xu Yingbin performs well and has beaten main players more than once, leaving a deep impression on everyone.
In fact, there was a small regret for the national team at the last event, as no one from the men's singles advanced to the quarterfinals. Xu Yingbin, who was highly regarded before the competition, was eliminated in the qualifying rounds. However, his performance in the men's doubles was quite strong, partnering with Xiang Peng to win the championship, even defeating Tomokazu Ishihara / Kakeru Matsumoto. This time, Xu Yingbin only registered for the men's singles without continuing to participate in multiple events, making it a focal point for fans to see what kind of results he will deliver.
The qualifying matches this time are conducted in a group round-robin format. Xu Yingbin is in Group 2 of the men's singles, facing Hong Kong player Yao Juntao in the first match. Xu Yingbin is ranked 79th, while Yao Juntao is ranked 222nd, indicating a significant difference in overall strength. Additionally, Xu Yingbin lost early in the Doha Star Game to Zhao Shengmin, a result that he himself likely wasn't satisfied with. Therefore, he will undoubtedly put in his best effort to achieve results in the Oman Challenge.
After the start of the match, Xu Yingbin adopted a stable strategy in the first set, as Yao Juntao has limited experience playing against the national team and rarely advances to the main event stages, making him less familiar to everyone. After a brief adaptation, Xu Yingbin took advantage and won the set 11-5. In the second set, despite Xu Yingbin making some unnecessary mistakes, the overall impact on the result was minimal, and he won the set 11-9.
In the third set, Xu Yingbin led 4-3 when Yao Juntao called a timeout. Afterwards, Xu Yingbin remained steady and ended the match with an 11-7 victory, ultimately sweeping Yao Juntao 3-0. With another win, Xu Yingbin can advance to the main event. It is believed that this time he can prove himself and perform at a high level in critical moments.