On January 16th, Beijing time, the men's singles quarter-finals of the WTT Mascate regular challenge match took place. The most anticipated match was between Huang Youzheng and Japan's top player, Tomokazu Harimoto. In this match, Huang Youzheng fought hard for four sets but lost 1-3 to Harimoto, failing to reach the semi-finals.
In the WTT system, the level of a regular challenge match is just above that of a branch match, with neither high points nor significant bonuses. Therefore, the national table tennis team did not send their main players to participate, instead providing an opportunity for second-line young players to train. Born in 2005, Huang Youzheng is one of the key young players being cultivated by the national table tennis team. He also plays with a left-handed horizontal grip and has won consecutive championships at the National Games, World Youth Championships, and China Table Tennis Super League over the past year. However, on the WTT stage, he has yet to achieve a representative performance. Previously, at the Doha Star Match, he lost in the men's singles to Qiu Dang and failed to reach the quarter-finals, while winning the runner-up in mixed doubles with Shi Xunyao. On the other hand, Harimoto was the men's singles champion at the Doha Star Match and is also the main opponent of the national table tennis team during the Los Angeles cycle. Huang Youzheng must defeat Harimoto if he wants to compete for a main position.
The first set was very tense and fierce, with Huang Youzheng showing great tenacity. When Harimoto was leading 8-6, he didn't grasp the serving order well, allowing Huang Youzheng to catch up and score two consecutive points in his own serving round to take the lead 10-8 and obtain the game point. However, Huang Youzheng failed to capitalize on these two game points as well as when the score was 11-10, and Harimoto saved three game points to reverse the situation and win the first set 13-11.
In the second set, Harimoto gradually adapted to the pressure from Huang Youzheng's backhand, while Huang Youzheng did not perform well in the connecting phase of the rally, allowing Harimoto to open a 5-2 lead. However, Harimoto also made some mistakes himself, allowing Huang Youzheng to score four consecutive points and take the lead. In the final stages of the set, Huang Youzheng defended excellently, holding off Harimoto's counterattack to win 11-8 and level the score.
In the third set, Harimoto used changes in rhythm to score continuously, starting with a 6-0 lead. Although Huang Youzheng narrowed the gap during the middle stages of the set, there were slight flaws in his step adjustments, causing him to miss opportunities. However, at the end of the set, Huang Youzheng saved several game points to chase the score to 8-10, forcing Harimoto to call a timeout. After the timeout, Harimoto won 11-8, taking the lead again.
In the fourth set, Huang Youzheng fell behind 1-4 and had to call a timeout. After the timeout, Huang Youzheng went all out, scoring consecutively in the middle stages of the set to lead 8-6, and obtained the game point at 10-7. Unfortunately, in the critical moments, Huang Youzheng faltered again, allowing Harimoto to save the game points and tie the score at 10, ultimately losing 11-13. Throughout the match, Huang Youzheng missed a total of six game points; if he had seized even one of them, the outcome might have been different.
After this match, only one player from the national table tennis team remained in the top four of the men's singles. Earlier, in another quarter-final match, Chen Yuanyu defeated India's Manav Thakkar 3-0, becoming the sole survivor of the national table tennis team in the top four.