On January 17, 2025, the WTT regular table tennis tournament in Muscat continued. In the women's singles final, two national team players faced each other in an internal battle. The result was Shi Xunyao sweeping Kuai Man 4-0, becoming the second singles champion of the new season for the national team. She proved herself capable with her performance.
The women's singles final featured a national team derby between Shi Xunyao, born in 2001, and Kuai Man, born in 2004, competing for the championship. First, we must acknowledge the performance of both players. They have completed the task of not losing any external matches and managed to meet in the final, securing both the championship and runner-up positions. During the Doha Star Match, the two had previously faced each other, with Kuai Man defeating Shi Xunyao, leaving a deep impression on many fans. In terms of competitive level, Kuai Man is slightly superior.
Kuai Man is one of the outstanding young players of the national team, holding a world championship title in the team event and ranked 18th in the world in women's singles. At the previous station, she swept Japanese star Miharu Kihara to become the first singles champion of the new year. Shi Xunyao, on the other hand, excels in mixed doubles. In her first partnership with Huang Youzheng, they took second place, and this station saw them back-to-back into the final. Unfortunately, they lost to the Spanish pair of Robles/Xiao Yaoqi and were unable to reach the top.
It is worth noting that Kuai Man and Chen Yi are from the same batch of players, while Shi Xunyao and Qian Tianyi are from the same batch. The two are not considered part of the same echelon. Shi Xunyao has been inactive for a long time but is now receiving heavy use by the coaching staff. Kuai Man won three consecutive victories against Japanese mainstay Daito Saya, advancing to the women's singles final again, a perfect performance. According to the Asian Cup list announced by the national team, the two have already secured their eligibility for the women's singles competition.
After the start of the match, in the first game, Kuai Man seemed a bit slow to warm up, giving the impression that she was not in top form. Of course, Shi Xunyao was well-prepared, hardly giving her opponent time to adapt. Relying on her relatively stable mid-to-long-range play, Shi Xunyao took the lead with an 11-6 victory. In the second game, Kuai Man appeared tense at crucial points, playing too conservatively during her own serve rotations, allowing Shi Xunyao to seize the opportunity and win another game 11-9. Kuai Man trailed Shi Xunyao 0-2, a worrying situation.
In the third game, Kuai Man's state showed no improvement, and her mentality clearly had issues. She was unprepared for the difficulties before the match and did not expect her opponent to perform so well. Shi Xunyao led 6-0 and then took the game 11-8. In the fourth game, Shi Xunyao pressed her advantage, ending the match with an 11-4 victory. Ultimately, she swept Kuai Man 4-0. Honestly, it was not surprising that Shi Xunyao won, but everyone really did not expect such a score, indicating that she played exceptionally well.
In fact, after the Asian Cup lineup was announced, there were still fans who questioned Shi Xunyao's eligibility, believing that she is not young in terms of age. Even if Qian Tianyi was not given the opportunity, there were other options like Chen Yi. Now, the national team has not made a mistake; Shi Xunyao fully deserves a spot.