In the international table tennis landscape, every WTT event is a stage where top players gather and compete fiercely. On January 14, 2025, the WTT regular challenge match in Masqat officially started the fierce competition of the main event. This is not only a sports event, but also a grand occasion for table tennis athletes from various countries to display their strength and exchange skills.
In this competition, the national table tennis team still continues the strategy of focusing on training young players. The main player Qian Tianyi returned to the team after leaving, but there are still young players such as Kuai Man, Chen Yi, and Shi Xunyao who shoulder the responsibility of impacting the championship. However, in the men's singles arena, the national table tennis team faces greater challenges. Japan's Zhang Ben Zhihe continued to participate in the competition, which undoubtedly added a lot of pressure to the national table tennis men's singles players.
Mixed doubles arena: The national table tennis combination met in the first round, and Kuai Man's debut was reversed
In the first round of the mixed doubles competition, the national table tennis team sent two pairs to participate in the competition. Unexpectedly, these two pairs actually met in the first round, among which Kuai Man's debut was highly concerned.
At the beginning of the game, the combination of Xiang Peng/Kuai Man entered the state slowly and lost the first set by 4-11. Huang Youzheng/Shi Xunyao quickly found the rhythm of the game, with tacit cooperation, sharp offense, and stable defense. However, Xiang Peng/Kuai Man did not lose heart. They adjusted their state in the next two sets, relying on their tenacious will and excellent performance, and won two consecutive sets with 11-6 and 11-7 respectively. The fourth set of the game entered a white-hot stage, with the scores alternating and the scene very sticky. Huang Youzheng/Shi Xunyao played more steadily at the critical moment. They seized the opportunity and narrowly won this set with a score of 16-14, thus defeating Xiang Peng/Kuai Man with a total score of 3-1.
These two pairs both participated in the Doha Star Game last week. At that time, Xiang Peng/Kuai Man were eliminated in the first round, while Huang Youzheng/Shi Xunyao reached the final and eventually lost to the Japanese pair to win the runner-up. In two consecutive competitions, the cooperation effect between Xiang Peng and Kuai Man was not ideal. Perhaps the national table tennis team will no longer continue to let them partner in the future. At present, Kuai Man's best mixed doubles partner is still Lin Shidong.
Other mixed doubles matches: World champions are eliminated in the first round, and upsets frequently occur
In other mixed doubles matches, the top seed Wong Chun Ting/Du Kaiqin faced off against the Japanese pair of Yoshimura Asaki/Oosawa Miharu in an exciting match. These two pairs performed unsatisfactorily in last week's competition, and they both hoped to win this match when they met again.
After the start of the game, the Yoshimura Asaki/Oosawa Miharu pair took the lead with an 11-8 victory in the first set. However, Wong Chun Ting/Du Kaiqin did not panic. They quickly adjusted their tactics and won two consecutive sets with scores of 11-9 and 11-8 to overtake the score. In the fourth set, the Japanese pair fought hard and pulled back one set with a score of 11-5. In the decisive set, Wong Chun Ting/Du Kaiqin played more stably and finally won the game with a score of 11-4, narrowly defeating the Japanese pair.
In this round of matches, both Kuai Man and Yoshimura Asaki, these two world champions, were eliminated in the first round. It can be seen from this game that there seem to be some problems in the cooperation between Yoshimura Asaki and Oosawa Miharu, and their performance is not ideal.
In addition, Manav Thakkar/Reeth Rishika easily defeated Caden Castro/Charlotte Lutz with a score of 3-0, Simon Gauzy/Pauline Chartrand defeated Desai Harmeet/Gaurav Nandakumar with a score of 3-1, Cristian Pletea/Diana Diaconu defeated Gnanasekaran Sathiyan/Achanta Sharath Kamal with a score of 3-1, Alvaro Robles/Shao Jiaoyang defeated Levkovich Kirill/Lupulescu Ovidiu with a score of 3-0, Florentin Merta/Hochart Cedric defeated Feng Yew En/Zeng Jian with a score of 3-1, and Yao Juntao/Wu Yonglin defeated Lu Wei/Liu Yangzi with a score of 3-1.
Women's doubles arena: National table tennis young players perform well, and many national combinations show their style
In the women's doubles competition, India's A. Mukherjee/S. Mukherjee sisters faced the Hong Kong, China combination of Li Kaimin/Jiang Zhilin, and were eventually eliminated in the first round with a score of 1-3. Once their combination was invincible on the court, but now as opponents become familiar with their playing style, their threat has gradually diminished.
The No. 3 seed women's doubles pair of Diacanu/Xiao Yaoxi, a cross-border combination, had an intense contest with Lupulescu/Surjan. In the first two sets, the Diacanu/Xiao Yaoxi pair were in poor form, losing 9-11 and 8-11 respectively. But they didn't give up, adjusting their state in the next two sets, winning two consecutive sets with scores of 12-10 and 11-7. However, in the decisive set, they still lost the game with a score of 6-11 and failed to advance to the next round.
The top seed women's doubles pair of Japan, Oosawa Miharu/Yokozuka Sakura, performed outstandingly, easily defeating Vergas/K. Wegscheider with a score of 3-0. In the first set, the Oosawa Miharu/Yokozuka Sakura pair took the lead with a score of 11-8, and then they played smoother and smoother, winning the second set with a score of 11-6, and the third set was even more easily taken with a score of 11-3, winning each set more easily than the previous one. Oosawa Miharu/Yokozuka Sakura won the championship in the Doha Star Game last week, and they still showed their strong strength in the Masqat station, with tacit cooperation and attractive play, fully demonstrating the effect of one plus one being greater than two.
The No. 2 seed Chu Chengzhu/Wu Yonglin also performed well, sweeping Mikadirova/Todorovic with a score of 3-0. In the three sets, Chu Chengzhu/Wu Yonglin always took the initiative on the court, winning the game cleanly with scores of 11-6, 11-2, and 11-4.
Two young national table tennis players, Tan Yuxuan/Zong Geeman, teamed up again. They performed well in last year's Beijing Grand Slam. In this game, they faced Balazova/Hase, played steadily, cooperated tacitly, connected quickly, and had clear tactics and strategies, eventually defeating their opponents with a score of 3-0.
This event is an important opportunity for young national table tennis players to exercise themselves and improve their strength, as well as a stage for them to showcase the reserve power of Chinese table tennis to the world. In future competitions, whether the young national table tennis players can continue to break through themselves and achieve better results remains to be seen.