China's national table tennis team, often referred to as the "Dream Team," has recently experienced a significant setback at the Doha Star Challenge. Instead of achieving victory, the team faced a reversal of fortune, with their top male singles players failing to secure any titles. This outcome has left many fans disappointed, as they had hoped to see China's dominance on display once again. The results were straightforward and disheartening: not only did the Chinese men's singles team fail to win any championships, but they also did not even make it past the quarterfinals. This raises questions about whether China's dominance in table tennis is waning or if this is simply a temporary setback for the younger players. In this competition, China's male singles lineup primarily consisted of young players, including Xu Yingbin, Chen Yuanyu, Xiang Peng, and Huang Youzheng, who are considered rising stars. Despite not being considered top-tier players yet, they were not expected to be eliminated in the first round. However, to everyone's surprise, they all failed to advance beyond the quarterfinals. Taking Xu Yingbin as an example, this young player, who has shown great competitiveness domestically and was widely regarded as a potential future star after his impressive performance at the National Championships, appeared to lack confidence and psychological preparation on the international stage. It seems that while the domestic arena is attractive, when it comes to real competition, he is not yet fully matured. This is directly related to experience. Xiang Peng, who won the World Youth Championships in 2021 and should have been shining…

On January 11th, Beijing time, the 2025 WTT Doha Star Challenge continued, and the semi-final spots for both the women's singles and men's singles have been determined. In the women's singles semi-finals, China and Japan each occupy two spots. Among the top eight, the Chinese team secured five spots, but unfortunately, two players were eliminated due to two internal matches in the quarter-finals, along with He Zhuojia's loss to Nagasaki Miu. Despite the elimination of several main Japanese women's singles players, former doubles partners Miharu Kikuchi and Nagasaki Miu successfully advanced, both reaching the semi-finals. This time, the women's singles semi-finals were quite unexpected, as not only did the top four seeds fail to reach the semi-finals, but the top eight seeds were also completely eliminated. Only Nagasaki Miu, seeded among the top 16, advanced, creating a dark horse. The next two women's singles semi-finals will be between China and Japan, with Chen Yi facing Miharu Kikuchi and Kuai Man facing Nagasaki Miu. In the men's singles quarter-finals: Aruna defeated Park Kang-hyun 3-1 (11-9, 11-8, 4-11, 11-9). Park Kang-hyun was the last remaining South Korean male player, but he ultimately lost. Aruna's performance this time was very stable, playing steadily and fully utilizing his advantage in forehand shots. He narrowly won three games, demonstrating good control over the match with fewer mistakes. Tomokazu Harimoto defeated Koki Niwa 3-0 (13-11, 11-3, 11-5). Prior to the match, Koki Niwa was in great form, having defeated Xiang Peng and displaying excellent skills. However, after a crucial first game where he narrowly lost to…

The grand finale of the WTT Doha Star Challenge in 2025 has concluded, with four champions already crowned. Team China emerged victorious in the women's singles and men's doubles, while Japan secured titles in the women's doubles and mixed doubles. In the women's doubles final, Daiki Oshima/Sakura Yokoi defeated Zhuo Jia He/Zong Ge Man 3-0 (11-2, 12-10, 11-9). The men's doubles final saw Xiang Peng/Xu Yingbin edge out Tomokazu Harimoto/Kakeru Matsumoto 3-2 (15-13, 4-11, 11-8, 11-13, 11-6). The mixed doubles final was a close match, with Kakeru Matsumoto/Miharu Tomokazu overcoming Huang Youzheng/Shi Xunyao 3-2 (6-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-7, 11-7). In the women's singles final, Kuai Man dominated Miu Kihara 4-0 (11-6, 11-3, 11-8, 11-3). The last event to be decided was the men's singles final, where Tomokazu Harimoto faced off against Danish star Groth. This time, Team China did not send their main players, with Xiang Peng and Huang Youzheng achieving the best result of reaching the round of 16. Groth played well, maintaining a good rhythm and balance on both sides. He reached his first-ever Star Challenge final after defeating Japanese rising star Daiki Oshima in the semifinals. Harimoto was in top form, advancing strongly throughout the tournament and sweeping Aruna in the semifinals. The match started with a tight 3-3 scoreline, with both players focusing on the first three shots and rarely going beyond that. Midway through the game, Groth led 6-4 but suffered from receiving errors and mistakes, allowing Harimoto to catch up at 6-6. The score remained close until the end, when Harimoto took control and…

Star Match: Japanese Men's Singles Suffer a Crushing 0-3 Defeat, European Veteran Advances to the Finals, Tomokazu Harimoto in Explosive Form On January 11th, Beijing time, the 2025 WTT Doha Star Match continues. Today marks the final day of the event, with three champions being crowned. Prior to this, the women's doubles and men's doubles champions have already been determined, with China and Japan each securing one title. In the semi-finals, two women's singles matches were contested between China and Japan. Chen Yi won the first set but was subsequently reversed by Miu Kihara, who won three consecutive sets. During the rallies, Chen Yi did not perform as well as the previous day. On the other hand, Kuai Man dominated with a 3-0 sweep over Miyuu Nagasaki, improving her performance with each set, culminating in an explosive third set where her advantage was evident. After the match, Kuai Man stated that she quickly mobilized herself and had made extensive preparations before the game. Her mentality during the match was good, and her overall performance was satisfactory. She remained focused throughout the match, and as her momentum increased, her opponent's decreased. She aims to display the spirit of young athletes in the finals. In the concluded men's singles semi-final, Tomokazu Harimoto easily defeated Aruna in three sets, achieving a crushing victory. Today, Aruna was largely restricted, performing well in the latter half of the first set but becoming increasingly passive in the following two sets. As he fell behind in points, his mentality became anxious, leading to more errors. The last…

At 1:11 AM on January 11th, the WTT Doha Star Challenge continued to progress vigorously. In the day's competition, Xiang Peng and Xu Yingbin teamed up to defeat Tomokazu Harimoto and Koki Niwa with a score of 3-2, successfully winning the men's doubles championship title, and all events on the penultimate day of the competition came to an end. After this battle, the national table tennis team's record was mixed with joy and worry. In the women's doubles arena, the national table tennis team combination of Zhuo Jia He and Zong Ge Man performed unsatisfactorily, and they were swept by the Japanese combination of Shizuka Toda and Sakiyo Yokoi with a score of 0-3, unfortunately missing the women's doubles championship trophy. So far, two crowns have been born in the Doha Challenge, with the national table tennis team and the Japanese table tennis team each winning one championship and one runner-up, both sides are evenly matched in the honor competition. In addition, the top four women's singles have also been decided, with Chinese and Japanese players occupying two seats each. However, the situation in the women's singles arena is really surprising. In the singles matches, there were frequent upsets, and except for Miharu Kuwahara, all the seeded female singles players who skipped the first round returned empty-handed. On the men's singles side, Qiu Dang, the No. 2 seed player, was also unable to escape elimination, having already been knocked out. The following is a more detailed account of the competition and the subsequent match schedule arrangements:‌ ‌[Women's Doubles Final]‌ It…

On January 10th, Beijing time, the WTT Doha tournament is in full swing. However, the Chinese men's table tennis team suffered an unprecedented blow in the day's competition. In the highly anticipated men's singles round of 1/8 finals, all the Chinese men's singles players were defeated and failed to advance to the quarter-finals, a result that undoubtedly left many fans somewhat disappointed! For this competition, the Chinese men's singles team had high hopes and sent two young players, Xiang Peng and Huang Youzheng, to compete. In the top 16 match, they advanced successfully with their outstanding performance, keeping the hope of advancing to the quarter-finals for the Chinese men's singles team. However, in the more intense round of 1/8 finals, these two young players encountered strong opponents and ultimately failed to continue their previous good momentum. Huang Youzheng's opponent in the round of 1/8 was German mainstay player Qiu Dang. Although Huang Youzheng showed remarkable fighting spirit and determination in the game, he still seemed somewhat overwhelmed when facing the experienced Qiu Dang. The competition between the two on the court was extremely fierce, but Huang Youzheng obviously did not handle the key shots as skillfully as his opponent. In the end, Huang Youzheng lost to Qiu Dang with a score of 1-3, unfortunately stopping at the top 16. At the same time, another seeded player of the Chinese men's singles team, Xiang Peng, also suffered a Waterloo. His opponent was Japanese rising star Matsushima Kakeru, who has emerged in international competitions in recent years and is not to be…

Title: Shocking! Japanese Netizens Slam Tomokazu Harimoto: "Waste, Return to China Quickly!" Coach Also Implicated. Content: Every match at the Paris Olympics is eye-catching, with each athlete being a focus of media attention. In one of the table tennis competitions, Japanese player Tomokazu Harimoto and his partner faced off against a North Korean team in an exciting match that ultimately ended with Harimoto's team losing to their North Korean opponents. After missing out on the gold medal, there was intense discussion within Japan, with netizens fiercely criticizing Harimoto's performance on the court, a topic still under debate. The loss seemed to have a significant impact on Harimoto, who sat dazed in a corner of the court after the result was announced. His expression was blank, his sadness evident, as if he couldn't believe what had just happened. However, he had to admit that he had greatly underestimated the strength of the North Korean players, having been too overconfident. In contrast, the North Koreans celebrated their victory with passionate embraces, forming a stark contrast to the serious atmosphere on the Japanese side. In an interview, Harimoto expressed his admiration for the strength of his North Korean opponents. He found it difficult to predict the next moves of the female player due to her backhand skills, while the male player's forceful shots made it hard for him to defend. This explanation suggests that Harimoto recognized the strength of his North Korean opponents but could not hide his sadness over the loss. Japanese media seized upon Harimoto as a hot topic, sensationalizing the…

On January 10, 2025, the men's singles quarterfinals of the Doha Ping Pong Star Tournament were announced. The national team suffered two consecutive defeats in foreign matches, leaving them completely eliminated from the event. Xiang Peng and Huang Youzheng were successively eliminated, while Japanese players Tomokazu Ishihara, Koki Niwa, and Daiki Yoshimoto continued to advance. South Korea was represented by only one player, Kanghyeon Park. However, Xiang Peng advanced to the men's doubles final, and Huang Youzheng reached the mixed doubles final, still maintaining the possibility of winning the championship. This time, the national team did not have many players registered for the men's singles. With Zhou Qihao withdrawing due to injury and Xu Yingbin falling behind in the qualifying rounds, there were only three remaining players: Xiang Peng, Huang Youzheng, and Chen Yuanyu. In the previous round, Chen Yuanyu lost to German veteran Qiu Dang. Now, Huang Youzheng lost 1-3 (8-11, 11-9, 7-11, 9-11) to Qiu Dang. This result is quite normal, as Qiu Dang is a top-ranked player in the world, and it is indeed difficult for Huang Youzheng and Chen Yuanyu to overcome him. As for Xiang Peng, who was favored by many fans, he lost in a youthful confrontation with Japanese player Koki Niwa. Both are very young and can be considered excellent players of the younger generation. This time, the young national team player failed to achieve further success, with Xiang Peng losing 1-3 (9-11, 7-11, 11-9, 8-11) to Koki Niwa. Additionally, so far, Koki Niwa has achieved a perfect record in all three events…

On January 10th, Beijing time, the WTT Star Challenge Doha Station is currently underway. The doubles matches are in progress, with the men's doubles featuring Guo Peng and Xu Yingbin from the national team. For this open tournament, the national team coaching staff has arranged for 11 young players to participate. In the men's doubles, the main national team players are collectively absent, with only Guo Peng and Xu Yingbin selected to compete for the championship. In the quarter-finals of the men's doubles, the Indian pair of Taka and Manash Shah won three consecutive games with scores of 11:5, 11:3, and 11:6, defeating the Hong Kong China pair of Guan Wenhao and Lin Zhaoheng 3-0 and advancing to the semi-finals. The South Korean pair of Zhao Dacheng and Wu Juncheng, after losing the first game, won three consecutive games with scores of 11:9, 13:11, and 11:7, reversing Alekro and Larsen Fors 3-1 and successfully advancing to the semi-finals. Next, the quarter-finals of the men's doubles continued, with Japanese players Tomokazu Harimoto and Matsushima Kakeru facing the Indian pair of Achantha and Sutawarjula. Both are main players for Japan and key training targets for the Japanese Table Tennis Association during this Olympic cycle. Harimoto and Matsushima lived up to expectations, winning 3-0 with scores of 11:4, 11:8, and 11:6, sealing a major victory and advancing. In the last quarter-final match of the men's doubles, the national team's only remaining pair, Guo Peng and Xu Yingbin, faced the European pair of Darko and Kozul. Among them, Darko is a European champion who…

On January 10th, Beijing time, the second day of the main event of the 2025 WTT Doha Star Challenge concluded. The tournament lasts for a total of 6 days, with 2 days of qualifying matches and a dense schedule over the 4 main event days. Currently, the doubles events have determined their finalists, all of which are dominated by Chinese and Japanese teams. Both the Chinese national table tennis team (Guo Ping) and Japan have advanced to the finals in three doubles events. In the semi-finals, Chen Yuanyu/Chen Yi and Qian Tianyi/Shi Xunyao were eliminated, both losing to Japanese opponents. Xiang Peng/Xu Yingbin has advanced to the men's doubles final, where they will face Japan's Tomokazu Harimoto/Koki Niwa. Although they are at a slight disadvantage, they maintain an attacking mindset and still have a chance to defeat them. He Zhuojia/Zong Geeman has made it to the women's doubles final, facing Japan's Miharu Ito/Sakura Nagai, who are also at a slight disadvantage. Their opponents are very strong, so they will do their best to compete. Huang Youzheng/Shi Xunyao can be considered as dark horses, continuously eliminating seeded players. Their opponents in the final are Koki Niwa/Miharu Ito, which is a more balanced match with an equal chance of victory. As the second seed in the women's singles, Tomokazu Harimoto was surprisingly eliminated in the first round, losing to Thailand's second female singles player, Orawan, becoming the biggest upset and the highest-seeded singles player to be eliminated. If we say that continuous participation in competitions and playing in three events affected energy…