Germany’s Dimitrij Ovtcharov in action yesterday.
Doha: The 31st edition of the Qatar International Table Tennis Championships, WTT Champions Doha 2026, continued for its second day at the Lusail Arena.
The tournament, featuring men’s and women’s singles competitions, runs until January 11 and boasts a stellar lineup of top-ranked world champions. The top 32 male players represent 16 countries, while the top 32 female players represent 15. Leading the field are China’s Lin Shidong, ranked second in the world, and China’s Wang Manyu, also ranked second.
Yesterday’s matches saw the remaining Round of 32 contests for both men and women. In a major upset, Brazilian Hugo Calderano, the reigning world champion, was eliminated after losing to Germany’s Dimitrij Ovtcharov. The match went to five sets and ended 3-2 in favour of Ovtcharov.
“About seven months ago he was in the final of the World Championships, now Hugo is a Top 3 player in the world, maybe even top 2 with the results he has pulled off in the past season. So, of course this victory gives me a big boost for this event, and also the start of the season,” Ovtcharov said.
“Of course there’s some relief, I had a tough season. I had surgery last year and many tough losses, in the fifth game having Match Points and so on. To win the match today, also doing it 11-9 in the fifth against one of the best players in the world gives me confidence to get back on track,” he added.
Nigerian Quadri Aruna exited the tournament after a 0-3 (5-11, 2-11, 6-11) loss to China’s Liang Jingkun, ranked seventh in the world.
Meanwhile, Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto, the 2025 Hong Kong champion, defeated China’s Xiang Peng 3-0 (11-4, 11-7, 11-8) to advance to the Round of 16, where he will face China’s Zhou Kehao.
Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yun-Ju, ranked 13th in the world, reached the Round of 16 with a 3-1 (8-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-7) victory over Croatia’s Tomislav Pucar, ranked 26th. He will next face Ovtcharov.
In the women’s competition, China’s Wang Manyu, ranked second in the world and top seed, opened her campaign with a 3-0 (12-10, 11-5, 11-6) win over Japan’s Satsuki Udo. Also advancing was Macau’s Zhu Yuling, ranked seventh in the world, who defeated Egypt’s Hana Goda 3-1 (11-8, 5-11, 15-13, 10-12). China’s Chen Xingtong, ranked fourth in the world, overcame American Lily Zhang, ranked 35th, with a straight-sets victory.
The men’s singles Round of 16 begins tomorrow with a marquee clash between China’s Lin Shidong and Germany’s Benedikt Duda. Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto will face China’s Zhou Kehao, while South Korea’s Wang Yujin takes on Japan’s Shunsuke Togami.
In the women’s draw, key Round of 16 matches include China’s Chen Meng, ranked third, against Japan’s Hina Hayata, ranked 10th. China’s Wang Yidi, ranked fifth, meets Austria’s Sofia Polcanova, ranked 33rd. Japan’s Miwa Harimoto, ranked sixth, faces South Korea’s Kim Na-young.
Other matches see China’s Chen Xingtong against South Korea’s Joo Cheonhui, ranked 16th, and Germany’s Sabine Winter against Japan’s Mio Hirano. The tournament continues tomorrow with the quarterfinals and concludes on Sunday with the semifinals and finals in both men’s and women’s singles.
