On March 22, 2022, Beijing time, the Doha leg of the WTT Regular Season Challenge ended the first day of competition. The first round of the men's singles broke out 5 big cold goals, world champion Fark suffered another round of travel, Aruna, Francesca and other famous players were also unexpectedly out. Two national table tennis players advanced to the men's singles round of 16, namely Yuan Licen and Zhao Zihao, and youngster Yuan Licen will challenge Lin Yunru, who is ranked seventh in the world, in the next round.
The first few rounds of the regular challenge were played in a 5-game, 3-win system, and the possibility of upset was greatly increased, and the men's singles broke out 5 big colds in the first round. Falke, who had won the men's singles runner-up and men's doubles champion at the World Table Tennis Championships, suffered another blow, facing Denmark's Gross, Falke lost 1-3. In the first set of the game, Fark scored three points and only two points in the fourth set, And Fark was pinned high hopes by the Swedish table tennis world, and now it seems a bit short-lived.
Germany's Francesca reached the men's singles quarterfinals at a Grand Slam tournament, but this tournament suffered a round of travel. Facing Japan's Shinjoya, Francesca took the lead twice but was dragged into the decider by her opponent. In the final moments, Francesca led 5-1, but lost the decider 8-11 and scored 2-3 on aggregate. What's even more amazing is that Shen Qiao was originally out of the qualifiers, but because the other players withdrew, he got the opportunity to make up for the competition.
In addition, national table tennis youngster Yuan Lichen eliminated GhanaEse Karan 3-0, Aruna lost 1-3 to Lin Zhongxun, and Alex Leblon eliminated Glasmenko 3-1. Compared with the world rankings, the above games are considered to be big downfalls.
Only 2 people in the national table tennis advanced to the men's singles round of 16, in addition to Yuan Licen, there is also Zhao Zihao, who eliminated veteran Zhuang Zhiyuan 3-1. Next, Yuan Lichen challenged Lin Yunru, who was ranked seventh in the world, and Zhao Zihao played against Danish player Gross. If Yuan Licen and Zhao Zihao can win, they will have a direct dialogue in the quarterfinals.
It is worth mentioning that there is also a pair of brothers who join hands in the men's singles main competition, 18-year-old Alex Leblon eliminated Glasmenko 3-1, and he eliminated Sun Wen and Zeng Beixun of national table tennis in the previous qualifying round. His younger brother Felix Le Brun, who is only 15 years old, challenged Lin Yunru in the first round, and although he lost 1-3, he performed very well. In the first set, Felix Le Brun won 12-10, and the third and fourth sets lost two points each, the gap is not too big, and the brothers deserve our attention.
The specific matches in the second round of men's singles are:
Top Half: Calderano vs Carlberg, Chiu Dang vs Simon Gautz, Dako Jochik vs Ahn Jae Hyun, Alex Le Brun vs Shen Qiaoya
Lower half: Huang Zhenting vs Pukar, Achangta vs Lin Zhongxun, Zhao Zihao vs Gross, Yuan Lichen vs Lin Yunru
Good luck to Zhao Zihao and Yuan Licen!