Japan's Harimoto, Ito crowned champions at inaugural WTT Star Contender events in Doha
The first-ever official series of World Table Tennis (WTT) events, the Middle East Hub, concluded yesterday with the successful staging of both the WTT Contender and the WTT Star Contender at the Lusail Multipurpose Hall in Lusail.
The tournaments, which showcased a new era in table tennis, were successfully held with zero COVID-19 cases reported.
Japan dominated WTT Star Contender singles events with Tomokazu Harimoto clinching the men's singles title after defeating the surprise packet of the event Germany's Ruwen Filus 4-2 (11-9, 11-9, 12-14, 11-5, 7-11, 11-8). His compatriot, Mima Ito, secured the women's singles title after beating Singapore's Feng Tianwei 4-1 (10-12, 12-10, 11-7, 11-8, 11-6) to add to her WTT Contender title last week.
The Korea Republic stole the show in the doubles events with Lee Sangsu and Jeoung Youngsik prevailing over Spain's Alvaro Robles and Romania's Ovidiu Ionescu 3-2 (2-11, 11-6, 11-8, 8-11, 11-3) to win the men's doubles title while their female compatriots Jeon Jihee and Shin Yubin overcame Japan's Miu Hirano and Kasumi Ishikawa and Korea Republic's to take home the women's doubles title.
Chinese Taipei's Cheng I-Ching and Lin Yun-Ju won the mixed doubles after beating Jeon Jihee and Lee Sangsu of Korea Republic 3-1 (10-12, 11-8, 11-9, 11-6).
President of the Qatar Table Tennis Association (QTTA), First Vice President of the Asian and International Table Tennis Federations, and Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Championship Khalil Al Mohannadi, CEO of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Australian Steve Dainton, officials of the QTTA, ITTF, and the World Table Tennis (WTT), and the guests of the tournament attended the final day activities.
President of Qatar Table Tennis Association and WTT Director, Mr Khalil Al-Mohanndi, said, "Here in Doha we are very proud to be playing our part in making table tennis history. At a time of continuing challenge for us all, I am delighted that we have been able to bring together some of the best players in the world to compete at the highest level.
"This is the beginning of an exciting period of modernization for our sport, and today we have taken the first step towards taking table tennis to the next level for both players and spectators."
The event in the newly rebranded international tour calendar saw a total of 298 players taking part in the five disciplines - men's and women's singles, men's and women's doubles, and mixed doubles.
ITTF CEO/WTT Director Steve Dainton said, "I am delighted that, despite the many challenges of a global pandemic, we can give our players, fans and supporters across the world the opportunity to enjoy live, competitive international table tennis at the elite level. This year, our brand new events, starting with the Contender series here in Doha, are taking our sport to the next level for competitor and viewer alike.
"Doha was selected as the venue for the WTT's first new-look competitive tournament because of the Qatari authorities' enthusiasm to host it, together with the city's 25-year track record of successfully hosting sporting and other international events.
"I would like to say a special thank you to the Qatari authorities, and in particular Mr Khalil Al-Mohanndi, the President of Qatar Table Tennis Association and WTT Director. Without his enthusiasm, pragmatic leadership and visionary foresight, we simply wouldn't have been able to host this event."
There were also big opportunities for new names to shine without Chinese players competing in Qatar after pulling out of the tournament citing COVID-19 pandemic concerns.
This meant that world number five Harimoto Tomokazu was the highest-ranked competitor in the men's singles.
The 17-year-old prodigy won the best of seven final against Filus, who is 42nd in the world rankings.
"I'm very pleased with how I've played over the last two weeks in Doha. I lost to Dimitrij Ovtcharov in the semi-final of the WTT Contender Doha. He is a very good player and was a better player on that day. But I'm very happy I made a good comeback in the WTT Star Contender Doha and won the title," said Harimoto.
The Japanese teenager opened up a two-point lead before Filus won the third and fifth games to keep himself in contention. However, the 2018 Youth Olympic Games silver medallist raised his game in the sixth to beat Filus to the Star Contender Title 4-2 (11-9, 11-9, 12-14, 11-5, 7-11, 11-8).
Earlier on, Ito gave Japan more to cheer about when she clinched the women's singles title with a 4-1 victory against Singapore's Feng Tianwei.
Rio 2016 team bronze medallist Ito got off to a shaky start after losing the first game to the three-time Olympic medallist 10-12. However, the world number two immediately responded and won the next four games to clinch victory 4-1 (10-12, 12-10, 11-7, 11-8, 11-6).
The win rounded up a perfect outing in Doha for the 20-year-old who remained undefeated in the women's singles competition to add the WTT Star Contender Doha title to the WTT Contender Doha title she won in the previous week's tournament.
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