WTT Sweden Grand Slam: Men's singles quarterfinalists confirmed, Tomokazu Harimoto suffers upset, Lin Shidong to face Qiu Dang

On August 22nd Beijing time, the WTT Sweden Grand Slam men's singles round of 16 concluded, with all quarterfinalists decided. Germany emerged as the biggest winner, having three players advance to the last eight. China's last hope Lin Shidong continued his progress, defeating German dark horse Walther 3-1 to reach the quarterfinals, while Japan suffered a heavy blow with a complete wipeout as Tomokazu Harimoto was surprisingly eliminated!

Japan had three men reach the round of 16 in this tournament, but unexpectedly suffered a heavy setback in the round of 16, with all three players eliminated, each losing by the close score of 2-3, which was quite heartbreaking. This means the entire Japanese men's singles team has been wiped out. Among them, the exit of the reigning Yokohama champion Tomokazu Harimoto was the biggest surprise, losing a tough five-set match 2-3 to An Jaehyun. Given Harimoto's recent strong form, it seems he performs better against Chinese players, while foreign opponents pose more challenges for him!

China entered six players in the men's singles this time, but with Wang Chuqin absent, the results were disappointing. The young players struggled, and even the two mainstays Lin Shidong and Liang Jingkun lost early, leaving only Lin Shidong in the round of 16 as our hope for the title. In the round of 16, Lin faced German player Walther. Lin started slowly in the first game, falling behind as he adapted to his opponent’s rhythm, but later surged to win 11-9 and take the lead. In the second game, Walther launched a fierce attack, building a big lead and winning 11-6, leveling the match at 1-1. The third game saw Walther aggressively take the initiative early, but Lin fought back with high-quality points to overtake him. The game became a tight battle, and Lin decisively won 12-10 in the crucial moments to lead 2-1. In the fourth game, Lin quickly built a 6-0 advantage with diverse attacks, and Walther gave up resistance, allowing Lin to crush him 11-4 and win the match 3-1, advancing further!

With that, the quarterfinal lineup for this tournament is complete. Germany secured three spots in the last eight, becoming the biggest winner, and our toughest rival Hugo also advanced. The quarterfinal matchups are shown above. China now has only Lin Shidong remaining, who will face Qiu Dang next to fight for a semifinal spot. When rivals meet, the brave prevail—let’s go!

Written by / Sports Fiction