4-2 and 4-0! At the WTT Doha Champions, Chen Xingtong was overturned, leaving the Chinese national team without a title, while Lin Yun-Ju claimed the crown.

On January 11th Beijing time, the finals for both men and women at the WTT Doha Champions wrapped up. Zhu Yuling of Macau, China, staged a comeback to defeat Chen Xingtong 4-2 and win the championship, while Lin Yun-Ju of Chinese Taipei dominated Zhang Yuzhen 4-0 to take the title. It was unusual that the Chinese national team ended up empty-handed, and the double victory by Macau and Chinese Taipei was a rare phenomenon!

Zhu Yuling went up against Chen Xingtong. Representing Macau, Zhu showed consistent form throughout the tournament. In the semifinals, she calmly handled the tricky chopping style of the dark horse Han Ying, who had defeated Chen Yi and Wang Manyu, winning 4-2 with ease. In the final, her opponent was Chen Xingtong, the last mainstay of the Chinese national team. Chen is not the strongest within the team, making this match challenging for Zhu. Chen took a 2-1 lead with two 11-3 games, but Zhu adjusted quickly, dominating the crucial points and winning three straight games to complete a 4-2 comeback. Zhu’s strength remains top-tier, proving she can stand against the Chinese national team!

Lin Yun-Ju faced Zhang Yuzhen. Lin was also in outstanding form, sweeping Japan’s rising star Matsushima Teru 4-0 and then narrowly escaping a 4-3 seven-game battle against Harimoto Tomokazu in the semifinals. In the final, he faced South Korea’s main player Zhang Yuzhen, who had upset Lin Shidong to reach the final, leaving the Chinese team out of the title race. Against Zhang, although Lin didn’t pull away early in each game, he scored the key points when it mattered most, overpowering Zhang with his clutch play. Ultimately, Lin won 4-0 in straight sets, claiming the championship and ending a long title drought!

It’s truly surprising that the Chinese national team failed to win a single title at the first event of the new year. Even the most consistent women’s singles players lost their crowns. At present, the dominance of the Chinese team does not seem as strong as before. Without Wang Chuqin in men’s singles, no one can handle the pressure, and without Sun Yingsha in women’s singles, sweeping the top four is difficult. The team must remain vigilant as other associations are eyeing their spot. Looking ahead to the Singapore Grand Slam, we hope the Chinese team can sweep the titles again and reclaim their table tennis supremacy. Let’s wait and see—keep cheering!

Written by / Sports Novels