Just days after the conclusion of the first tournament in the Qatar International Table Tennis Series, the WTT Star Contender Doha 2026 Championship kicked off with a bang yesterday.
The WTT Star Contender Doha 2026, the second tournament in the 31st edition of the Qatar International Table Tennis Series, began at the Lusail Sports Hall. The Star Contender tournament is being held from January 13-18 with 170 players from around the world competing for a prize purse of $300,000.
This tournament is part of a comprehensive series being hosted by Doha until the end of the month. It will be followed by the Junior Contender tournament from January 19-22, then the Junior Star Contender tournament from January 23-25 and will conclude with the Federer tournament from January 27-31.
The preliminary rounds of the tournament witnessed fierce competition from the very first day, as players vied for a place in the main draw amidst a highly competitive atmosphere.
In the men’s singles competition, Saudi Arabia’s Ali al-Khadrawi lost to South Korea’s Lim Jong-hoon 3-1 in a fierce battle match that went to extra time before the Korean player ultimately prevailed.
In another match, Iran’s Navid Shams secured a thrilling 3-2 victory over Norway’s Borgar Haug after a five-game marathon. Romania’s Rares Sipos also triumphed, defeating Qatar’s Nawaf al-Malki in straight sets.
Egypt’s Mohamed El Beiali achieved a significant 3-2 win against Abdullah Abdulwahab, despite a strong performance from the Qatari against a formidable and experienced opponent.
In other matches, Czech Republic’s Lubomir Jancarik defeated Hong Kong’s Lam Siu-hang 3-1, and China’s Yuan Licen overcame Hong Kong’s Ho Kwan Kit 3-2 in a marathon fourth set that ended 18-16.
China’s Xu Yingbin continued his impressive run with a decisive 3-0 victory over France’s Florian Bourrassaud, while India’s Ankur Bhattacharjee secured a comfortable 3-0 win against Singapore’s Pang Yew En Koen.
Qatar’s Yousif Abdalla suffered a 3-0 defeat to China’s Hsu Hsien-Chia. In a thrilling encounter, Saudi Arabia’s Abdulaziz Bushlaibi lost to India’s Akash Pal 3-2, while the USA’s Jinbao Ma triumphed over Lebanon’s Michel Abi Nader 3-0.
In the women’s singles, Qatar’s promising young player, Alia al-Baz, was defeated 3-0 by India’s Swastika Ghosh, while India’s Yashaswini Ghorpade secured a 3-0 victory over Hong Kong’s Lee Hui Man.
The Star Contender tournament features a large number of top-tier players who shone in the Champions tournament, most notably Taiwan’s Lin Yun-ju, the defending men’s singles champion, along with world number one Lin Shidong, Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto and Brazil’s Hugo Calderano.
In the women’s singles draw, Zhu Yuling, who had a phenomenal WTT Champions Doha that culminated in her lifting the title, steps in as the event’s No 2 seed.
A lot has been said of Zhu’s success over the last year, but adding a WTT Star Contender title to a trophy cabinet that already boasts one from the United States Smash and WTT Champions Doha 2026 would be something else.
Also hanging around in Doha from last week are defending champion and Top Seed Kuai Man, Korea Republic’s Shin Yubin and Adriana Diaz. One player inside the Top 10, Chen Yi, is set to make her 2026 Doha debut.
What makes the Star Contender event different to Champions is the Men’s, Women’s and Mixed Doubles events.
The Women’s discipline is headed by another pair from Korea Republic in Ryu Hanna and Kim Nayeong. Their toughest challengers will come in the form of defending champions Satsuki Odo and Sakura Yokoi.