WTTC Doha 2025 Begins: Opening Ceremony Lights Up Lusail Arena

WTTC 2025
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WTTC Doha 2025 Kicks Off with a Historic Start at Lusail and Qatar University Arenas

Doha, May 17 (QNA) –The World Table Tennis Championships "Doha 2025" officially kicked off today in Qatar, running until May 25, across two premier venues — Lusail Arena and Qatar University Sports Complex. The tournament welcomes a remarkable field of 640 athletes from 127 countries, divided into 256 players in singles (men & women), 256 in doubles, and 128 in mixed doubles, with a total of 443 matches scheduled.

The championship features five categories:

Men's Singles
Women's Singles
Men's Doubles
Women's Doubles
Mixed Doubles

Men’s Singles – Historic Qatari Achievement

In the Round of 128 of Men’s Singles, Qatar’s own Mohammed Abdulwahhab made history by becoming the first player ever from Qatar to qualify for the main draw of the Men’s Singles at the World Championships. He defeated New Zealand’s Alfred Dela Pena in a convincing 4–0 victory.

Also advancing to the Round of 64:

Wang Chuqin (China, WR #2), Tokyo 2020 Olympic team gold medalist and Paris 2024 mixed and team gold medalist, 7-time World Champion, beat Nandan Naresh (USA, WR #127) 4–0.
Liang Jingkun (China, WR #5) defeated Ham Yu Song (North Korea, WR #262) 4–1.
Dang Qiu (Germany, WR #11) overcame Filip Zeljko (Croatia, WR #154) in a thriller 4–3.
Kristian Karlsson (Sweden, WR #75) beat Lubomir Jancarik (Czech Republic, WR #128) 4–1.
Robert Gardos (Austria, WR #207) triumphed over Cedric Nuytinck (Belgium, WR #126) 4–2.

Women’s Singles – Top Seeds Dominate

In the Women’s Singles Round of 128:

World No. 1 Sun Yingsha (China), the overwhelming favorite, comfortably defeated Ukraine’s Veronika Matiunina (WR #216) 4–0. Sun’s decorated career includes Olympic team golds (Tokyo 2020, Paris 2024), 7 World Championship titles, 5 World Cup wins, and 3 Asian titles.
Satsuki Odo (Japan, WR #8) overcame Paulina Vega (Chile, WR #117) 4–0.
Shin Yubin (South Korea, WR #10) defeated Lisa Gee (New Zealand) 4–0.
Mima Ito (Japan, WR #9) bested Brianna Burgos (Puerto Rico, WR #145) 4–0.

Men’s Doubles – Dominant Performances

Round of 64 Highlights:

Swedish duo Truls Moregard and Anton Källberg swept Marcos Madrid and Rogelio Castro (France) 3–0.
Ecuador’s Alberto Miño & Diego Piguave beat Kazakhstan’s Vladislav Zakharov & Bakdaulet Akimaly 3–1.
India’s Manav Thakkar & Manush Shah defeated Peter Hribar & Deni Kozul (Slovenia) 3–0.
Chinese Taipei’s Kao Cheng-Jui & Lin Yun-Ju overcame Matteo Mutti & Andrea Puppo (Italy) 3–1.

Women’s Doubles – Tight Matches

Round of 64 Highlights:

Kazakhstan’s Annal Bakhit & Angelina Romanovskaya defeated Madagascar’s Hanitra Raha & Ranto Rakotondrazaka 3–1.
India’s Ayhika & Sutirtha Mukherjee edged past Turkey’s Ozge Yilmaz & Ece Harac 3–2.
Germany’s Annett Kaufmann & Shauna Shand beat Canada’s Mo Zhang & Ivy Liao 3–1.
Qatar’s Aia Mohamed & Mariam Ali were defeated by Germany’s Sabine Winter & Yuan Wan 3–0.

Mixed Doubles – World No. 1s Advance

In the Mixed Doubles Round of 64:

Top-ranked Chinese pair Lin Shidong & Qian Tianyi defeated Liam Pitchford (GBR) & Anna Hursey (WAL) 3–0.
Algeria’s Milhan Jelouli & Amina Kassassi beat Qatar’s Ahmed Al-Qarni & Mariam Ali 3–1.
China’s 3rd-ranked duo Wang Chuqin & Chen Meng edged Singapore’s Pang Xuan & Ser Lin Qian 3–2.

Sunday Preview – Full Slate Ahead

Competition resumes Sunday, May 18 with:

Round of 128: Men’s & Women’s Singles
Round of 64: Men’s, Women’s & Mixed Doubles

Qatar’s Abdulwahhab: “A Moment of Pride”

Mohammed Abdulwahhab shared his joy with QNA, saying:

“I'm incredibly proud to have made it to the Round of 64 — a first in Qatar’s table tennis history. Seeing world-class players exit in Round 1, I know how hard this stage is. I gave everything I had today, and I hope to do even better in the next match. I also wish the best for my teammates in this tournament.”