China's Wang Chuqin (left) and Sun Yingsha (second left) compete against Hugo Calderano and Bruna Takahashi of Brazil.
Doha, Qatar: World No.2 Wang Chuqin of China stole limelight on the third day of the ITTF World Table Tennis Championships Finals Doha 2025 yesterday as upsets continued at the Lusail Sports Hall.
The two-time Olympic champion and a holder of seven world titles, Chuqin needed just over 23 minutes to sweep past Brazilian opponent Leonardo Iizuka 4-0 (11-3, 11-3, 11-5, 11-4) and book a Round of 32 meeting with either French 29th-seed Thibault Poret or Hong Kong’s Wong Chun Ting.
Hours after his second win at the Doha Worlds, Chuqin went on to win his mixed doubles second round game with Sun Yingsha as they sealed a crushing 3-0 (11-2, 11-7, 11-4) win over World Cup singles winner Hugo Calderano and his partner Bruna Takahashi of Brazil. The Chinese pair then made straight to the Round of 16 after receiving a walk over from 15th-seeds Ovidiu Ionescu and Elizabeta Samara of Romania.
In one of the biggest upsets of the day, Englishman Tom Jarvis defeated No. 10 seed Dang Qui in a thrilling seven game encounter. Jarvis won the first three games before the German World No.11 Qiu fought back to level at 3-3. However, Jarvis managed to win the deciding game advance with a 11-9, 11-9, 11-8, 9-11, 1-11, 6-11, 11-8 in a match that lasted almost 62 minutes.
“I’ve been watching Dang Qiu for years. He’s a European champion and is someone all of us from Europe look up to, and you see the hard work he puts in. I don’t really know how to go into these matches. I had a chat with my coaches and sports psychologist, just trying to think about what I can do and not focus on who I am playing,” the 25-year-old Jarvis said after the memorable win.
Another upset saw Omar Assar, the no. 23 seed, losing to Portugal’s Marcos Freitas in a marathon seven-game clash (6-11, 11-8, 10-12, 11-3, 11-8, 8-11, 12-10). Belgium’s Adrien Rassenfosse also joined the list of upset-makers when he beat No.32 seed German Ricardo Walther 4-3 (11-4, 11-13, 8-11, 11-9, 11-6, 10-12, 11-9) before Romanian Eduard Ionescu defeated No. 26 seed Kanak Jha of USA 4-3 (11-6, 11-7, 11-4, 5-11, 13-15, 5-11, 6-11).
In the women’s singles, top seed and defending champion Sun Yingsha cruised through to the Round of 32, beating North Korea Pyon Song Gyong 4-0 (11-1, 11-5, 11-9, 11-4). Miu Hirano, the No. 15 seed, was knocked out by Lea Rakovac of Croatia 4-2 (11-8, 7-11, 12-10, 5-11, 11-6, 11-7) in an one-hour thriller.
“I prepared my tactics well, and I had a good warm-up. I just wanted to play my game. And as usual, as with every match, I always have respect against everybody. It does not matter which player I play against. But today, my tactic was good. I was better and faster,” Rakovac said after her victory.
