South Korea won 4 championships, Japan also had 1 gold, and the world champion once again reached the top
On April 18, Beijing time, the 2024 WTT feeder tournament Havezhov came to an end, the national table tennis collectively gave up the competition, Japan and South Korea became the big winners, and the South Korean team won 4 championships alone, which was the number one winner of this station. Japan also won a title, with 30-year-old Maharu Yoshimura winning the men's singles title, showing good competitive form.
In the absence of national table tennis, Japan and South Korea became the protagonists. The closing day began with the singles semi-finals, where world champion Maharu Yoshimura defeated top seed Zhao Daesung 3-2 to advance to the final, where he competed with Spain's Álvaro Robles for the men's singles title, and Yoshimura played well to win three games in a row 11-2, 11-9, 12-10, and the 30-year-old Yoshimura once again reached the top.
In the women's singles field, South Korea's Lee Eun-hye and Seo Hyo-won met in the final, and Lee Eun-hye controlled the rhythm in the final, winning three games in a row 11-5, 11-7, 11-8 to win the championship. South Korea won the men's doubles title in all but Men's Singles, with Oh Hyun-sung/Park Kyu-hyun beating Dias and Kurziki 3-1 to win the Men's Doubles. Choi Hyo-joo/Lee Do-eun narrowly defeated Lee Haoqing/Lee Kaimin 3-2 to win the women's doubles title. In the mixed doubles final, Park Kyu-hyun/Yoon Hyo-bin swept Feng Yao-eun/Wang Xin-ru 3-0, and Park Kyu-hyun was crowned the double champion.
In the absence of national table tennis, Japan and South Korea sent the second echelon to participate in the competition, which did show stronger competitiveness, and in the end, South Korea won four championships and became the number one winner. Although the Japanese team only won one title, they have gained the resurgence of Maharu Yoshimura, and many young players have been given the opportunity to develop and gain experience through low-level competitions.
Because 2024 is the Olympic year, the main players are fully preparing for the Olympics, and they also have to participate in high-level events such as the World Cup, the World Table Tennis Championships, the Championships, and the Grand Slam. Take the men's World Cup and women's World Cup being held in Macau as an example, many second-tier players of national table tennis are serving as sparring partners in Macau.
The main players also lived up to expectations, the first stage of the World Cup ended, 12 national table tennis players participated, and 11 entered the knockout round. From matchday 4 onwards, there will be a knockout round, and the specific draws are:
Men's Singles:
Wang Chuqin vs Hugo Calderano, Zhang Yuzhen vs Lin Yunru, Hayasuke Togami vs Assal, F. Lebrun vs Ma Long
Liang Jingkun vs Anton Carlberg, Freitas vs Tomokazu Zhangmoto, Darko Joczyk vs Lin Gaoyuan, Lin Shidong vs Fan Zhendong
Women's Singles:
Sun Yingsha VS Chen Xingtong, Zheng Yijing VS Zhu Qianxi, Miyu Hirano VS Tian Zhixi, Sutasini Savitabout VS She
Wang Yidi VS Zhang Ben Miwa, Polkanova VS Diaz, Shin Yubin VS Hina Hayata, Szokos VS Wang Manyu
The men's singles quarterfinals and women's singles quarterfinals will be decided on the first match day of the second stage, and there will be a national table tennis derby in the men's singles and women's singles arenas, good luck to all players!