In the wtt challenge on November 3, the men's doubles team of Zhou Qihao and Lin Gaoyuan were eliminated by the Japanese duo of Isamu Kisaki / Yuji Tanaka in two consecutive sets with a 2-1 lead. As a member of the national table tennis team at the 2021 Houston World Table Tennis Championships, the defeats of Zhou Qihao and Lin Gaoyuan surprised fans, especially Zhou Qihao's 2-3 defeat to Olaf Kosoloki in the singles qualifiers, and suffered a round of travel. However, the fate of Zhou Qihao/Lin Gaoyuan took a dramatic turn.
At 1:38 a.m. Beijing time on November 4, wtt officially released the news: Zhou Qihao / Lin Gaoyuan advanced to the men's doubles main competition! As soon as the news was released, many fans were deeply puzzled. It turned out that it was due to the injury of player Alfonado, and the Puerto Rican duo of Brian Afonado/Daniel Gonzalez confirmed his withdrawal from the men's doubles main tournament, so Lin Gaoyuan/Zhou Qihao advanced to the main tournament!
However, after the news was released, due to the promotion of Chinese players on the bench, it caused some foreign fans to be dissatisfied. However, it is understood that according to the relevant rules announced by WTT before the game, in the case of the withdrawal of players in the main tournament, among the players who lost the final qualifying round, the world's highest ranked player or combination of players advanced to the bench. Zhou Qihao/Lin Gaoyuan advanced to the main tournament according to this regulation. Some domestic fans commented: The pie will really fall from the sky!
According to the results of the draw, Zhou Qihao/Lin Gaoyuan were in the top half with another pair of men's doubles players liang Jingkun/Wang Chuqin. Zhou Qihao/Lin Gaoyuan's first-round opponent is the Egyptian duo of Abdul Aziz/Khalid Assar. The competition will be held at 18:20 Beijing time on November 4. It is hoped that Zhou Qihao/Lin Gaoyuan will seize this rare opportunity to play well in the competition.