WTT Feeder Doha 2023 gets underway
Doha- There is no downtime in Qatar as WTT Feeder Doha 2023 got underway in Doha on Sunday. The event is held at Lusail Sports Arena from 22-26 January with participation of 130 players.
The race to the final will be a hard-fought affair, with 2022 Men's and Women's Singles winners, Zhao Zihao and Qian Tianyi respectively, making a return to Doha in pursuit of a title defence.
Standing at the top of the pack as top seed in the Men's Singles is Omar Assar. While the World No.24 is a mainstay in continental medal hauls, Assar has not reached an international Men's Singles final since 2017. As quarterfinalist at two Feeder events in 2022, the pressure will be on for Assar to get his hands on some WTT silverware and end his podium drought.
Waiting to knock Assar off the podium is Lee Sangsu. Lee saw himself drop out of the Top 20 through all of 2022. With the new year underway, the one-time World No.6 will use Doha to chip his way back up to his old heights. Meanwhile, World Youth champions Lin Shidong and Xiang Peng are close behind. The young-guns will be out to one-up their older peers as they continue their rise to dominance in the senior ranks.
Over in the Women's Singles, all eyes will be on Doo Hoi Kem. The World No.9 is top seed in Doha and will be chasing her first ever international title outside of continental wins. Doo was super active in the WTT Series last year, stepping out to compete on 10 occasions. This will be her first WTT Feeder Series appearance and will likely see the event as a chance to get the ball rolling on her 2023 campaign.
Despite the illustrious crowd, the field will be hard-pressed to stop Fan Siqi. Doha has turned in to a favourite city for World No.18 who is fresh off the back of winning the Women's Singles title at Contender Doha for the second year in a row. Fan will step back in to the venue as the 2nd seed in the Feeder event.
The entry list will also offer up a wide array of styles that will keep fans enthralled. Table tennis diehards will want to follow the progress of World No.93 Zhu Chengzhu, who was a surprise clutch player for Hong Kong, China at the World Team Championships Finals last year. Meanwhile prominent youth competitor Elena Zaharia will be eyeing to score herself a couple of upset wins, as the 14th seed in the draw looks for a breakthrough result.
The state of Qatar is represented by Ahmed Khalil Al Mohannadi, Mohamed Abdulwahab, Ahmed Mothana, Fahad Al Moghni, Ahmed Saadawi, Sultan Al Kuwari, Ahmed Qurani, Rawad Al Nasser, Yousef Magdi, Ali Hamza, and Maryam Ali.
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