(by Steve Hopkins, photo by WTT)
Tomokazu Harimoto and Dimitrij Ovtcharov arrived in Oman as the heavy favorites to win the WTT Contender Series event in Muscat. A nineteen year old Chinese player named Chen Yuanyu had other plans, taking out both of the top two seeds on his way to the title.
Things started pretty smoothly for Tomokazu Harimoto, just one week after winning the first WTT event of the year. Harimto defeated Navid Shams 3-0, and then topped USA’s Jinbao Ma 3-1, before beating Huang Youzheng and Wong Chun Ting in the Quarters and Semis. In the other half of the bracket, Dimitrij Ovtcharov had a strong opening win over Xu Yingbin, but then faultered against Yuanyu.
At World No. 54, Yuanyu was the 13th seed in the event. He started with a win over tricky Apolonio 3-1 and then seemed completely in control through his 3-1 win over Ovtcharov. Yuanyu seemingly gained momentum and confidence from there, defeating Manush Shah 3-0 in the Quarters and then Kuo Guan-Hong 3-0 in the Semis.
Harimoto won the first game and the fourth game of the Final. From the first point, Yuanyu’s ability to hit big shots was apparent. Yuanyu has a powerful backhand flip – turning a typical banana loop into a loop-kill. He also blistering backhand down the line – though what table tennis fans are going to quickly see as his main offensive shot is a fully coiled forehand where his whole body drops and turns and he then overpowers his opponent with a full-body swing. Yuanyu takes the title 4-2, as China reloads yet again with elite talent.
The top Chinese were Oman, but, like the Men’s Final, this did not stop the younger Chinese players from having an impact. In Women’s Singles, the highest seeded Chinese player was seeded thirteenth, and Odo (World No. 7) and Hirano (World No. 12) were the top two seeds. The story of the event was the dominance of China even as their top team players were not present. Three Chinese players reached the Semifinals with Kuai Man upsetting the only non-Chinese Semifinalist, Satsuki Odo, in their match up. Kuai won that Semifinal 3-1 and Shi Xunyao topped teammate Qin Yuxuan 3-1 in the other Semifinal. In the Final, it was Shi Xunyao defeating Kuai Man 4-0.
Men’s Doubles went to Harimoto and Matsushima. Women’s Doubles went to Sakura Yokoi and Satsuki Odo. Maria Xiao and Alvaro Robles won Mixed Doubles.
The next stop on the WTT Tour is the Singapore Smash in just 9 days (Jan 30). That 1.5 million dollar event will feature nearly all of the top players in the current ITTF Rankings.
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