Site Products
2020 ITTF Men's World Cup: Tomokazu Harimoto

WTT Middle East Hub 2 – Final 8

(by Steve Hopkins)

Three of the four Semifinalists from the last Middle East Hub event have now made it through to the Quarterfinal of the WTT Middle East Hub Star Contender Event in Doha, Qatar.  Top seeded Tomokazu Harimoto has topped his first two opponents 3-0, and will face Youngsik Jeoung in his Quarterfinal match on Thursday.  If Harimoto wins, he is on a collision course for a rematch with Dimitrij Ovtcharov – a week ago, it was Ovtcharov that won the first ITTF event of 2021.

Ovtcharov is also cruising, having won both of his early matches 3-0.  Ovtcharov will face Anton Kallberg who has won three matches so far, including a 3-1 win over Sangsu Lee and a 3-0 win over Jaehyun An.  The other finalist last week was Lin Yun-Ju – who will face Germany’s Ruwen Filus in the third Quarterfinal match.  The final Quarterfinal match-up is Darko Jorgic against Kristian Karlsson.

Last week, second-seeded Hugo Calderano was upset by his Ochsenhausen teammate Simon Gauzy.  Gauzy then pressed forward to the Semifinals for a solid showing.  This week, Calderano was again upset early (2-3 loss to Darko Jorgic) and Gauzy had a respectable showing in the Round of 16 before falling to Kristian Karlsson.

These events are all warm-ups for the Olympics, and its worth watching not just how individuals perform but also watching the nationality of those players as there is a team event at the Olympics as well.   Early in the Main Draw, there were 5 Korean players, and 4 each from Japan and German.  In the Round of 16, there were 2 Japanese players, 2 Korean players, 2 Swedish players, 2 German players and 2 Brazilian players.  In the Quarterfinals, there will be two Asian players and two European players – and no two are from the same country.

A week ago on the women’s side, Japan dominated with three Japanese players reaching the Final 4, and an all-Japan Final.  The top two finishers are still alive this week – both in the Quarterfinals.  However, those two Japanese players (Ito and Hayata) are joined by three Korean players (Hayeong Kim, Yubin Shin, and Jihee Jeon), Tianwei Feng from Singapore, Elizabeta Samara from Romania, and Puerto Rico’s Adriana Diaz.

Check in with ButterflyOnline.com for news and scores.

 

Latest News

WTT Champions Macao: Final Eight

September 12, 2025
(By Steve Hopkins) World No. 1 Lin Shidong won both of his matches 3-0 as he easily moved to… Read More

Increase the Frequency During the Drill!?

September 12, 2025
3 points Forehand topspin – robot plays one topspin to Forehand, middle, Backhand, middle, Forehand, middle, Backhand and… Read More

Handling Pressure in Big Moments: Lessons from Truls Moregard’s Grand Smash Victory

September 12, 2025
(by Dr. Alan Chu, Ph.D., CMPC) Champion mindsets aren’t born—they’re built, one focused breath and pressure point at… Read More

Tanish Mamidyala – Backhand Loop Ball Placement

September 12, 2025
(by: Bowmar Sports) In this Butterfly Training Tips, Tanish Mamidyala  is executing the Backhand Loop crosscourt, followed by… Read More

Keep Your Left Side More in Front

September 11, 2025
Falkenberg with one additional Backhand – robot plays 3 topspin balls to Backhand and 1 to Forehand. Jhon… Read More

Mastering the Serve: The First Step to Dominating Table Tennis Matches

September 10, 2025
(by Coach Ju/Coach Hailong Shen) In table tennis, the serve is the only stroke that begins entirely under… Read More

Your MLTT Weekly Update

September 10, 2025
(by: Major League Table Tennis)   Opening weekend on TableTennis.TV What a weekend in Pleasanton! Six matches in three… Read More

Recovering from Disappointments: Lessons from Hugo Calderano’s Historic Victory

September 8, 2025
(by Dr. Alan Chu, PhD CMPC) Hugo Calderano’s journey from crushing Olympic disappointment to World Cup champion offers… Read More
View All News

Get the latest from Butterfly

Stay “In The Loop” with Butterfly professional table tennis equipment, table tennis news, table tennis technology, tournament results, and We Are Butterfly players, coaches, clubs and more.