WTT Star Contender Doha 2021 Main Draw: 08 - 13 March USD 400,000

DAY 6 - MEDIA NOTES

WTT STAR CONTENDER DOHA 2021

OVERVIEW

CITY: Doha, QATAR SITE: Lusail Sports Arena DATES: 8 – 13 March 2021 TABLE BRAND: Double Fish BALL BRAND: DHS FLOOR BRAND: Gerflor MEDIA CONTACT: [email protected] PRIZE MONEY: USD 400,000

Welcome to World (WTT). This is the first edition of WTT Star Contender and is the second official event of the WTT era. Players competing in WTT Star Contender Doha 2021 are vying for a total prize purse of USD 400,000. The event is being played in the Lusail Sports Arena. Opened in 2014, the multi-purpose hall has hosted several major sporting events and has been transformed into the brand new WTT arena where it is set to showcase the sport like never seen before. Top stars including Japanese 17-year-old wonderkid, Tomokazu Harimoto and trailblazer Lily Zhang are joined by international athletes from all around the world such as Hugo Calderano, Mattias Falck, Mima Ito, Adriana Diaz and more.

DAY FIVE HIGHLIGHTS

• Germany’s Ruwen Filus, who began his journey in the qualification rounds, is through to the men’s singles final in Doha after successfully taking down Slovenia’s Darko Jorgic in six games (11-9, 9-11, 11-4, 8-11, 11-5, 11-7). • In a repeat of last week’s semi-final encounter between Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto and Germany’s Dimitrij Ovtchaorv, it was now the teenage superstar Harimoto who avenged his defeat last week, taking down the German over the course of six mesmerising games (8-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-13, 11-7, 11-7). • Korea Republic’s Jeon Jihee’s notable run on the singles front was halted on day five despite another commendable showing from the Korea Republic player against the top seed from Japan, Mima Ito (11-5, 17-15, 9-11, 11-5, 15-13). • Singapore’s beat Romania’s Elizabeta Samara comfortably in straight games (11-8, 11-4, 11-3, 11-5).

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WTT Star Contender Doha 2021 Main Draw: 08 - 13 March USD 400,000

• Korea Republic’s Lee Sangsu and Jeon Jihee progressed to the mixed doubles final after the pair outclassed Japanese top seeds and Mima Ito.

• Mizutani and Ito looked well placed early on, cruising into a one-game lead. But the momentum completely switched hands as Lee and Jeon showed great character to fight their way back to a 3-1 win (3-11, 11-4, 11-9, 11-9).

LOOKING AHEAD

• Singapore’s Feng Tianwei takes on the might of Japan’s world number two Mima Ito in the women’s singles final at 15:00 (local time).

• Ito is seeking to capture back-to-back titles after winning last week's WTT Contender Doha. She has dropped only two games in her run to her second final in a week.

• Ito holds a 6-2 lead over Feng in their head-to-head meetings and the last time the Singaporean beat Ito was at the ITTF Asian Cup in Dubai in 2016.

• Top seed Tomokazu Harimoto of Japan will be looking to erase last week’s heartbreak after bowing out in the semi-final at the hands of Germany’s Dimitrij Ovtcharov.

• The 17-year-old meets Germany’s Ruwen Filus, who is one win away from the ultimate glory, having started his journey in the qualification rounds. Their match will start at 15:45 (local time).

• Final day action will commence with Japan’s and and Korea Republic’s Jeon Jihee and starring in the women’s doubles final at 10:00 (local time)

• This will be followed by the men’s doubles final where ’s Alvaro Robles and Romania’s Ovidiu Ionescu take on Korea Republic’s Lee Sangsu and Jeoung Youngsik at 10:40 (local time).

• In the mixed doubles final, Korea Republic’s Lee Sangsu and Jeon Jihee meet Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yun-Ju and Cheng I-Ching at 11:20 (local time).

EVENT - FAST FACTS

• The WTT Star Contender Series features the Play Down Restriction (PDR) rule, which limits the maximum number of top 20 players allowed to compete in the events.

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WTT Star Contender Doha 2021 Main Draw: 08 - 13 March USD 400,000

• At WTT Star Contender Doha 2021, the Play Down Restriction is increased due to COVID-19 and that it has been almost 12 months since international competition has been available to all players.

• The Play Down Top 20 Restriction was increased from 4 to 8 for WTT Star Contender Doha 2021

• The Mixed Doubles main draw was increased from 8 to 16 pairs to provide players the opportunity to earn rankings points in a bid to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.

• The draw structure has also been revamped to make the competitions fairer, more exciting and more competitive.

• WTT may elect to nominate a player to participate in the event - this player is known as a WTT Nomination and entered into the entry list as a wildcard.

• Men’s Singles: Liam PITCHFORD/Simon GAUZY • Women’s Singles: Adriana DIAZ

• Wild Cards are determined 7 days prior to event

• Men’s Singles: FRANZISKA Patrick, NIWA Koki, MIZUTANI Jun, AL-MOHANNADI Ahmad Khalil • Women’s Singles: Maria XIAO • Men’s Doubles: Mohammed ABDULWAHHAB/Ahmed Khalil AL-MOHANNADI • Women’s Doubles: Maha FARAMARZI/Ala MOHAMED & Maha ALI/Maryam ALI

• Key changes to the Draw include:

• More players automatically entered into event instead of having to play qualifying • Ranking Points earned for playing both Qualifying + Main Draw

KEY DATES / TIMES

13 March 2021, 10:00 @ Lusail Sports Arena – Finals

EVENT DISCIPLINES

As a WTT Star Contender event, 5 different discipline will be contested:

- Men’s Singles

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WTT Star Contender Doha 2021 Main Draw: 08 - 13 March USD 400,000

- Women’s Singles - Men’s Doubles - Women’s Doubles - Mixed Doubles

PLAYING SYSTEM

The Main Draw matches will be conducted in a knockout format.

Main Draw:

The Main Draw for the 2021 WTT Star Contender Doha 2021 will involve the following:

- 48-Draw Men’s Singles - 48-Draw Women’s Singles - 16-Draw Men’s Doubles - 16-Draw Women’s Doubles - 16-Draw Mixed Doubles

MATCH FORMAT / SCORING

The event will be played in accordance with the Laws of Table Tennis and the Regulations for International Competitions.

Singles

Main Draw to Quarterfinals:

- Best of 5 games/11 points - Winner need to win by 2 for all games

Semi-finals and Final

- Best of 7 games/11 points - Winner need to win by 2 for all games

Doubles

All Matches:

- Best of 5 games/11 points - Winner need to win by 2 for all games

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WTT Star Contender Doha 2021 Main Draw: 08 - 13 March USD 400,000

TOP SEEDS

Men’s Singles: Tomokazu HARIMOTO (JPN) Women’s Singles: Mima ITO (JPN) Men’s Doubles: LEE Sangsu / JEOUNG Youngsik (KOR) Women’s Doubles: Kasumi ISHIKAWA / Miu HIRANO (JPN) Mixed Doubles: Jun MIZUTANI / Mima ITO (JPN)

PLAYERS – FAST FACTS

Youngest men’s singles player: Tomokazu HARIMOTO (JPN) (17) Oldest men’s singles player: Vladimir SAMSONOV (BEL) (45) Youngest women’s singles player: KIM Nayeong (KOR) (15) Oldest women’s singles player: (GER) (38) Men’s Doubles Pair Oldest Pairing: Robert GARDOS & Daniel HABESOHN (18 years) Women’s Doubles Pair Oldest Pairing: MONTEIRO DODEAN Daniela & SAMARA Elizabeta (17 years)

• Seeded at No. 2, LIN and CHENG are ranked World No. 1 for Women’s Doubles.

• The youngest players in this event all hail from Korea or Japan. • Korea: KIM Nayeong (16 years old), SHIN Yubin (17 years old), CHO Daeseong (18 years old) • Japan: Miyuu KIHARA (16 years old), Satsuki ODO (16 years old), Tomokazu HARIMOTO (17 years old)

EVENT SCHEDULE

13 MARCH DAY SIX SESSION 1 Starting At: 10:00 Women’s Doubles –FINALS followed by Men’s Doubles – FINALS followed by Mixed Doubles – FINALS 15:00 Women’s Singles – FINALS 15:45 Men’s Singles – FINALS End of Day

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WTT Star Contender Doha 2021 Main Draw: 08 - 13 March USD 400,000

PRIZE MONEY & WR POINTS

Total Prize Purse: US$ 400,000 / US$ 196,000 per gender (+ US$ 8,000 XD)

Distribution by Event

Singles: US$ 166,000 Singles Qualification: US$ 10,000 Doubles: US$ 20,000 Mixed: US$ 8,000

Distribution - Singles

Winner: US$ 25,000 Finalist: US$ 19,000 Semis: US$ 11,000 Quarters: US$ 5,000 R-16: US$ 3,000 R-32: US$ 2,000 R-48: US$ 1,500

Distribution - Doubles

Winner: US$ 5,000 Finalist: US$ 3,100 Semis: US$ 1,750 Quarters: US$ 900 R-16: US$ 600

Distribution – Mixed Doubles

Winner: US$ 1,400 Finalist: US$ 1,000 Semis: US$ 700 Quarters: US$ 450 R-16: US$ 300

Singles Prize Money (USD$) WR Points

Winner 25,000 600

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WTT Star Contender Doha 2021 Main Draw: 08 - 13 March USD 400,000

Finalist 19,000 420

Semis 11,000 210

Quarters 5,000 105

R-16 3,000 55

R-32 2,000 25

R-48 1,500 5

Doubles Prize Money (USD$) WR Points

Winner 5,000 600

Finalist 3,100 420

Semis 1,750 210

Quarters 900 105

R-16 600 5

Mixed Doubles Prize Money (USD$) WR Points

Winner 1,400 600

Finalist 1,000 420

Semis 700 210

Quarters 450 105

R-16 300 5

MAIN DRAW - NATIONAL ASSOCIATION BREAKDOWN

(40 National Associations in total)

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WTT Star Contender Doha 2021 Main Draw: 08 - 13 March USD 400,000

AUSTRIA (2) GARDOS Robert, HABESOHN Daniel BELARUS (3) Vladimir SAMSONOV, Daria TRIGOLOS, Aleksandr KHANIN BELGIUM (3) ALLEGRO Martin, LAMBIET Florent, NUYTUNCK Cedric (4) CALDERANO Hugo, TAKAHASHI Bruna, TSUBOI Gustavo, ISHIY Vitor CANADA (1) CHINESE TAIPEI (6) LIN Yun-Ju, CHUANG Chih-Yuan, CHENG I-CHING, CHEN Szu-Yu, CHEN Chien-An, CHENG Hsien-Tzu CHILE (1) Paulina VEGA (2) PUCAR Tomislav, Andrej GACINA CZECH REPUBLIC (2) MATELOVA Hana, SIRUCEK Pavel DENMARK (1) GROTH Jonathan EGYPT (3) MESHREF Dina, ASSAR Omar, Ahmed SALEH ENGLAND (1) PITCHFORD Liam FRANCE (5) LEBESSON Emmanuel, GAUZY Simon, YUAN Jia Nan, Tristan FLORE, Prithika PAVADE GERMANY (8) DUDA Benedikt, OVTCHAROV Dimitrij, MITTELHAM Nina, SHAN Xiaona, Qiu Dang, FRANZISKA Patrick, Ruwen FILUS, HUNGARY (4) SZUDI Adam, ECSEKI Nandor, PERGEL Szandra, MADARASZ Dora INDIA (3) ACHANTA Sharath Kamal, GNANASEKARAN Sathiyan, Manika BATRA IRAN (2) ALAMIYAN Noshad, ALAMIAN Nima ITALY (4) STOYANOV Niagol, PICCOLIN Giorgia, Debora VIVARELLI BOBOCICA Mihai JAPAN (13) HARIMOTO Tomokazu, UDA Yukiya, ITO Mima, HAYATA Hina, ISHIKAWA Kasumi, HIRANO Miu, KIHARA Miyuu, YOKOI Sakura, ODO Satsuki, MORIZONO Masataka, Koki NIWA, Jun MIZUTANI, Mizuki OIKAWA (1) Kirill GERASSIMENKO KOREA (14) LEE Sangsu, AN Jaehyun, JEON Jihee, SUH Hyowon, CHO Daeseong, YANG Haeun, LEE Zion, CHOI Hyojoo, JANG Woojin, JEOUNG Youngsik, SHIN Yubin, LIM Jonghoon, KIM Nayeong, KIM Hayeong, LUXEMBOURG (1) Sarah DE NUTTE (2) Yadira SILVA, Marcos MADRID MONACO (1) YANG Xiaoxin, (1) EERLAAND Britt NIGERIA (1) ARUNA Quadri PORTUGAL (2) FREITAS Marcos, MONTEIRO João PUERTO RICO (3) DIAZ Adriana, DIAZ Melanie, Brian AFANADOR

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WTT Star Contender Doha 2021 Main Draw: 08 - 13 March USD 400,000

QATAR (6) ABDULWAHHAB Mohammed, Ahmad Khalil AL-MOHANNADI, MOHAMED Aia, ALI Maryam, FARAMARZI Maha, ALI Maha ROMANIA (5) IONESCU Ovidiu, SZOCS Bernadette, SAMARA Elizabeta, MONTEIRO DODEAN Daniela, SZCOS Hunor (3) MIKHAILOVA Polina, NOSKOVA Yana, VOROBEVA Olga SINGAPORE (4) FENG Tianwei, LIN Ye, , ZENG Jian SLOVENIA (1) JORGIC Darko SERBIA (2) KARAKASEVIC Aleksandar, LUPULESKU Izabela SLOVAKIA (3) WANG Yang, PISTEJ Lubomir, BALAZOVA Barbora SPAIN (2) ROBLES Alvaro, XIAO Maria SWEDEN (5) KARLSSON Kristian, FALCK Mattias, KALLBERG Anton, Jon PERSSONI, Christina KALLBERG THAILAND (2) SAWETTABUT Suthasini, PARANANG Orawan UKRAINE (2) PESOTSKA Margaryta, GAPONOVA Ganna USA (1) ZHANG Lily

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WTT Star Contender Doha 2021 Main Draw: 08 - 13 March USD 400,000

Men’s Singles – FINALS

2020 Years Playing Events Career Career Career Seed Name Assoc WR Highest WR Grip Style Age Matches/ Pro hand Won Matches Wins Win % Wins HARIMOTO #1 JPN 5 #3 (2019/1) 6 R Shakehand Attacker 17 5 12/8 Tomokazu 150 102 68.0 #27 Ruwen FILUS GER 42 #18 (2018/1) 17 R Shakehand Defender 33 1 0/0 261 169 64.8

Women’s Singles - FINALS

2020 Years Playing Events Career Career Career Seed Name Assoc WR Highest WR Grip Style Age Matches/ Pro hand Won Matches Wins Win % Wins #1 ITO Mima JPN 3 #2 (2020/11) 9 R Shakehand Attacker 20 10 20/16 287 197 68.6 #5 FENG Tianwei SGP 12 #2 (2011/8) 14 R Shakehand Attacker 34 14 6/2 440 297 67.5

Men’s Doubles – FINALS

Years Assoc Career Career Seed Name 1 Name 2 Assoc 2 WR Togethe Events Won Career Matches 1 Wins Win % r #1 LEE Sangsu KOR JEOUNG Youngsik KOR 2 8 8 111 85 76.6 #5 IONESCU Ovidiu ROU ROBLES Alvaro ESP 10 3 0 31 21 67.7

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WTT Star Contender Doha 2021 Main Draw: 08 - 13 March USD 400,000

Women’s Doubles - FINALS

Years Assoc Career Career Seed Name 1 Name 2 Assoc 2 WR Togethe Events Won Career Matches 1 Wins Win % r #1 ISHIKAWA Kasumi JPN HIRANO Miu JPN 2 4 2 41 31 75.6 #4 JEON Jihee KOR SHIN Yubin KOR 69 2 0 7 6 85.7

Mixed Doubles - FINALS

Assoc Gender Gender World Years Events Career Career Career Seed Name 1 Name 2 Assoc 2 1 1 2 Ranking Together Won Matches Wins Win %

#2 CHENG I-Ching TPE W LIN Yun-Ju TPE M 1 2 4 43 33 76.7 #4 LEE Sangsu KOR M JEON Jihee KOR W 8 3 1 35 21 60.0

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WTT Star Contender Doha 2021 Main Draw: 08 - 13 March USD 400,000

MEN’S SINGLES

Tomokazu HARIMOTO: ● The Japanese star has defied the odds and forced the world to take notice since becoming the youngest ever World Tour winner at the age of 14, at the 2017 Czech Open, and the youngest World Tour Grand Finals champion aged 15. ● Tomokazu is the real deal and will continue to impress in years to come. Born to former table tennis professionals, Tomokazu started playing at the age of two and by 12, he was already breaking records on the international scene. Beating players several years his senior, his talents were obvious from the start. ● Part of the new generation of stars in Japan, Tomokazu is quickly becoming the focal point of attention every time he takes to the table.

Ruwen FILUS • While the modern era has made defensive play a rare trade, Filus Ruwen is more than happy to show off his defensive capabilities and prove any naysayers wrong. • Part of a strong German line-up, Filus is a four-time European men’s team champion and was involved in their runner-up finish at the 2018 World Championships. • With his consistency, supreme fitness and sheer determination, expect Filus to light up any game and show off the art of defence!

WOMEN’S SINGLES

Mima ITO: ● Winner of the 1st WTT Contender Women’s Singles title in Doha in 2021, Mima burst onto the international scene at just 13 years of age when she, together with compatriot Miu Hirano, became the youngest ever champions at a World Tour event, winning women’s doubles at the 2014 German Open. ● The pair followed that up with gold at the 2014 World Tour Grand Finals in Thailand. ● Mima’s early success saw her recognised with the 2015 Breakthrough Star Award and at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, she helped Japan to a bronze medal in the women’s team event. ● On a personal level, she has won six senior women’s singles titles on the World Tour, underlining her status as one of the very best female athletes of the current era.

FENG Tianwei: ● Now in her 30s, she remains one of the biggest threats to the top Chinese and Japanese stars of the game. ● A two-time Commonwealth Games singles champion, Feng also boasts three Olympic medals to her name.

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WTT Star Contender Doha 2021 Main Draw: 08 - 13 March USD 400,000

● Her crowning moment came at the 2010 World Team Championships in as she led Singapore to its first-ever gold in table tennis with a stunning victory over favourites . ● Finishing 2010 on a high, Feng went on to secure women’s singles gold at the prestigious Grand Finals in Seoul to confirm her iconic status.

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