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

DAY 5 - 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, and trailblazer Lily Zhang are joined by international athletes from all around the world such as Hugo Calderano, Mattias Falck, , Adriana Diaz and more.

DAY FOUR HIGHLIGHTS

• Singapore’s is through to her first-ever World Table Tennis (WTT) women’s singles semi-final after beating Japan’s Hina Hayata (12-10, 12-14, 11-5, 7-11, 11-6)

• Feng will take on Romania’s , who also needed five games to overcome Korea Republic’s Kim Hayeong (15-13, 7-11, 6-11, 11-8, 14-12).

• Top seed Mima Ito of Japan came through her toughest challenge yet in Doha, beating Puerto Rican Adriana Diaz (11-6, 9-11, 11-8, 11-8)

• Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yun-Ju is out of the men’s singles picture, losing to German qualifier in a shock quarter-final outcome (11-3, 13-11, 11-9).

#WTTDOHA 1

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

• Germany’s survived a monumental scare against Swedish qualifier Anton Kallberg with the German saving six match points on his way to a dramatic comeback victory (8-11, 10-12, 15-13, 12-10, 11-9). • Latin American hopes faded later in the day as Slovakia’s Lubomir Pistej and Barbora Balazova recovered to beat Brazilian counterparts Vitor Ishiy and Bruna Takahashi to a spot in the mixed doubles semi-finals (6-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-8).

• and produced a mighty comeback effort to reach the women’s doubles final, recovering from two games down to see off fellow Japanese colleagues Miyuu Kihara and Hina Hayata (6-11, 7-11, 11-8, 12-10, 11-7).

LOOKING AHEAD

• Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto will lock horns with Germany’s Dimitrij Ovtcharov as they meet again in the men’s singles semi-final of WTT Star Contender Doha on table one at 15:20pm (local time).

• In a repeat of last week’s semi-final at WTT Contender Doha where the 32-year-old Ovtcharov got the better of the 17-year-old whizz kid, this match promises to deliver another scintillating table tennis spectacle with little to separate the two in the run up to their confrontation.

• Harimoto has been in swashbuckling form all-week, steamrolling past his rivals starting with straight games victory over India’s Sathiyan Gnanasekaran in the round of 31 followed by similar 3-0 wins over Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna and Korea Republic’s Jeoung Youngsik in the round of 16 and quarter-final respectively.

• Ovtcharov stamped his class with convincing victories over Egypt’s Ahmed Saleh and India’s Sharath Kamal Achanta before showing character when he came back from two games down to prevail over Sweden’s Anton Kallberg 3-2 (8-11, 10-12, 15-13, 12-10, 11- 9).

• In the other men’s singles semi-final scheduled for 16:00 (local time) on table one, Slovenia’s Darko Jorgic will take on Germany’s Ruwen Filus after dispatching Sweden’s Kristian Karlsson in a five-game thriller 7-11, 11-4, 5-11, 11-8, 17-15.

• Jorgic had already caused a major upset when he sent second seed Hugo Calderano packing in the round of 16.

• Top seed and world number two Mima Ito of Japan will meet Korea Republic’s Jeon Jihee in the first women’s singles semi-final match scheduled for 14:00 (local time) on table one.

#WTTDOHA 2

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

• Singapore's world number 12 Feng Tianwei, who secured her first semi-final appearance since the 2019 ITTF Women's World Cup in Chengdu comes up against Romania’s Elizabeth Samara.

• They will vie for a place in the final of Qatari showpiece, with their match commencing on table one at 14:40 (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.

• 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:

#WTTDOHA 3

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

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

KEY DATES / TIMES

12 March 2021, 14:00 @ Lusail Sports Arena – Semi Finals 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 - 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:

#WTTDOHA 4

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

- 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

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: (BEL) (45) Youngest women’s singles player: KIM Nayeong (KOR) (15) Oldest women’s singles player: (GER) (38) Men’s Doubles Pair Oldest Pairing: & (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)

#WTTDOHA 5

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

EVENT SCHEDULE

12 MARCH DAY FIVE SESSION 1 Starting At: 14:00 Women’s Singles – SEMIFINALS followed by Women’s Singles – SEMIFINALS followed by Men’s Singles – SEMIFINALS followed by Men’s Singles – SEMIFINALS SESSION 3 Not before 19:00 Mixed Doubles – SEMIFINALS followed by Mixed Doubles – SEMIFINALS End of Day

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

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

#WTTDOHA 6

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

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

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

#WTTDOHA 7

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

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)

AUSTRIA (2) GARDOS Robert, HABESOHN Daniel BELARUS (3) Vladimir SAMSONOV, Daria TRIGOLOS, Aleksandr KHANIN BELGIUM (3) ALLEGRO Martin, LAMBIET Florent, NUYTUNCK Cedric BRAZIL (4) CALDERANO Hugo, TAKAHASHI Bruna, TSUBOI Gustavo, ISHIY Vitor CANADA (1) ZHANG Mo 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 CROATIA (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

#WTTDOHA 8

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

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 KAZAKHSTAN (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 MEXICO (2) Yadira SILVA, Marcos MADRID MONACO (1) YANG Xiaoxin, NETHERLANDS (1) EERLAAND Britt NIGERIA (1) ARUNA Quadri PORTUGAL (2) FREITAS Marcos, MONTEIRO João PUERTO RICO (3) DIAZ Adriana, DIAZ Melanie, Brian AFANADOR 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 RUSSIA (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

#WTTDOHA 9

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

Men’s Singles – SEMIFINALS

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 149 101 67.8 OVTCHAROV #6 GER 12 #1 (2018/2) 17 R Shakehand Attacker 32 13 11/7 Dimitrij 433 299 69.1 #16 JORGIC Darko SLO 31 #31 (2020/12) 7 R Shakehand Attacker 22 0 13/8 150 94 62.7 #27 Ruwen FILUS GER 42 #18 (2018/1) 17 R Shakehand Defender 33 1 0/0 260 168 64.6

Women’s Singles - SEMIFINALS

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 20/16 286 196 68.5 #5 FENG Tianwei SGP 12 #2 (2011/8) 14 R Shakehand Attacker 34 14 6/2 439 296 67.4 #6 JEON Jihee KOR 16 #11 (2016/9) 10 L Shakehand Attacker 28 4 4/1 260 167 64.2 #15 SAMARA Elizabeta ROU 34 #13 (2014/9) 17 L Shakehand Attacker 31 3 6/3 309 193 62.5

#WTTDOHA 10

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

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

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

#WTTDOHA 11

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

Mixed Doubles - SEMIFINALS

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 % #1 MIZUTANI Jun JPN M Mima ITO JPN W 3 2 2 36 28 77.8 #2 CHENG I-Ching TPE W LIN Yun-Ju TPE M 1 2 4 42 32 76.2 #3 BALAZOVA Barbora SVK W PISTEJ Lubomir SVK M 6 8 1 54 27 50.0 #4 LEE Sangsu KOR M JEON Jihee KOR W 8 3 1 34 20 58.8

#WTTDOHA 12

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.

Dimitrij OVTCHAROV: ● “Dima”, as he is affectionately known by the table tennis community, knows what it is like to sit atop the world. ● With his trademark backhand and iconic serve, the German has the ability to take down the best in the business. An Olympic bronze medallist at the London 2012 Olympic Games, Dima’s career hit new heights in 2017 when he won four World Tour Titles, the Men’s World Cup, the Europe Top 16 Cup and became world no. 1 in early 2018. ● As one of the leading lights of the German men’s national team, Dima continues to compete at the highest level and is always in the mix for glory. ● With the 1st WTT Contender Series Men’s Singles title from Doha now under his belt, Dima is certainly looking to continue his scintillating form at the WTT Star Contender Doha 2021!

Darko JORGIC • Prolific as a junior, winning multiple titles, Darko has worked himself up the ranks and is ready to make his mark in the senior game. • Biding his time and honing his skills, Darko’s potential was clear to all and it manifested in a big way when Darko strode through the competition at the 2020 Europe Top-16 Cup and narrowly missed out on gold to the legendary in the final. A first Men’s World Cup experience beckoned where he once again exceeded expectations by making the main draw and threatened to upset Ma Long in the round of 16.

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.

#WTTDOHA 13

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

• 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. ● Her crowning moment came at the 2010 World Team Championships in Moscow as she led Singapore to its first-ever gold in table tennis with a stunning victory over favourites China. ● 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.

JEON Jihee: ● Born in Langfang, China, the early years of Jeon’s rise to stardom came with the support of her father who passed down important fundamentals of the sport. ● Moving to Korea Republic aged 16, Jeon is now considered a key part in the country’s plans to reach the summit of international table tennis. ● A podium finisher at some of the sport’s most prestigious events, including the Asian Games and the Grand Finals, Jeon also collected a historic bronze medal as part of the Unified Korea team at the 2018 World Team Championships in Halmstad, Sweden.

Elizabeta SAMARA: • Having enjoyed great success on the junior circuit in the earlier days of her career, Elizabeta has lived up to expectations to earn her place in the Romanian senior team,

#WTTDOHA 14

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

playing a crucial role in her nation’s gold medal finishes at the European Team Championships in 2017 and 2019. • Elizabeta rose to prominence after she became the first non-Asian player to reach the final of the Women’s World Cup in 2012. The Constanta-born star moved on to claim three World Tour titles (2013 Brazil Open, 2014 Czech Open, 2015 Qatar Open) and became European champion in 2015. • She is equally strong in a partnership, claiming several women’s doubles and mixed doubles titles in Europe.

#WTTDOHA 15