Chinese paddlers start WTT Champions Doha with straight-games wins

DOHA, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- China's Lin Shidong, Wang Yidi and Kuai Man all claimed victories in straight games to start strongly on the opening day of the World Table Tennis (WTT) Champions here on Wednesday.

Before the competition began, men's singles world No. 1 Wang Chuqin and women's singles world No. 1 Sun Yingsha elected to withdraw from the first WTT tournament in 2026.

Top seed Lin beat 17-year-old Frenchman Flavien Coton 11-3, 12-10, 11-2 to reach the men's singles round of 16. "In the first match this year, I want to seize the win to show the high morale of Team China," said Lin.

In the women's singles first round, Wang handled pressure to defeat Chinese Taipei's Cheng I-Ching 12-10, 12-10, 11-8, while Kuai beat Romania's veteran Elizabeta Samara 11-9, 11-5, 11-8.

In other matches, Japan's Miyu Nagasaki shocked her compatriot Mima Ito 11-6, 11-6, 11-3, while South Korea's Jang Woo-jin upset Alexis Lebrun 13-11, 11-5, 14-16, 6-11, 11-6.

On Thursday, China's Wang Manyu, Chen Xingtong, Chen Yi, Liang Jingkun, Xiang Peng, Zhou Qihao, Chen Yuanyu will compete in the singles first round. ■