WTT Star Contender Doha qualifying round sees intense action

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January 13, 2026
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13-January-2026

WTT Star Contender Doha qualifying round sees intense action

Doha: The WTT Star Contender Doha 2026 kicked off at the Lusail Sports Hall on Tuesday. The tournament will continue until January 18, with the participation of 170 male and female players from various countries around the world, and with prizes amounting to $300,000.

The tournament competitions are held in five categories: men’s and women’s singles, men’s and women’s doubles, and mixed doubles.

The first day of the tournament was intense and exciting, featuring the preliminary rounds of the tournament, during which players sought to secure their places in the main table amidst a highly competitive atmosphere.

In the men’s singles, Saudi Arabia’s Ali Al Khadrawi lost to South Korean Lim Jong-hoon with a score of (3-1), Iranian Navid Shams defeated Norwegian Borgar Haug (3-2), while Romanian Raris Cebus triumphed over Qatari player Nawaf Al Malki three sets to none. Egyptian Mohamed El Beily achieved victory over Qatari player Abdullah Abdulwahab (3-2). Czech player Lubomir Jankarc defeated Hong Kong player Lam Siu-Hang (3-1), Chinese player Yuan Lizin defeated Hong Kong player Ho Kwan Kit(3-2), Chinese player Xu Yingbin triumphed over Frenchman Florian Bourasud(3-0), and India’s Ankur Bhattacharjee achieved victory over Singaporean Pang Keun with the same score.

Qatar’s Youssef Abdullah also lost to China’s Hsu Hsin Chia 3-0. In an exciting match, Saudi Arabia’s Abdulaziz Bushlaibi lost to India’s Akash Pal (2-3) while America’s Ma Jinbao defeated Lebanon’s Michel Abi Nader (3-0).


In the women’s singles, Qatar’s Alia Al-Baz lost to India’s Swastika Ghosh (3-0), India’s Yashasvini Gurpadeh defeated Hong Kong’s Lee Hoi Man (3-0), and in another match, China’s Han Feier defeated Taiwan’s Chen Chi-chuan (3-0).

The Star Contender Doha 2026 witnesses the participation of a large number of top-ranked players who excelled in the WTT Champions Doha 2026 tournament, most notably Chinese Taipei player Lin Yun-ju, the men’s singles champion in the previous tournament, along with the top-ranked Chinese player Lin Shidong, the Japanese player Tomokazu Harimoto, and the Brazilian Hugo Calderano, which raises the bar for the challenge and increases the strength of the competitions.


In the women’s competition, Macau’s Zhou Yuling, the WTT Champions Doha 2026 champion, continues her participation, along with defending champion Kwai Man, Korea’s Shin Yeo-bin, Puerto Rico’s Adriana Diaz, and China’s Chen Yi, ranked among the top ten in the world.

In women’s doubles, the competition is led by Korean and Japanese pairs, while in mixed doubles, attention is focused on the Korean pair Lim Jung-hoon and Shin Yu-bin, champions of the WTT Hong Kong 2025 finals, along with the Hong Kong pair Wong Chun-ting and Do Hui-kim, and the Spanish pair Alvaro Robles and Maria Chiao.

Following the conclusion of the “Star Contender”, the “Contender Youth” tournament will take place from January 19 to 22, followed by the “Star Contender Youth” tournament from January 23 to 25, and concluding with the “Feder” tournament from January 27 to 31.