DOHA: A new player in the women’s singles category will be crowned champion this week when the final of the 2015 ITTF World Tour Qatar Open takes place at the Qatar Women’s Sports Committee Hall.
According to details released by Qatar Table Tennis Association (QTTA), Singapore’s Feng Tianwei is the top seed at the hugely popular event that commences with qualifying matches today.
The tournament ends on February 22.
Tianwei is the leading name at the week-long event where she will be attempting to better her quarter-finals loss against China’s Zhu Yuling in 2013.
The 28-year-old, also the top seed in 2012, was beaten in the very first round by Germany’s Han Ying. Last year, when she occupied the same illustrious billing again, Tianwei went only a step further. She beat Japan’s Yui Hamamoto in the opening round before losing to Hong Kong’s Ng Wing Nam.
Tianwei has no less than seven ITTF World Tour Women’s Singles titles to her credit. The 2008 silver medallist in the doubles at the Beining Summer Games enjoyed a stellar 2014, winning three titles in the Philippines, Australia and Japan.
Her other titles came in Poland (2008), Japan (2011) and Korea (2011). The competition will be held in six categories: men’s singles, women’s singles, U-21 men’s singles, U-21 women’s singles, men’s doubles and women’s doubles.
In the men’s singles, Ukrainian-born German Dimitrij Ovtcharov will take on a qualifier in his first-round clash on February 20.
The same day Croatia’s Andrej Gacina also has a date with a qualifier as does Korea’s Youngsik Jung.
Belarussian Vladimir Samsonov will also feature in the men’s single, according to the event playing schedule.
The main players in the women’s singles category include Austria’s Liu Jia, who is seeded fourth, Korea’s Seo Hyowon and Germany’s Han Ying.
Jia is the only player to have progressed beyond the quarter-final stage of a Qatar women’s singles event.
Hong Kong’s Jiang Huajun and Tie Yana have reached the semi-finals in Doha as have Doo Hoi Kem, who qualified for the last-four last year. Three-time European champion Elizabeta Samara is also listed.
Aia Mohammed of Qatar, who featured at the 2012 London Olympic Games, will open her campaign against a qualifier.
THE PENINSULA
