Felix Lebrun beaten by Dang Qiu (Photo by WTT)
Dang Qiu and Miyuu Kihara have taken the singles titles at WTT Star Contender Astana 2026 – President’s Cup, coming through in the clutch to win the final two contests of the week in Kazakhstan.
Having lost out to Alexis Lebrun five times on the trot on the international stage, in Sunday’s final Dang Qiu laid claim to his first victory over the French star since 2022 winning 6-11, 11-5, 5-11, 11-6, 11-6, 11-4.
Staging comebacks in each of the last three rounds leading up to the final, Qiu would once again fight from behind, keeping his head high in the face of a 1-2 deficit three games in.
Sensing a clear shift in momentum, Lebrun called Time Out at 3-0 down in game four, looking to stop the rot. But it didn’t have the desired effect, as Qiu extended his advantage upon his return to the table, opening up a 6-1 lead. The German penholder would go on to drop just five more points over the rest of the game, taking the fifth 11-6 to move into the overall lead for the first time.
Try as he may, Lebrun simply didn’t have an answer for his opponent from that point on. Putting on another clinic in game six, there was no stopping Qiu in this form, the 29-year-old eventually getting his hands on a WTT Star Contender winner’s trophy for the second time in his career.
“It’s always a big honour to win a WTT title. It was another Star Contender. I couldn’t really repeat my victory in London, but this is kind of the London event, so I feel very happy. I didn’t come with a lot of expectations here. I was in a bit of a difficult phase. I wouldn’t say it was bad, but I lost a few first-round matches in the last few events, which I’m not used to. This definitely cracked my self-confidence a little bit. But from each match, I improved and gained a lot of confidence. I’m very happy I could play the final in general, and then win it. I didn’t expect it, to be honest, but now I’m very happy,” said Qiu.
Meanwhile, it is title number three for Miyuu Kihara at WTT Star Contender level, after she beat Hitomi Sato to the Women’s Singles honours in a pulsating showdown winning 3-11, 12-10, 3-11, 13-11, 12-10, 3-11, 11-8.
With Sato claiming two of the opening three games by a commanding eight-point margin, it was the No.3 seed who set the tempo early on. But she failed to capitalise in game four, seeing Game Points come and go at 9-10 and 10-11, the difference between a 1-3 lead and a 2-2 tie on the match scoreboard.
The final remained tight all the way to the finish, but in the end, Kihara’s past success at this level would prove decisive. Keeping her cool when it mattered most, the 22-year-old moves to three WTT Star Contender titles in the Women’s Singles discipline, adding to her successful outings at WTT Star Contender Doha 2022 and WTT Star Contender Muscat 2025.
