Thrill from Brazil shown the exit

The men’s singles draw has been blown wide open at WTT Champions Doha 2026, with second seed Hugo Calderano falling short in a fiery opening round showdown against Dimitrij Ovtcharov, bowing out 11-7, 5-11, 11-5, 9-11, 11-9.

Having lost out to Calderano in each of their three previous WTT encounters, Ovtcharov’s last international win over the ‘Thrill from Brazil’ came back in 2021, and he was determined to reverse the role.

Putting the pedal to the metal, the German player upped the intensity, pulling clear from a 4-4 deadlock to set up six Game Point opportunities in the opener. Calderano would recover three, but Ovtcharov wouldn’t let another slip, finding his conviction at 10-7 to take an unexpected lead.

An instant response in the second would quickly put the odds back in Calderano’s favour, and with the game four scoreboard showing 3-5 in the Brazilian’s favour, it looked like a return to business as usual. But that’s exactly when Ovtcharov threw another curve ball, hammering through the ball to land eight points on the bounce, stealing it 11-5.

Huge momentum swings had dominated the flow in the opening three games, and the drama would continue in the fourth, Calderano denying a comeback charge to send the match to a decider.

Going 7-9 up deep in the seventh, just two more points and the match would be Calderano’s. However, there was a late sting in the tail as Dima dug deep, showing nerves of steel to flip the script 11-9 at the death.

Fist pumping the air in celebration after the final ball, Dima breathed a huge sigh of relief. For the first time in five years he had finally got his own back against Calderano. A run of three straight defeats to the Brazilian was now firmly behind him.

“About seven months ago he was in the final of the World Championships, now Hugo is a Top 3 player in the world, maybe even Top 2 with the results he has pulled off in the past season. So, of course this victory gives me a big boost for this event, and also the start of the season. Of course there’s some relief, I had a tough season. I had surgery last year and many tough losses, in the fifth game having Match Points and so on. To win the match today, also doing it 11-9 in the fifth against one of the best players in the world gives me confidence to get back on track,” said Ovtcharov.

However, it doesn’t get any easier for Ovtcharov, who turns his attention to Lin Yun-Ju following the ‘Silent Assassin’s’ 8-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-7 victory over Tomislav Pucar earlier in the day.

Meanwhile, It was a brilliant night it was for Indian ace Manav Thakkar. as the 25-year-old upset World No.17 Simon Gauzy in the men’s singles round of 32, the latter falling in five thrilling games 11-8, 7-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-8.

Defeating Gauzy for the first time in his career, it comes as the perfect start for World No.34 Thakkar, who is competing in his second WTT Champions event at Lusail Sports Arena.

The match began in the Indian player’s favour, storming ahead to a 10-5 lead. Gauzy retaliated, but would stop short of the mark, with Thakkar sealing the opening game 11-8, claiming the first advantage in this exciting encounter.

The second and third games started in a completely opposite fashion to the first, with the Frenchman finding himself ahead 3-7 in both games. Thakkar fought back, but just like his rival before, was unable to find sufficient foothold, allowing Gauzy to steal the lead, Thakkar now trailing 1-2 in games.

It was nip and tuck in the fourth game, with Gauzy seeing his 3-5 advantage eventually sink to a three-point deficit, Thakkar now holding the fort at 10-7. Serving a slightly long tomahawk to Gauzy’s forehand, the latter was betrayed by a net-cord loop error, forcing the battle into a decider on Infinity ∞ Arena.

Tension was in the air as the two rivals returned to the table for the final game, with that all-important ticket to the round of 16 on the line. They were equally matched for most of it, until Gauzy pulled away to 6-8, just three points away from sealing victory.

But then it all changed. Suddenly Gauzy began to struggle with his loop and push shots, and Thakkar pounced on the opportunity, bagging five points in a row to take the win, booting Gauzy from the running in Doha.

Thakkar sets his sights on his next big challenge, the tussle with WTT Champions Montpellier 2025 champion Truls Moregard.

“It feels great to win against Simon Gauzy. When I saw the playing draw, I knew it would be tough, he is a very good player and currently he is in great shape. But I am also playing well, I played my first WTT Champions event in Frankfurt, where I defeated Tomislav Pucar, so I was also confident in my ability.”

“I thought that I could trouble him with my playing style – Gauzy likes to move away from the table and hit the balls from there, whereas I am very fast at the table, so I was expecting to trouble him with that. I was very fortunate that this was the case during the match. I felt that the match began to slip away in the fourth game, but when I changed my serves, things started to turn in my favour and that is how I won the match,” said Thakkar.

Earlier in the day, Chinese wildcard Zhou Qihao upset Korea ‘s An Jaehyun 7-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-7.

After comfortably taking the first game, and then going 0-4, 3-6 up in the second, the match looked like it would go the way of Jaehyun . But the fearless Qihao levelled things up at 8-8 in a rally where they were both practically firing from the stands. Jaehyun failed to score another point in that game as Qihao levelled the match.

Qihao then again came from behind to storm to an 8-4 lead in the third. But the fourth and final game was a much more straightforward affair for the Chinese ace, who quickly went 3-0 up, triggering Jaehyun to call a time-out.

Returning to the action, Jaehyun narrowed the deficit to just one point, but was unable to capitalise and suffered another setback as he missed the table to take the game to 7-4. That three-point cushion gave Qihao confidence, and he set up five match points with a wonderful shot around the table. Jaehyun would save two, but that was as far as the comeback threat would go.

Qihao will face No.4 seed Tomokazu Harimoto in the round of 16, after he beat Xiang Peng 11-4, 11-7, 11-8.

Meanwhile, Zhu Yuling and Hana Goda played out an absolute rollercoaster in the women’s singles, with both players trading leads throughout before Zhu took it 11-8, 5-11, 15-13, 12-10. 

In the first game, Yuling took control, slowing down Goda as the young Egyptian attempted to break through on sheer power. 

Goda’s moment came in the second game. When trailing 2-5, she scored a staggering nine points in a row. She then carried that form into the third game and was seemingly in full control, going up 3-7. 

However, former World No.1 Yuling narrowed the deficit to 8-9, triggering Goda to call a Time Out. 

Yuling lost the point when she returned to the table, and fans were treated to a staggering six Game Points between both players before Yuling converted. 

Goda returned to her bench with her hands on her head in disbelief, ruing the chances she failed to convert. She then continued to cut an animated figure on court, shouting and jumping at every point, but scored five in a row to lead the fourth game 4-7

And there was even more to come as the calm and collected Yuling scored six in a row to set up three match points, which she unbelievably failed to capitalise on. The United States Smash 2025 women’s singles champion Yuling eventually took the game 12-10. 

Elsewhere, European players Ying Han and Prithika Pavade captured their spots in the women’s singles round of 16, the two players displaying clinical table tennis to defeat their respective opponents Lee Eunhye 11-7, 11-5, 11-3 and home favourite Aia Mohamed 11-3, 11-3, 11-6 in straight games.