[Unofficial] Qatar Open 2019

[Janard]

First Stage: 26 to 27 Mar 2019 | Main Event: 28 to 31 Mar 2019, Doha, Qatar

Men's Singles Seeding List

1) Xu Xin
2) Lin Gaoyuan
3) Harimoto Tomokazu
4) Timo Boll
5) Hugo Calderano
6) Lee Sangsu
7) Wong Chun Ting
8) Niwa Koki
9) Mizutani Jun
10) Jang Woojin
11) Ma Long
12) Mattias Falck
13) Dimitrij Ovtcharov
14) Patrick Franziska
15) Liang Jingkun
16) Mohammed Abdulwahhab (Host Country)

Women's Singles Seeding List

1) Ding Ning
2) Ishikawa Kasumi
3) Liu Shiwen
4) Wang Manyu
5) Ito Mima
6) Cheng I-Ching
7) Hirano Miu
8) Feng Tianwei
9) Suh Hyowon
10) Sato Hitomi
11) Doo Hoi Kem
12) Shibata Saki
13) Chen Xingtong
14) Jeon Jihee
15) Polcanova Sofia
16) Maha Faramarzi (Host Country)

Men's Doubles Seeding List

1) Jeong Youngsik/Lee Sangsu
2) Morizono Masataka/Oshima Yuya
3) Wong Chun Ting/Ho Kwan Kit
4) Liao Chengting/Lin Yun-ju
5) Chen Chien-An/Chuang Chih Yuan
6) Mattias Falck/Kristian Karlsson
7) Ma Long/Lin Gaoyuan
8) Abdulrahman Al-naggar/Mohammed Abdulwahab

Women's Doubles Seeding List

1) Hina Hayata/Ito Mima
2) Sun Yingsha/Wang Manyu
3) Sato Hitomo/Hashimoto Honoka
4) Doo Hoi Kem/Lee Ho Ching
5) Ng Wing Nam/Minnie Soo
6) Barbora Balazova/Hana Matelova
7) Jeon Jihee/Lee Zion
8) Mohammed Aia/Maha Faramarzi

Mixed Doubles Seeding List

1) Wong Chun Ting/Doo Hoi Kem
2) Lee Sangsu/Jeon Jihee
3) Lubomir Pistej/Barbora Balazova
4) Morizono Masataka/Ito Mima
5) Xu Xin/Liu Shiwen
6) Lin Yun-ju/Cheng I-Ching
7) Harimoto Tomokazu/Ishikawa Kasumi
8) Alvero Robles/Galia Dvorak

Promising Highlights

Women's Singles – Japanese hopeful Ito Mima has not met Chinese players after her successful sweep at the Swedish Open last year. Will she be able to replicate that amazing run or get booted prematurely by players from other associations again? Not to mention her long-time doubles partner Hina Hayata will surely be looking forward to match her legacy too. Interestingly, the CNT has omitted mid-generation players Chen Meng and Zhu Yuling from the roster, opting for seasoned veterans and promising youths instead. Will this be yet another titanic clash between teams China and Japan, or will we see more underdogs emerging such as the newly crowned European Queen Solja?

Men's Singles – If all goes well with his recovery, this Open will mark Ma Long's return to the international stage after months of inactivity. Particularly in the absence of Fan Zhendong, can The Dictator live up to his pedigree and prove why he is hailed as one of the greatest TT players of all time? Is fifth time the charm for Harimoto that will allow him to finally beat Xu Xin and/or is a re-match with Ma Long in the making. Ovtcharov Dimitrij seems to be getting back on track following his success at the recently concluded Europe Top 16 Cup. Can he extend that winning streak or will Calderano come out as the giant slayer once more?

Doubles – Glad to see Boll, Ma Long and Ding Ning back in this category again. Additionally, quite a number of novel pairings I'm seeing too but will they be instant successes or utter failures?

[Vlad Celler]

Curious - Liu Shiven and XE Zhuojia participate ....
(Will Japan withdraw Ito? How in Portugal....If not, Cheng Meng is the only top Chinese woman who has not yet lost to ITO Mima ...)





Small offtopic ...It would be surprising if Kato Miju lost in Spain ...In Oman, can Solja Petrissa and Szocs Bernadette reach at least the semi-finals, or will it be Japan-China (Cheng-i-Ching - Chinese Taipei)......And how far Hayata Hina can go ....)

[zeio]

5th time. Harimoto has met XX 4 times.

4-1, WTTC 2017
4-3, Swedish Open 2017
4-2, Australian Open 2018
4-2, Austrian Open 2018

[Janard]

5th time. Harimoto has met XX 4 times.

4-1, WTTC 2017
4-3, Swedish Open 2017
4-2, Australian Open 2018
4-2, Austrian Open 2018

Thanks. You're literally a walking TT repository.

[Janard]

Curious - Liu Shiven and XE Zhuojia participate ....
(Will Japan withdraw Ito? How in Portugal....If not, Cheng Meng is the only top Chinese woman who has not yet lost to ITO Mima ...)





Small offtopic ...It would be surprising if Kato Miju lost in Spain ...In Oman, can Solja Petrissa and Szocs Bernadette reach at least the semi-finals, or will it be Japan-China (Cheng-i-Ching - Chinese Taipei)......And how far Hayata Hina can go ....)

Agree with you on Spain Open. Not a fan of Kato Miyu though.

The newly introduced Challenge Plus does indeed seem to be drawing a good number of higher-ranked players. As for Oman Open, I actually hope Miu Hirano will emerge victorious. Amidst her rather disastrous record in 2018, she renewed Japan's (and other associations') hopes of shattering the Great Wall of China. If she doesn't, she will probably be replaced by Hina Hayata for Tokyo 2020 unless Ishikawa retires before that (cues zeio). At the moment, I think Cheng I-Ching, Yu Mengyu, Hirano Miu, Hina Hayata, Hashimoto Honoka, Shibata Saki and Petrissa Solja all have a chance to come on top. This is just my two-cents.

[Vlad Celler]

Let's wait ... It remains a bit ....
Regarding Ishikawa, Hirano, Hayata ....
Japan, TOP-12, March 2 -3 ....Hayata will first have to play the quarter finals....(Seeding eight participants, including Hayata, will be March 1st ...)
If she win - then the game with Sato ....
If she won this game too - the semi-final with Ishikawa ....(second semifinal - ITO-HIRANO ..)
This is a good test of Ishikawa-Hirano-Hayata will (although not sure that HIRANO will win against ITO ...) .....
Soon....

[drunix80]

It is highly likely that ML would pull off from this event.