WTT Contender Muscat-2025 - 11-17 Jan 2025

[zeio]

Can anyone give me T-league schedule? Does Miu Hirano rush to go back home to play league or what? unbelievable performance

There are no more matches for January. Hirano is the only one who has been playing non-stop since Paris 2024 (and she's never complained about the WTT schedule) but she knows when to stop unlike Hayata, say, give up if it takes more than 70% exertion to win. Still, it seems Kinoshita let their players peak themselves individually rather than collectively for Zennihon Takkyu 2025 next week.

https://tleague.jp/schedule/?month=202501
https://tleague.jp/schedule/?month=202502

 

[NextLevel]

First round exit to SXY in Doha is understandable, but Hirano did not play like the potential T-League MVP that she had been showing prior to Doha. To be fair though, Yangzi Liu has shown flashes playing a really close match with Miwa not that long ago. But when you're trying to get back into top 3 Japanese ranking wise, this is a very poor outcome for her. Hope she can pull it together for the Empress Cup.

Yangzi had close matches with Miwa (3-2) and Mima (3-2). She was due.

 

[zeio]

Huang Youzheng and Chen Yuanyu could edge out XP and XYB at this rate. Been a disaster for the latter two since ATTC 2024.

 

[pongfugrasshopper]

Whew! Yokoi at 2-2,10-4 loses 6 pts in a row before winning 12-10 over Sreeja Akula.

 

[Dr Evil]

The woman doing the commentary right now should really find another line of work.

 

[zeio]

Even the commentator can't help but notice Matsushima's world-weariness.

 

[pongfugrasshopper]

Even the commentator can't help but notice Matsushima's world-weariness.

So......

Nice list: Hirano, DHK
Naughty list: Hayata, Sora (and eventually little sister, Miku)

If nice player wins: Great win!
If nice player loses: Best not to overextend yourself. Knows when to stop

If naughty player wins: Working too hard ... overextending yourself. Also, haven't beaten world #1
If naughty player loses: See I told you so... overextended yourself

 

[zeio]

Bad news for Matsushima in terms of progress. XP can lose to anyone now. Not a good indicator to use for assessment.

Speak of the devil.

Perhaps it isn't meant to be. Matsudaira Kenji or Matsushima Sora won't make a difference at WTTC 2025.

WTT CT Muscat 2025
MS R16
Matsushima 2-3 Manush SHAH (7, -10, -9, 7, -7)
MS R32
Manush SHAH 3-0 Yoshimura M. (8, 7, 11)

 

[rpb23]

Huang Youzheng and Chen Yuanyu could edge out XP and XYB at this rate. Been a disaster for the latter two since ATTC 2024.

New comer Huang looks impressive and promising. His playing style resembles that of Wang Chuqin.

 

[NextLevel]

New comer Huang looks impressive and promising. His playing style resembles that of Wang Chuqin.

Only his playing style?

 

[zeio]

Even the commentator can't help but notice Matsushima's world-weariness.

一日不「滿」，自己知道；
兩日不「滿」，對手知道；
三日不「滿」，全場知道。
One day "fed up", the individual knows it;
Two days "fed up", the opponent knows it;
Three days “fed up”, the audience knows it.

https://youtu.be/Z5yG99K9FTA?t=14339
https://youtu.be/Z5yG99K9FTA?t=14372

 

[zeio]

New comer Huang looks impressive and promising. His playing style resembles that of Wang Chuqin.

And Huang Youzheng is the National Champion (no matter how weak it has become - 1 > 0), whereas WCQ...

 

[zeio]

So......

Nice list: Hirano, DHK
Naughty list: Hayata, Sora (and eventually little sister, Miku)

If nice player wins: Great win!
If nice player loses: Best not to overextend yourself. Knows when to stop

If naughty player wins: Working too hard ... overextending yourself. Also, haven't beaten world #1
If naughty player loses: See I told you so... overextended yourself

As always, go convince the Tieba users and the Yahoo Japan users. The national title is the last thing that keeps Hayata as Japan's no. 1, the shortest "First Lady" as some Tieba users put it.

As Hirano already put it at the start of T.League season 2024/2025 and the new year, her focus has shifted to leading the team to the title as the captain and the oldest member on the team.

There are still 3 more days before the announcement on the future direction beside the new head coaches, but year 2025, at least the very start of it, likely won't matter. This is the first 4-year Olympic cycle in 8 years and there are too many uncertainties to account for. The top priority of every player is to stay healthy for now. The WR is useless until perhaps 2026.

 

[quanghuysk]

i remember watching a bit that Australian player LIU Yangzi recently for the first time against i can't remember whom, but i remember she was playing really very well, whereas i was expecting a poor level. Given Hirano's injury and focus on Zennihon i'm only semi surprised of this result.

I know that Yangzi Liu is a tough player, but Miu's performance today was terrible. Many highballs but she didn't even care to attack, just pushed back. Liu also has some kind of short pip on her backhand but I dont think it's really a problem for Miu who has been playing with Mima for a decade. Sometimes she just played bomba so whatever Liu get back the ball the points were done.

 

[NextLevel]

Speak of the devil.

Perhaps it isn't meant to be. Matsudaira Kenji or Matsushima Sora won't make a difference at WTTC 2025.

WTT CT Muscat 2025
MS R16
Matsushima 2-3 Manush SHAH (7, -10, -9, 7, -7)
MS R32
Manush SHAH 3-0 Yoshimura M. (8, 7, 11)

Manush has looked ready to be Indian #1 for a while now, just has to be more consistent.

Sora has grand smashes, he will be fine.

 

[NextLevel]

As always, go convince the Tieba users and the Yahoo Japan users. The national title is the last thing that keeps Hayata as Japan's no. 1, the shortest "First Lady" as some Tieba users put it.

As Hirano already put it at the start of T.League season 2024/2025 and the new year, her focus has shifted to leading the team to the title as the captain and the oldest member on the team.

There are still 3 more days before the announcement on the future direction beside the new head coaches, but year 2025, at least the very start of it, likely won't matter. This is the first 4-year Olympic cycle in 8 years and there are too many uncertainties to account for. The top priority of every player is to stay healthy for now. The WR is useless until perhaps 2026.

@pongfugrasshopper has a good point, you persist in acting like Hayata has no medals with her bad management and Miu Hirano has won every medal under the sun with her good management. One would never know that outside of team events, the last big singles medal Hirano won is now approaching over 7 years (soon to be a decade). And Hayata, if her current level is beating Yokoi, has enough time look for antidotes and even retire gracefully. If she drops out of the national team, was there any guarantee that anyone who played at the last Olympics ion singles would be viable for the next Olympics? What will Miu's management have earned her after one notes that she still enjoyed all the injuries that kept her from the medals last Olympics and might be going through more now but you ignore that to push your preferred narrative about Hayata?

It is really funny people are calling Hayata the shortest first lady and you are proud to repeat it when we know that WTTC 2019 was largely what kept her out of Tokyo 2021 and not a playing level issue. She has dominated Japan for a period of close to 5 years and has won all the major medals she was eligible for with a few exceptions- all good things come to an end.

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

@pongfugrasshopper has a good point, you persist in acting like Hayata has no medals with her bad management and Miu Hirano has won every medal under the sun with her good management. One would never know that outside of team events, the last big singles medal Hirano won is now approaching over 7 years (soon to be a decade). And Hayata, if her current level is beating Yokoi, has enough time look for antidotes and even retire gracefully. If she drops out of the national team, was there any guarantee that anyone who played at the last Olympics ion singles would be viable for the next Olympics? What will Miu's management have earned her after one notes that she still enjoyed all the injuries that kept her from the medals last Olympics and might be going through more now but you ignore that to push your preferred narrative about Hayata?

It is really funny people are calling Hayata the shortest first lady and you are proud to repeat it when we know that WTTC 2019 was largely what kept her out of Tokyo 2021 and not a playing level issue. She has dominated Japan for a period of close to 5 years and has won all the major medals she was eligible for with a few exceptions- all good things come to an end.

Its not just that
He persists in mutiple threads too. It is now borderline hijacking threads to change to Hayata.
No cure for his hatred. When Hayata does retire, he will just go after another left handed Japanese super star

And I dont get it, so why keep mentioning about tieba users and what they think? Everyone on ttd must agree with tieba users views?

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

Kuo is into the semis, against a beatable Chen Yuanyu
Lets see if the kid can hold his nerves.

Fun fact: Kuo doesn't smile for the camera.

 

[joshmak10]

Huang YZ almost beat Harimoto. Just mental toughness improvement and he can surely take one of LGY or XP place in the A team

 

[blahness]

I really like Kuo Guan Hong's playstyle. He has the same ultra spinny BH game like Lin Yun Ju, but he has a better FH structure than Lin as it is more compact and speedy (no offence but LYJ's FH leaves a lot to be desired at times and often lets him down). Kid also has a pretty solid FH push game and FH loop against half long serves. The chiquita and serves are not up there to LYJ's standards yet but that can be improved over time definitely. But his stroke structure is really good.

I can totally see him challenging Harimoto and Felix Lebrun in the future.