WTT Contender Muscat 2026 gets off with intense matches

MUSCAT: The preliminary rounds of the WTT Contender Muscat 2026 officially got underway on Monday at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Bausher, witnessing intense competition and high technical standards as world-class players from various countries opened their campaigns in one of the most prominent international table tennis events on the global calendar.
The opening days of the tournament featured highly competitive matches, reflecting the depth and quality of the participating field, alongside the participation of Oman national team players who are using the championship as an opportunity to gain valuable international experience and test their capabilities against elite opponents.

FEI, PICARD POST WINS
In the men’s singles preliminary matches, Chinese player Xui Fei defeated Oman’s Mohammed al Mutawa 3–0, while Spain’s Daniel Berzosa edged past Czech player Lubomir Jancaric 3–2. France’s Vincent Picard secured a narrow 3–2 victory over Ho Kwan Kit of Hong Kong.
Oman’s Badar al Jassasi suffered defeats against Chan Baldwin of Hong Kong 0–3 and Romania’s Rares Cipus 2-3. Bilal al Rashdi lost to Kazakhstan’s Kirill Gerassimenko and Norway’s Borgar Haug, both by 0-3 scorelines.
Meanwhile, Mohammed al Balushi was beaten by Germany’s Andrei Bertelsmeier and Chinese Taipei’s Hong Jing Kai, while Ahmed al Riyami exited after losses to Germany’s Wim Verdonschot and Singapore’s Pang Koen. Other Omani players also bowed out after challenging encounters against opponents from China, France, India and Chinese Taipei.

VORONINA, XIAO IMPRESS
In the women’s singles, Mashhood Ashtari lost to China’s Han Fei 1–3 before falling to Spain’s Maria Xiao 0–3. Ema Labosova was defeated by Vlada Voronina 1–3 and Huang Yu-Jie 0–3. Several other preliminary matches saw strong performances from players representing China, Germany, Kazakhstan and Hong Kong, underlining the fierce level of competition.
Speaking after his match, Oman national team player Mohammed al Mutawa described the tournament as highly challenging, stating: “The competition is extremely tough, with many strong and experienced players from around the world, but the organisation has been excellent and reflects Oman’s ability to host major international events.”

“I am aiming to qualify for the knockout stages, and I will give my maximum effort to reach the advanced rounds. I have previous international experience where I achieved notable results and I hope to make good use of that experience in this championship.”
The WTT Contender Muscat 2026 will continue in the coming days with the start of the main draw matches, as expectations rise for more thrilling encounters that highlight the growing stature of the tournament on the international table tennis stage.