Sun Yingshan, 2025 World Table Tennis Championships in Doha, Qatar Photo: VCG

The 2025 World Table Tennis Championships are underway in Doha, Qatar, from Saturday to May 25, with the Chinese national team fielding its strongest lineup. Over the first two days of the competition, many members of the Chinese team have advanced smoothly to the next rounds.

As one of the key benchmarks in the lead-up to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, the tournament holds heightened significance - particularly as doubles events are set to replace team competitions at the Olympics.

China's roster of 13 players includes seven competing in two events, underscoring the strategic emphasis on doubles. The championships include men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles. Singles matches follow a best-of-seven format, while doubles are played best-of-five.

Mixed doubles pair Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha on Sunday cruised past US duo Jishan Liang and Amy Wang in straight sets (11-8, 11-1, 11-9), advancing comfortably into the round of 32.

In the women's singles, Wang Manyu also on Sunday moved forward with a commanding 4-1 victory over Natalia Bajor of Poland (11-3, 11-6, 11-4, 11-13, 11-4), earning a place in the round of 64.

On Saturday, the first day of the tournament, women's world No.1 Sun Yingsha opened her singles campaign with a dominant performance against Ukraine's Veronika Matiunina, wrapping up the match in just 26 minutes (11-5, 11-6, 11-5, 11-7), while men's world No.2 Wang Chuqin, a key player in both singles and mixed doubles, also made a statement in his men's singles debut. He dispatched US ­player Nandan Naresh in straight games (11-6, 11-4, 11-2, 11-4).

The top-seeded mixed doubles pair Lin Shidong and Kuai Man defeated England-Wales pair Liam Pitchford and Anna Hursey 3-0. The young pair, 20-year-old Lin and 21-year-old Kuai, have built strong chemistry through multiple international title runs and are looking to improve on their bronze medal finish at the previous World Championships.

In the men's doubles, China fielded two winning combinations on opening day with duo Lin Gaoyuan and Lin Shidong, who played together at their second World Championships, and the newly formed duo of Liang Jingkun and Huang Youzheng.

This is also the first major international tournament since Wang Liqin took over as president of the Chinese Table Tennis Association from Liu Guoliang in April.

"The Doha World Championships mark the first major event of the new Olympic cycle and the most important part of our competition plan for this year. We hope to make a strong statement in this opening tournament," said the new president as quoted by CCTV News.

"I've adapted well to the venue so far. Regardless of the result, I want to show the best version of myself on the court and enjoy every match," said Sun Yingsha in a pre-match interview, CCTV reported. Sun claimed the women's singles title at the last edition of the worlds in Durban, South Africa, in 2023, when China swept all five titles on offer.