Unpopular! German table tennis dark horse reached the finals in singles and doubles, and the host is expected to win the double crown.
WTT Level 4 Table Tennis Challenge was held in Budapest, Hungary. German dark horse Otto became the biggest winner in the men's singles competition. In the men's singles competition, he eliminated top seed Pierre Schifford and Czech Republic's Baranski and advanced to the men's singles final. Sciple, the partner of men's doubles competition, also defeated the host players Shoti/Eszeki 3-/Kloc-0, and will compete for the championship in the Russian team. Hungary, the host country, has also gained a lot and is expected to win both the mixed doubles and women's doubles finals.
Otto is not the main player of the German table tennis team. After winning the silver medal in the men's team in Tokyo Olympic Games, Bohr, Ochalov and Piero Della Francesca, the three main players of the Olympic Games, chose to take vacations to adjust. Only Duda, Qiu Dang and Feros led several young players to take part in the Hungarian Challenge. Otto reached the finals in men's singles and men's doubles, and moved towards the goal of double crown.
The competition is unpopular, and the men's singles field bears the brunt. The top seed was eliminated by Otto, and the second seed Aruna was eliminated from the semi-final by Swedish teenager Moregold. Otto didn't stop moving forward. Baranski, who eliminated the Czech Republic in seven games, came to the men's singles final, and his opponent will be Moregold of Sweden. Although the latter is a talented teenager, Otto has the strength to fight to the end.
In the men's doubles semi-final, Otto teamed up with Sciple against the host team, Sauti/Arceki. The Hungarian team has not performed well in recent years and has to choose three doubles events to break through. The mixed doubles combination Szuti/Pegel has been active in the international arena in recent two years, often breaking into the quarter-finals. Because the Hungarian men's doubles team Szuti/Arceki participated in more international competitions and cooperated for a longer time, they are more optimistic about entering the men's doubles finals. As a result, the German dark horse Otto/Sciple 3- 1 defeated the top-seeded Hungarian team and entered the third place in the championship. The final opponent was Russian Guidorenko/Sko Chekov.
Although Hungary missed the men's doubles final, it stood out in the mixed doubles and women's doubles. After the top seed of mixed doubles, Slovakia's P Ye/Barazova, Hungary's Ban Z/ Arseki will compete with India's Ghana Naskaran/Batra for the final championship.
In the women's doubles semi-final, the Hungarian team Spot/Pegel lived up to expectations. In the face of Slovak Kukul Kova/Labosova, after four hard games, they eliminated their opponents with 3-/kloc-0-. In the final, their opponents were a Russian couple, Volobeva/Noskova, who eliminated Christina/Linda from Sweden.
The Hungarian Challenge was accompanied by an upset from the beginning. Although there are no first-class players, slightly famous players such as Pitchford, Ferrus, Duda, Batra and Aruna have not reached the semi-finals in singles, and some Olympic teams such as P Ye/Barazova have also been eliminated in doubles. Although the level and prize money are average, the competition is extremely fierce, and many athletes who have not set foot on the Tokyo Olympic Games have achieved blockbuster results.