European champion Dang QIU has extended his brilliant start to the new year at the WTT Finals in Doha. The European champion among the 16 best players of 2023 reached the semifinals of the prestigious tournament with a 3-2 victory over the world number four LIANG Jingkun.
He will face the world number two and defending champion WANG Chuqin (China) on Friday morning. For QIU the victory over Liang at the WTT Finals in Qatar was already the second consecutive win over Chinese stars he had not defeated before. In the previous round the native of Nürtingen had defeated the world number nine and Under 19 world champion LIN Shidong 3-1.
Immediately after his victory the Düsseldorf player said:
“I had anything but a dream start today. In the fourth set it even looked like I wouldn’t leave the table as the winner with a 4-7 deficit. But best-of-five matches go very quickly; anything can happen. I am very happy that I could win this crucial match and now be among the top four in the WTT Finals ” said QIU.
Men’s National Team Coach Jörg ROSSKOPF praised his player’s performance:
“That was really a super victory for Dang. At the World Championships in Houston he played very well against LIANG but narrowly lost 3-4. Today he deservedly won and dominated the fifth set as well. After the clearly lost first set we made some tactical adjustments which were crucial for the further course. Dang implemented that tactically very well and was also very strong in his activity today.”
