Zhou Qihao and Chen Junsong (Men’s Doubles No. 457) continue to surprise people at WTT China Smash 2025.
The men’s doubles tandem from China defeated the Korean duo of An Jaehyun and Lim Jonghoon (No. 2) 3-0 in the Round of 16 on Wednesday. An and Lim, the third-seeded pair in this tournament, did not score more than seven points in any of the three games they played.
Zhou and Chen completed this upset through a series of scoring runs throughout the match. Rarely would a point from the Chinese duo come without another that followed, making it difficult for An and Lim to keep up.
The first game started well for An and Lim, who took an early 4-1 lead to start it off. That began an onslaught from Zhou and Chen, who scored eight straight points before the Korean duo could take another. The game ended just a few points later, 11-5.
Zhou and Chen carried their momentum to the second game with a 3-0 start, but An and Lim clawed their way back to force a 5-5 tie at the 10th point. Zhou and Chen scored another point, but An and Lim tied the score right back at six apiece.
That was the final point An and Lim scored in that game. Zhou and Chen took five straight points to take the game, 11-6.
The duo from China took complete control of the third game, turning a 1-1 tie into a 5-1 lead in just four points. An and Lim attempted to fight back, but Zhou and Chen played just as well, ultimately taking the final game 11-6 to win the match.
This is the second straight sweep of the men’s doubles tournament for Zhou and Chen, who beat Germany’s Benedikt Duda and Dang Qiu (No. 13) in the Round of 32. Zhou and Chen have yet to lose a single game so far at WTT China Smash 2025.
Both Zhou (Men’s Singles No. 34) and Chen (No. 113) have advanced to the Round of 16 in the men’s singles bracket, and they’ve done so after several stunning victories. Zhou swept Australia’s Hwan Bae (No. 36) and Denmark’s Anders Lind (No. 14), while Chen took 3-2 victories over Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto (No. 4) and France’s Thibault Poret (No. 35).
Zhou and Chen will face India’s Manush Shah and Manav Thakkar (Men’s Doubles No. 7) in their men’s doubles quarterfinal match on Thursday.
